all
1.we all, us all和all of us都可以说,you all, they all, them all, it all, all of you, all of them和all of it也都可以说。用在宾格,现在us all, you all, them all和it all比all of us, all of you, all of them和all of it普通。all we和all you从前也可以说,现在不通用。
2.all不可用于两个人或物,如可以说John, Henry, and Robert have all come,却不可说John and Henry have all come,该把all改作both。但A boaster and a liar are all one(说大话的人和说谎话的人是一样的)等句子里的all不可改作both。
3.all day比all the day普通得多。all night比all the night普通得多。all spring(或summer等),all week, all morning等表达方式在美国也通常不用the,在英国以前通常用the,如all the spring,现在不用the也很普通。
4.说“全部”有各种说法。例如:
- all books(一切书),
- all such books(一切这样的书),
- all (of) the books(这些书的全部),
- all (of) these books(这些书的全部),
- all (of) those books(那些书的全部),
- all (of) his books(他的书的全部)。
但不可说all of books或all of such books。
all the books, all these books, all those books, all his books等主要是英国英语,在all后面加上了of主要是美国英语。
5.all有时作“仅有的(东西)”解,如This is all I have和This is all the sugar I have。这两句直译作“这是我所有的一切”和“这是我所有的糖”;就是说“我仅有这个”和“我仅有这些糖”。That's all there is to it的意思是“只有那个,没有其他了”。
6.all+名词有时用作形容词短语,如all anxiety(十分焦虑的)和all smiles(满面笑容的)。all anxiety里的anxiety是抽象名词,all smiles里的smiles是类名词。He is all ear(s)(他细心听着)和He is all eye(s)(他细心看着)里用ears或ear和eyes或eye都合乎习惯。He listened with all his ears(倾听)里的all决不可改作both。all ears和all eyes比all ear和all eye普通。
7.All...is not作“一切…不都是”解。All that glisters is not gold (Shakespeare)是“发亮的东西不一定都是金子。”All men are not honest照字面看来好像说“一切人都是不诚实的”,但实际说“一切人不都是诚实的”就是说“有些人诚实,有些人不诚实”;“一切人都是不诚实的”该说All men are dishonest或No man is honest。同样地,All my friends do not smoke 是“我的朋友并不个个都抽烟”,并不是“我的朋友都不抽烟”;None of my friends smoke才是“我的朋友都不抽烟”。I do not know all of them是“我对于他们并不个个都认识”,并不是“我对于他们一个也不认识”;I know none of them或I do not know any of them才是“我对于他们一个也不认识”。这是习惯用法,该特别注意。
但有时这种句子并不是“并不都…”,却是“即使全部的…也不…”,如All his toys cannot make him happy是“即使他的全部玩具也不能使他快乐”,就是说“他虽然有许多玩具,却并不快乐”。
It did not rain all the month可能有两个意思:“并不全月都下雨”或“全月不下雨”。There was no rain all the month只作“全月不下雨”解。
8.all有时意思不明确,如All the angles of a triangle are 180°是“三角形的三角共有180度”;All the angles of a triangle are less than 180°是“三角形的每一只角小于180度”。这种句子该避免,如改作The sum of the angles of a triangle is 180°和Each (of the) angle(s) of a triangle is less than 180°较好。
9.All that I can say is this里的that是关系代词。在that后面加上了which,便把that改成了指示代词,语法也通,但不很自然,把that改成what便不通了,all what是绝对不可用的。
10.all right(不该写作all-right, allright或alright,参见alright)往往有“固然”的意思。例如:He got to the destination all right, but he was so very tired that he had to give up the idea of climbing the hills.
11.all the time在英国通常指一定的某段时间。例如:I was looking at it all the time. 但在美国没有这种限制,往往用作always解。例如:He is tactful all the time.在美国有时用all of the time。
12.at all主要用在否定句、疑问句和表示条件的从句里。例如:
- I did not go at all.
- Did you go at all?
- If you go at all, you will be interested.
但用在它处也有。如你原来以为你的朋友决不会到某处去,现在你知道他不但去过,而且是常去的,你可以说I am suprised at his going at all,就是说“即使他只去过一次,我也觉得奇怪了”。又如The question is not whether he works much, but whether he works at all。(问题并不是他工作得是否多,而是他是否工作。)
13.I am not at all tired和I am not tired at all都可以说,意思相同。
14.He was all covered with dust只有一个意思。但They were all covered with dust可能有两个意思:“他们全身都是灰尘。”或“他们全都一身灰尘。”下面各句都只有一个意思:
- All were completely(或entirely,或wholly)covered with dust.
- All of them were covered with dust.
- They all were covered with dust.
- They were all of them covered with dust.
15.注意下面各句里的of all...:
- She disappeared on her birthday, of all days. (她不在别的日子失踪而偏偏在她的生日失踪。)
- I met him in a lavatory, of all places. (我不在其他地方碰到他而偏偏在厕所里碰到他。)
- Why did she give the baby a cigarette, of all things? (她为什么不给那婴孩任何其他东西,偏偏给他一支卷烟?)
- You, of all people, have little reason to worry. (别人也许有忧虑的理由,你是没有的。)
- Well, of all things! (唔,万万想不到[不发生其他事而竟然发生这样的事]!)