What are You Looking “At”? 👀 (介詞組#2)


上一期的通訊中,我們回顧了介詞組的結構 – 它們是由一個介詞(例如 「in」 或 「on」)和一個名詞組(如 「holiday」)一起組成的。

我們還複習了介詞組在句子中所發揮的修飾語功能 – 即扮演「形容詞」的功能,修飾名詞;或者扮演「副詞」的功能,修飾動詞或動詞衍生字形。

我們更探討了這些詞組發揮的修飾作用的不同「類別」,具體如下:

(1) 獨立地扮演「基本」介詞組修飾功能 ,即與名詞組表達某「關係性」含義
例如:I was reading on my bed. 我在床上看書。

(2) 獨立地作為固定的表達方式來表達特定意思
例如:I was on duty. 我在值班。

(3) 作為固定修飾語完成特定動詞的意思
例如:I relied on her. 我依賴她。

(4) 作為固定修飾語來改變特定動詞的意思
例如:I put on the jacket. 我穿上了外套。(「put」原本是「放」的意思)

這次,我想回到結構的層面,討論一個我經常看到學生在使用介詞組時所犯的錯誤,特別是當介詞組中的名詞組,因為必要的詞序變動而被「抽離」原本位置的時候。

例如:

What are you looking? ❌
你在看什麼?

What are you looking at? ✔️
你在看什麼?


以上就是這種結構錯誤的典型例子了。想要正確表達「你在看什麼?」,我們是不能省略這個問題句子中的介詞 「at」的。

為什麼呢?讓我們先「退一步」分析一下這個句子的結構吧。

英文中,以動詞「look」來表達「看某東西」,需要由「at」的特定介詞組來完整其意思。

根據我之前提到的介詞組的功能類別,它屬於第三類,即用以完成特定動詞的意思。

現在我們來建立一個正常詞序的句子:


You are looking at the menu.
你在看菜單。


介詞組 「at the menu」(「at」+ 名詞組 「the menu」)完成了動詞 「look」的意思,表達出「看菜單」。要用英文表達這意思,我們要拿這個「at」 的介詞組來擴充動詞 「look」。

問題多數出現在,當學生要組成介詞組中的名詞組因為結構需求被移出原來位置的句子的時候,例如組成疑問句的時候。

大家應該知道,一個獨立疑問句中的限定動詞會被移動到主語前面(如有輔助動詞,便是移粵輔;如果沒有,須先額外添加輔助動詞「do」再移動),例如:


You are looking at the menu

Are you looking at the menu? 你在看菜單嗎?


因為限定動詞 「are looking」 中有輔助動詞 「are」, 「are 」便會移到主語 「you」之前,才可使原句變為獨立疑問句。

這種疑問句是所謂的「是/非」問題。

但當然,我們也能使用問題字來組成「開放式」疑問句,即用問題字替代我們想「提問」的部分,再將它移到句首。

那很多學生不明白的就是,我們「提問」的部分也可以是介詞組中的名詞組。

現在先試用問題字 「what」(是名詞問題字)取代例句的介詞組 「at the menu」 中的名詞組 「the menu」:


Are you looking at the menu?

Are you looking at WHAT?


我們已經把問題字 「what」放在了名詞組 「the menu」的位置上,現在可以再把問題字移至句子開頭:


WHAT are you looking at?
你在看什麼?


只要這樣一步步地建立疑問句,我們便會理解為何介詞 「at」 會出現在句子的末端。

這句子中,有一個特定的介詞組 「at the menu」完成了動詞 「look」的意思,表達「看菜單」的意思。要表達這意思,是不能沒有這個介詞組的。

如果我們想組織一個疑問句來表達「看什麼」,也需要一個「at」介詞組來完成動詞 「look」 。

我們將問題字「what」 代入介詞組中組成 「at what」,然後再把問題字移到句首,便成為一個獨立的疑問句。

我們可以按以下步驟思考:


You are looking at the menu.

Are you looking at the menu?

Are you looking at WHAT?

WHAT are you looking at?


經常有學生問我:什麼情況下應該在問句的結尾「加入」一個像 「at」 這樣的介詞?

答案是,我們從不會在問句中「加入」任何介詞。

大家從上述例子也看到了,介詞組 「at the menu」 本來就存在於句子的結構中,以完成動詞 「look」去表達「看某東西」的意思。

即使我們要組織問題句去提問關於介詞組中的名詞,也只會用問題名詞(例如 「what」)來替代該名詞組。

而當我們將 「what」移到句子開頭以完成疑問句時,我們其實是把它從介詞組 「at what」 中「抽出」,所以會把介詞 「at」 留在了句子末端。

重點是「at」不會消失,就算其後的名詞變成了問題字並被移至句首,它仍然是句子的一部分 :


Are you looking at WHAT?

