剖析定语从句

在复合句中，修饰某一名词或代词的从句叫做定语从句。如：

1)Do you know the girl who helped you just now?

2)You must do everything that he does.

定语从句所修饰的词叫做先行词，上面两句中的girl和everything就是先行词。定语从句放在先行词的后面。

引导定语从句的词有关系代词that, which, who ( 宾格whom, 所有格whose )和关系副词when, where, why。关系代词或关系副词放在先行词和定语从句之间起联系作用。同时，又作定语从句的一个成份。

一、定语从句可分为限制性定语从句和非限制性定语从句两种。限制性定语从句使所修饰的词代表一个（些）或一类特定的人或物。

1）Those who want to go please sign their names here. 想去的人请在这里签名。

2）There is one point where I'd like your advice. 有一点想征求你的意见。

3）A man who doesn't try to learn from others can't hope to achieve much.. 一个不向别人学习的人是不能指望有多少成就的。

4）There is nothing we can do now. 现在我们没事可做了。

这类从句是不能省略的。省略了剩下的部分就会失去意义不能成立，或意思不清楚，不能说明问题。（ 如上面的句子省略了定语从句，剩下There is one point. A man can't hope to achieve much. 等，会使人莫名其妙，甚至显得非常荒谬。）在译成汉语时，这类从句一般也译成从句。（见上例），非限制性定语从句则不然，它只对所修饰的词作进一步说明，省略之后其他部分仍然可以成立。

1)She is very fond of speaking Chinese, which indeed she speaks well. 她很喜欢讲汉语，她的确讲得很好。

2)Yesterday I met Antonio, who seemed to be very busy. 昨天我遇见安东尼奥，他似乎很忙。

3)She is going to spend her winter holiday in Sanya, where she has some pen pals. 她准备到三亚去度寒假，那儿她有一些笔友。

这类非限制性定语从句通常和句子的其他部分用逗号隔开，译成汉语时，从句常可译成一个并列的句子。（ 见上例 ）

注： 在现代英语中我们常可碰到非限制性定语从句前不加逗号的情况，因此不能单纯以它是否有逗号来判断是不是非限制性定语从句，主要还是从意思上去判断。

二、制性定语从句如果修饰人， 一般用关系代词who，有时也用that（ 作主语时通常用who）。

1）The comrade who visited our class yesterday is our new headmaster.

2)Is she the girl that did the good thing.

如果这个关系代词在句中作宾语，就应当用宾格whom或that，但在大多数情况下可以省略，在口语中可用 who代替 whom

1)She is the woman ( whom) we talked about yesterday.

2)He is a man ( that ) you can depend on.

3)The man ( who/that ) you were talking to is my brother.

但在介词后只能用whom.

This is the man to whom I referred.

在口语中一般把介词放在句子的后面，这时可用that。但通常被省略。

1)Have you met the person about whom he was speaking?

Have you met the person ( that ) he was speaking about?

2)The girl to whom I spoke is my cousin.

The girl ( who/that ) I spoke to is my cousin.

三、限制性定语从句如果修饰“物”，常用关系代词that，也有时用which

1)The train that has just left is for shanghai.

2)It's a question that we have to think about.

3)The pen ( that ) I bought last week is very dear.

当关系代词在从句中用作宾语时，绝大多数情况下都被省略，特别是在口语中（ 尤其是当被修饰的词是all, everything 等词时。）

1)Do you have everything you need?

2)Is there anything I can do for you?

3)All you should do is to press the button.

4)That's the only thing we can do now.

注：下列情况关系代词只能用that，不能用which。

a.当先行词是all, much, little, anything, everything, nothing, none 等不定代词时，（ something 除外 ）如：

1)He has finished all that his teacher told him to.

2)Do you have everything that you want?

b.当先行词被little, few, any, only, all, no 等词修饰时，如：

1) It's the only animal that lives so long.

2) You can't borrow the few books that are kept in the library.

c.当先行词被形容词最高级或序数词修饰时，如：

1）Guilin is the most beautiful place that I have ever visited.

2）China is the first country that invented paper.

d. 当先行词既有人又有物时，如：

1)I still remember the people and the things that he told me.

e. 当先行词在定语从句中作表语时，如：

China isn't the country that used to be.

f. 当先行词用于"There be"结构中时，如：

There is a seat in the corner that is still free.

当主句中出现了which为了避免重复时，如：

Which is the film that you saw last night?

注：下列情况关系代词只能用Which不能用that

a.当关系代词在介词后面作宾语时，如：

The tool with which he is working is called a shovel.

