「suppose」?「supposed」?「past participle」究竟是什麼?
我常看到很多香港人想用英文句子形容一個動作「本應」要發生時,會使用「suppose*」這字形,而不是正確的 「past participle」 字形「supposed」。
似乎大家都清楚這 expression 的意思,卻不是每個人都關注到這 expression 應有的字形。
「supposed」是單字「suppose」的「past participle」字形。
「past participle」,是英文中動詞一種固定的非限定字形(non-finite verb form) -- 「固定」的意思是,每個動詞都是有一個不變的「past participle」字形的。
動詞「suppose」是一個所謂的「regular verb(常規動詞)」,即是,它的字形變化是根據一個「常規」模式的。「常規」模式的字形變化中,「past participle」字形是那個動詞基本字形後再加「ed」作字尾(在說話中是加入 /d/ 音作字尾)。
所以「suppose」的「past participle」字形是「supposed」。
「past participle」在英文文法中有著不同的文法功能。
其中最重要的,是它們會用於組成有「perfect aspect」和「passive voice」的限定動詞字形:
例:I have eaten.
(「 have eaten」是「present tense」、「perfect aspect」、「active voice」的限定字形)
例:The cake was eaten.
(「 was eaten」是「past tense」、「simple aspect」、「passive voice」的限定字形)
由於「past participle」用於構建具「passive voice」的限定動詞字形,即使將它們從這些限定動詞中抽出,自身出現,仍會仍保留「passive(被動動作)」的含義。
例如:
The project is finished. The finished project will be on display until December.
在這兩個句子中,「finished」自身是個「獨立出現」的「past participle」,即不屬於限定動詞字形的一部分。
當它像這樣獨立地出現時,便會扮演修飾語的角色。這裡的「finished」是形容詞角色,表達出「已完成的」的被動動作含義。
以下句子中的「supposed」同樣是「past participle」字形:
例:She was supposed to meet me for an interview.
動詞「suppose」,當是「主動」時,可大致解作「認為應該是」。
由於「past participle」會表達出「被動」的含意,「supposed」這「past participle」意思便是「被認為應該是」。
這意思再延伸至「本應」和「預期中會」,即大家都懂的那個 expression 中的意思。
因此「she was supposed to meet me for an interview」的意思是「她本應是要跟我見面去訪問我的」。
重點是,這個「supposed」是一個扮演形容詞的「past participle」,字形是「supposed」。
下次使用這個 expression,不要再說或再寫沒有「d」字尾的「suppose*」了!
例:She was suppose to meet me. ❌
例:She was supposed to meet me. ✔︎
此用法中,這形容詞跟在「be」之後,再用一個有「to」標記的 infinitive 基本動詞組(像「to meet me」)去完成意思。
*在我們基礎課程的第六章中,有關於所有修飾語分類的詳盡解釋,包括「participles」、「participle詞組」和「infinitive」動詞組。www.mscharlotteacademy.com
P.S.
這是90年代電視喜劇《Seinfeld》中的一句台詞。只要你有對英文文法系統框架的認知,日常生活中遇到的每一個正確英文句子,你都能從中學到一點東西。如果你從前一直說的都是沒有字尾的「suppose*」,當看電視時看到這例句後,理解它的結構原理,便不要再犯同樣的錯誤了!
這就是你不斷進步的方式!
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小練習:
嘗試用「supposed」寫出表達以下意思的英文句子:
我們本應是今天去的。
他們本來說好會買紅酒來的,但他們沒有買到。
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(English version)
What are past participles “supposed” to be?
I often see people from Hong Kong write “suppose*” instead of “supposed” (the past participle form of the verb “suppose”) when they want to express that something is “supposed to happen.”
It seems that many people know the meaning of this expression and can use it to express their meaning appropriately, but they are missing this point about the word form.
The word “supposed” is the past participle form of the verb “suppose.”
Past participle forms are a type of fixed, non-finite forms of verbs -- they are “fixed” because each verb has a fixed one.
The form for the verb “suppose,” which happens to be a so-called “regular” verb with “regular” patterns of form changes, is “supposed,” with the added ending “d” (as in, the /d/ sound in speech.)
Past participles serve different grammatical functions within English grammar.
The most important one is that they build finite verb forms reflecting the “perfect” aspect and “passive” voice:
e.g. I have eaten.
(“have eaten” is the present tense, perfect aspect, active voice finite verb form)
e.g. The cake was eaten.
(“was eaten” is the past tense, simple aspect, passive voice finite verb form)
Because past participles are used to build “passive” voice finite verb forms, they retain a “passive” meaning even when they are taken out of these finite verbs and are “on their own.”
For example:
e.g. The project is finished. The finished project will be on display until December.
The word “finished” is a past participle “on its own” in these two sentences -- as in, it is not part of a finite verb form.
When it is on its own like this, it functions as a modifier. Here, “finished” is an adjective. This adjective expresses the “passive” meaning of “已被完成的” (because the verb means “完成").
The word “supposed” in the following sentence is also a past participle form:
e.g. She was supposed to meet me for an interview.
The verb “suppose” means, roughly, “認為應該是.”
Because past participles express the “passive” version of the meaning, the past participle “supposed” means “被認為應該是," extending to “本應" and "預期中會.”
That is why “she was supposed to meet me for an interview” means “她本應是要跟我見面去訪問我的.”
The main point is that this “supposed” is a past participle form acting as an adjective.
Don’t say or write “suppose” again when you are using this expression!
e.g. She was suppose to meet me. ❌
e.g. She was supposed to meet me. ✔︎
In this usage, this adjective follows “be” and is completed by an infinitive phrase marked by “to,” like “to meet me.”
*Our foundational course systematically explains everything related to modifiers in Section 6, including participles, participle phrases, and infinitive phrase. www.mscharlotteacademy.com
P.S.
This is a line from the 90s comedy TV show “Seinfeld.” You can learn something from every correct English sentence that you encounter in your daily life as long as you have a systematic framework in which to sort through all this input. If you encounter this sentence, and you have been saying “suppose” before, just find out why it is this way and never make the same mistake again. That’s how you improve!
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Mini Exercise:
Try to express these meanings with “supposed” correctly in English:
我們本應是今天去的。
他們本來說好會買紅酒來的,但他們沒有買到。
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Answers:
We are supposed to go today.
They were supposed to buy wine, but they didn’t.
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