中英文的5個主要文法分別 5 Main Differences - Pronoun-dropping
我們學外語的過程是容易還是困難,容觀地很視乎它與我們的母語有多不同。
現今許多語言,其實都有著相同的語言祖先,是同一個語言家族中的「親戚」(可以是近親或遠親)。
這些有「親戚關係」的語言,會在文法和詞彙上呈現很多共同之處。也因此,假如你所學習的外語與自己的母語有這種關聯,必定會比學另一種與母語完全無關的語言容易得多。
從廣東話與英文在文法和詞彙上(或從中西歷史和文化的差異上),相信你也不難能看出它們並沒有任何「親戚關係」,那麼廣東話母語人士學習英文,自然也是比較困難的。(英文人士學習廣東話亦然。)
我們若能「退一步」去看清廣東話/中文與英文的主要分別,便更容易注意到那些自然的陷阱,也可避免那些自然的錯誤。
本系列,就讓我們粗略地看看廣東話與英文之間五個主要的文法差異,以檢視自己是否也有犯上某些自然文法錯誤的傾向吧。
(免費下載過往關於這主題的參考PDF:https://www.mscharlotteacademy.com/resources)
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第一個中英文文法的主要區別,可稱為「名詞省略」
廣東話/中文文法中,只要語境夠清晰,句子中的名詞、代名詞、名詞組都是容許被省略的,不論它們是扮演甚麼文法角色(如主語或賓語)也一樣。
例如:
A: 你要唔要呢樣嘢呀?
B: 我要呀。✅ / 要呢樣嘢呀。✅ / 要呀。✅
=(我)要(呢樣嘢)呀。
以上不同例子中,B 分別省略了主語名詞「我」(只說「要呢樣嘢呀」),直接賓語名詞「呢樣嘢」(只說「我要呀」),以及同時省略了主語和賓語(只說「要呀」)。這些句子是符合中文文法的。
英文則不然,當在句子結構中,名詞是一部分時,它是不能被隨意刪除的。例如:
A: Do you want this thing?
B: Yes, I want. ❌ / Yes, want this thing/it. ❌ / Yes, want. ❌
B: Yes, I want this thing. ✅ Yes, I want it. ✅
雖然在這語境中,主語「I」和直接賓語「this thing/it」也是清楚的,但英文文法卻不允許它們被省略。
所以,「I want」不行,因為省略了「this thing / it」;「want this thing / it」不行,因為省略了「I」;「want」更不行,因為「I」和「this thing / it」都不見了。
這個在「名詞省略」上的分別,使廣東話母語人士在組織英文句子時,經常違反英文文法結構規律。
他們經常會說例如這樣的句子:
A: Do you want some coffee?
B: I don’t want, thank you. ❌
現在你已知英文和自己母語有這樣的文法差異,以後便要注意避免這自然的陷阱了。
當你下意識想要省略主語/賓語時,提醒自己這是錯誤的,或者至少取一個代名詞來代替。
例如:
A: Do you want some coffee?
B: I don’t want coffee.✅ / I don’t want it. ✅/ I don’t want any. ✅
(*英文的子句,無論配合哪個動詞,其主語也是不能省略的 – 雖然在一些感覺較隨意的語境中,主語也有時會被刪掉,尤其當它是「第一人稱」的時候。例如,在短訊中,「I saw him yesterday」經常被寫成「saw him yesterday」。)
(**當然,說到省略賓語,指的只是有連接賓語的動詞的子句/句子。本來就沒有賓語的話,也就沒有賓語可省略了。千萬別誤會英文句子必需包含賓語喔!)
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Mini Exercise:
請將被省略掉的名詞放回以下句子中。
- Where are my glasses? I can’t find.
- A: Don’t buy the flowers.
B: But already bought.
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答案:
- Where are my glasses? I can’t find them.
- A: Don’t buy the flowers.
B: But I already bought them.
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5 Main Differences between Chinese and English Grammar
#1: Noun-dropping
When we learn the grammar of a foreign language, how easy or difficult the process is depends on how different the foreign language is from your native language.
Many modern languages in the world come from the same language ancestors and are “relatives” within the same language families.
Languages that are “relatives” share a lot of similarities in their grammar and vocabulary. As such, if you were learning a foreign language related to your native language, you would find it much easier than if you were learning a foreign language unrelated to your native language.
Cantonese and English are, as you can imagine, unrelated and have a lot of differences in their grammar and vocabulary – so, as a Cantonese speaker, English grammar is naturally difficult for you. (And vice versa for an English speaker learning Cantonese!)
If you can “step back” and understand some of the major differences between Cantonese/Chinese and English, you can watch out for natural traps and avoid natural mistakes.
In this series, we will look briefly at five of the main differences between Cantonese and English grammar so that you can watch out for your own tendencies to make natural mistakes.
(You can download our free PDF on this topic here: https://www.mscharlotteacademy.com/resources)
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The first major difference between Cantonese and English I want to explain is about “noun dropping.”
In Cantonese/Chinese, nouns, pronouns, and noun phrases can be freely omitted as long as they are understood in context. This goes for nouns that are playing any role in a sentence (subjects or objects).
For example:
A: 你要唔要呢樣嘢呀?
B: 我要呀。✅ / 要呢樣嘢呀。✅ / 要呀。✅
=(我)要(呢樣嘢)呀。
In this example, B variously omits the subject noun “我,” the direct object noun “呢樣嘢," as well as both. This is grammatical in Cantonese/Chinese.
However, in English, nouns within the structure of a sentence cannot be freely dropped.
A: Do you want this thing?
B: Yes, I want. ❌ / Yes, want this thing/it. ❌ / Yes, want. ❌
B: Yes, I want this thing. ✅ Yes, I want it. ✅
Both the subject “I” and direct object “this thing/it” are understood in the context, but English grammar does not allow dropping them.
Because of this difference in noun-dropping between Cantonese and English, native Cantonese speakers often make the mistake of dropping the subject and/or object when forming an English sentence.
For example, they might say:
A: Do you want some coffee?
B: I don’t want, thank you. ❌
If you are aware of this grammatical difference between your native language and English, you can watch out for this natural trap.
Next time when you catch yourself trying to drop a subject/object, remind yourself not to, or to replace the object with a pronoun.
For example:
A: Do you want some coffee?
B: I don’t want coffee.✅ / I don’t want it. ✅/ I don’t want any. ✅
(*Subjects in English clauses cannot be dropped no matter what the verb is – although they are often omitted in certain casual contexts when the clause is an independent sentence, especially if they are “first-person,” e.g. in a text like “saw him yesterday” for “I saw him yesterday.”)
(**Of course, when we refer to dropping objects, we are only referring to clauses/sentences in which the verb has an object. If there is no object to begin with, then there is nothing to drop. Don’t misunderstand this as English sentences must always have objects!)
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Mini Exercise:
Put the dropped nouns back into the following English sentences.
- Where are my glasses? I can’t find.
- A: Don’t buy the flowers.
B: But already bought.
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Answers:
- Where are my glasses? I can’t find them.
- A: Don’t buy the flowers.
B: But I already bought them.
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