但如果当介词放到从句后面，这时可以用that，但省略的时候较多，如：

The tool ( that ) he is working with is called a shovel.

b.当主句中出现了that， 为了避免重复时，如：

That is the bookshop which sells us the books.

四、限制性定语从句可用来修饰一个表示时间的词，这时通常用关系副词when

1)I never forget the day when I came here.

2)He still remember the time when he joined the army

但在不少情况下可以不用when，特别是在某些句型和某些时间状语中（ 间或用that，引导这个定语从句）

1)Every time ( that ) the telephone rings, he gets nervous.

2)Come any time you like.

3)She made me feel at home the moment I arrived.

注： 在下面句中When 引导的从句也是一种定语从句。

These were photos of Kate when she was a child.

五、限制性定语从句在修饰表示地点的名词时，常需用关系副词where

1)The factory where his father works is in the west of the city.

2)Let's think of a situation where this idiom can be used.

但应注意where是一个副词，在从句中只能充当状语，意思和 there差不多，如果在从句中不是充当状语就不能用它，应当用that 或which 等关系代词。

1）This is a place ( which ) I've long wanted to visit .( which 作visit 的宾语，因此常可省略。)

2）They work in a factory that makes radio parts.( that 在从句中作主语，一般不能省略。)

where有时也可省略。

This is the place ( where ) I was born.

在reason后的定语从句可由关系副词why引导，但通常也可省略。

That is the reason ( why ) I did it.

在way 后也可跟一个定语从句（ 不需要关系代词或关系副词引导）

1)That's the way I solve the problems.

2)That was the way she treated us.

六、非限制性定语从句，在修饰人时用who, whom或whose，在修饰物时用which（ 这时不能用that代替 ）

1)The six men, who were blind, couldn't see the elephant with their eyes.

2)She had eight children, three of whom lived to grow up.

3) The team is headed by a 44-year-old Mongolian, whose wife is a Tibetan.

非限制性定语从句也可由where 或when 引导。

1)In the old days, when my father was a little boy, the city had no industry to speak of.

2)They'll go to his hometown, where they'll meet their grandfather.

七、定语从句一般是修饰名词或代词的（ 见以上各例）， 但有时也可以整个句子（a ），或句子的一部分（b）

a. They turned a deaf ear to our demands, which enraged us all.

b. The activity was postponed, which was exactly what we wanted.

八、定语从句有时也可用as 引导，但多和such 连用。

1)Such people as ( people such as ) you describe are rare now.

2)It was a newspaper of a new type, such as had nerve before existed in the history of the labor movement.

也可在下面这类句子中：

1)He opposed the idea, as could be expected.

2)She was not unconscious, as could be judged from her eyes.

有时可和same 连用（same 前通常加定冠词 the ）

1)I have the same trouble as you ( have ).

2)I feel just the same as you do.

九、定语从句的转化

含有定语从句的句子转换为并列句。

She has a brother, who works in New York.

She has a brother and he works in New York.

The girl is Lucy, whose pronunciation is the best in our class.

The girl is Lucy and girl pronunciation is the best in our class.

定语从句和它的先行词转换为what引导的从句。

He did all he could to help me.

He did what he could to help me.

I take back the word I said.

I take back what I said.

定语从句转换为形容词（ 短语 ）作后置定语。

Do you have anything that is important to tell us.

Do you have anything important to tell us.

He received several baskets that were full of flowers.

He received several baskets full of flowers.

定语从句转换为现在分词作后置定语

The boy who is crying over there is my bother.

The boy crying over there is my brother.

The meeting that is being held now is of great importance.

The meeting being held now is of great importance.

定语从句转换为过去分词作后置定语。

He is reading a book that was written by Hawking.

He is reading a book written by Hawking.

Most of the people who had been invited to the party were writers.

Most of the people invited to the party were writers.

定语从句转换为不定式短作后置定语。

The bridge that is to be built here will be made of steel.

The bridge to be build here will be made of steel.

He is always the first person that comes to school.

He is always the first person to come to school.

定语从句转换为介词短语作后置定语语。

I don't like the book that is on the desk..

I don't like the book on the desk.

The girl that is dressed in red is her daughter.

The girl in red is her daughter.

定语从句是英语语法的一个重要项目，它频繁出现在各类试题中，同时也是一种比较复杂的从句， 要掌握好定语从句应注意以下几点：

应辨明该复合句中是否真含有定语从句。

定语从句是限制性的还是非限制性的。

先行词是人还是物。

关系词在句中充当什么成分。

从句中不能有与关系词充当的成份重复的词语。