WHAT are you looking at? ✔️

What are you looking ^? ❌


日後,當你要組成獨立疑問句,而問題字又是介詞組當中的名詞組,記得不要漏掉句尾的介詞。

再給大家舉兩個例子:

(1) 動詞 「wait」 需要連接 「for X」 ,完成「等某東西」的意思:

He is waiting for his car. 他在等他的車
Is he waiting for his car?
Is he waiting for what?
WHAT is he waiting for? 他在等什麼?

(2) 動詞 「look」需要連接「after X」,完成「照顧某東西 / 人」的意思:


She looks after her grandma. 她照顧她的嫲嫲。
Does she look after her grandma?
Does she look after WHO/WHOM?

WHO/WHOM** does she look after? 她照顧誰?

下次,我們會探討更多需要從介詞組中「抽出」名詞組,只留下介詞獨立地在後面的情況。



小練習:

用問題字代替介詞組中的名詞組,並正確地組織一個疑問句。

  1. They started with this task.
    (b) She is looking forward to her holiday.


答案:

(a)What did they start with? (或者:Which task did they start with?)
(b)What is she looking forward to?


備註:

*

請注意,另一種對介詞組中的名詞組建立疑問句的方法,是將整個介詞組(連同其中的問題字)移到問句的開頭,例如:

At what are you looking?
For what is he waiting?

但相較於只將問題字移到句子開頭及把介詞留後,這種做法在大多數情況下都非常不自然

At what are you looking?(不自然)
What are you looking at?(自然)

另外,如果介詞組屬於我們的「類別」中的第四類,即用於改變動詞的意思時,基本上我們並不會把整個介詞組移至句首,因為該介詞組要出現在動詞後面才「有意思」。

例如,「look」在連接 「after X」時,會表達出「照顧」的特別意思:

After whom does she look?(極不自然)
Whom/who does she look after?(自然)

**
請參閱我之前關於 「whom」字形的newsletter。

「Whom」文法上屬於問題字 「who」 的「非主語」字形,也就是說,上述「whom does she look after」這例子中,理應是要採用 「after whom」 和 「whom...after?」的。

但我之前也解釋過,現代英文中,這個「whom」字形慢慢消失,導致在這樣的句子中,使用「正確」的字形「whom」 反而比使用 「who」 顯得更不自然


___________________________

What are You Looking “At”? 👀

(Prepositional Phrases #2)


In the last newsletter, we reviewed the structure of prepositional phrases – they are phrases consisting of a word called a preposition, like “in” or “on,” and a noun phrase, like “on holiday.”


We also reviewed the point that prepositional phrases serve the function of modifier phrases in a clause or sentence – that is, they are either modifying nouns, serving an “adjectival” function, or they are modifying the actions of verbs, serving an “adverbial” function.


We even looked at the “categories” of modifier functions that these phrases can serve – namely:


(1) Expressing “basic” relational meanings with a noun phrase on their own


e.g. I was reading on my bed. 我在床上看書


(2) Expressing fixed meanings as fixed expressions


e.g. I was on duty. 我在值班


(3) Completing the meaning of a specific verb as a fixed modifier


e.g. I relied on her. 我依賴她


(4) Altering the meaning of a specific as a fixed modifier


e.g. I put on the jacket. 我穿上了外套


This time, I want to return to a structural point and talk about a mistake that I often see students make when they form sentences with prepositional phrases – but with the noun phrase in the prepositional phrase “taken out” from its original position due to necessary word movement.


For example:


What are you looking? ❌ 

你在看什麼?


What are you looking at? ✔️

你在看什麼?


The above is a typical example of this type of structural mistake. In order to express the meaning of “你在看什麼?” correctly, we cannot leave out the preposition “at.”


Why is that? Let’s step back and think about the structure of the sentence. 


The English way of expressing “看某東西” consists of the verb “look” – this part does not pose a problem for most students – completed by a specific prepositional phrase with “at.”


That is, if we “categorize” this prepositional phrase’s function according to my categories from last time, it falls under number 3, i.e. completing the meaning of a specific verb.


Now, let’s form a sentence with normal word order with this expression:


You are looking at the menu.

你在看菜單


The prepositional phrase “at the menu” (“at” + the noun phrase “the menu”) completes the meaning of “look” to express “看菜單.” In order to express this meaning in English, we need to have this prepositional phrase with “at” to complete the verb “look.”


The point of confusion arises for many students when they need to form sentences in which movement of the noun phrase out of the prepositional phrase is structurally necessary – like when we need to form a question about that noun phrase.


In case you have forgotten, a sentence that independently serves as a question involves word movement of the finite verb (the auxiliary verb within it, if there is one, or the added auxiliary “do” if there isn’t) to the front of the subject, like:


You are looking at the menu 


Are you looking at the menu? 你在看菜單嗎?


Because there is an auxiliary verb “are” within the finite verb “are looking,” this “are” would move to the front of the subject “you” to turn the original sentence into an independent question.


A question like this is a so-called “yes/no” question.


However, we can of course also form “open” questions by using “question words” to replace the parts that we want to “ask about,” and then moving this question word to the front.


The part we “ask about” and replace with a question word can be the noun phrase in a prepositional phrase as well. Let’s first try to replace the noun phrase “the menu” in our example with the question word “what” (also a noun) within the prepositional phrase “at the menu”: 


Are you looking at the menu


Are you looking at WHAT?


We have put the question word “what” in the place of the noun phrase “the menu.” Now, we can complete the necessary movement and move the question word to the front of the sentence:


WHAT are you looking at

你在看甚麼?


When we form the question step by step like this, we can see why the preposition “at” is “hanging” at the end of the sentence.


In this sentence, there is a specific prepositional phrase “at the menu” completing the meaning of the verb “look.” We cannot express the meaning of “看菜單" without this prepositional phrase.


If we want to form a question to ask “看甚麼,” we still need a prepositional phrase “at __” to complete the verb “look” to express this meaning.


The only difference is that we put a question word noun, “what,” into the prepositional phrase, making it “at what.” Then, we move the question word to the front of the sentence to complete this independent question formation.


You can think about this way, in these steps: 


You are looking at the menu


Are you looking at the menu?


Are you looking at WHAT?


WHAT are you looking at


Students often ask me questions like – when do we need to “add” a preposition like “at” to the end of a question like this?


The answer is that we never “add” any preposition to a question.


As we can see from this example, the prepositional phrase “at ___” exists originally in the structure of this sentence to complete the verb “look” to express “看某東西.” 


Even if we were to form a question asking about the noun phrase inside the prepositional phrase, we would only replace the noun phrase with a question word noun like “what.”


Then, when we move the “what” to the front to complete the question formation, we are “taking it out” from the prepositional phrase “at what” – leaving the preposition “at” behind.


The point is the preposition “at” doesn’t disappear because it is still part of the sentence – even when the noun after it, in becoming a question word, is taken out and moved to the front:


Are you looking at WHAT?


WHAT are you looking at? ✔️


What are you looking ^? ❌


So, next time you need to form an independent question in which the question word is the noun phrase inside a prepositional phrase, make sure you don’t leave out the preposition at the end.*


Here are two more examples:


(1)  The verb “wait” completed by “for X” expresses “等某東西”:


He is waiting for his car. 他在等他的車


Is he waiting for his car?


Is he waiting for what


WHAT is he waiting for?  他在等什麼?


(2) The verb “look” completed by “after X” expresses "照顧某東西/人": 


She looks after her grandma. 她照顧她的嫲嫲


Does she look after her grandma


Does she look after WHO/WHOM?


WHO/WHOM** does she look after? 她照顧誰?


Next time, we will look at a few more scenarios in which we would need to “take out” the noun phrase from a prepositional phrase, leaving a preposition seemingly “hanging” by itself.


_________________


Mini Exercise: 


Replace the noun phrase inside the prepositional phrase with a question word.

Then, form a question correctly. 


  1. They started with this task


  1. She is looking forward to her holiday


__________________


Answers: 


  1. What did they start with? (or: Which task did they start with?)

  2. What is she looking forward to


__________________


Notes:


*

Note that another way of forming questions about the noun phrase inside a prepositional phrase is to move the entire prepositional phrase – together with the question word inside of it – to the front of the question, for example:


At what are you looking?

For what is he waiting? 


But this is much more unnatural in most circumstances than just moving the question word to the front and leaving the preposition “hanging” at the end:


At what are you looking? (unnatural)

What are you looking at? (natural) 


Also, when the prepositional phrase serves function 4 within our “categories,” that is, it alters the meaning of the verb, then we would basically never move the whole prepositional phrase to the front, because the prepositional phrase only “makes sense” after the verb.


For example, “look” expresses the meaning of 照顧 when completed by “after X”:  


After whom does she look? (extremely unnatural)

Whom/who does she look after? (natural)



**

Please see my previous newsletter on the form “whom.” “Whom” is technically the non-subject form of the question word “who,” which means that, in this example, it should be used in “after whom” and “whom…after?”, but as I have explained before, this form is used inconsistently by native speakers in modern English and is slowly disappearing, so much so that, in a sentence like this, it would be more unnatural to use the “correct” form “whom” than the form “who.”


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