商務(wù)寫(xiě)作指南:什么情況下“to”可以加動(dòng)詞-ing形式(二)
來(lái)源:harwardcommunications
2015-08-14 14:33
I said in the last post that when “to” acts as a preposition it is usually followed by an –ing form or a noun/noun phrase.
上一次我們說(shuō)到,當(dāng)“to”用作動(dòng)詞時(shí),后面經(jīng)常會(huì)跟著動(dòng)詞-ing形式或者名詞/名詞性詞組。
Now we will look at exceptions to this rule.
現(xiàn)在,我們來(lái)看看這個(gè)規(guī)則有哪些例外的情況。
The most important exception relates to the verb “agree”. You may use an infinitive verb after “agree to”. For example:
這其中最重要的一項(xiàng)是關(guān)于動(dòng)詞“agree”的?!癮gree to”后面要跟動(dòng)詞不定式。
EX. I cannot agree to delete Section 3.7.
例句:我不同意刪去第3.7節(jié)。
EX. This provision may cause unnecessary difficulties especially in complex matters where the parties do not agree to extend the prescribed time period.
例句:這項(xiàng)規(guī)定可能會(huì)造成不必要的麻煩,尤其是當(dāng)雙方不同意延長(zhǎng)規(guī)定期限的復(fù)雜情況下。
If you try to use –ing forms in these examples in a document written on Microsoft Word, you’ll find that “deleting” and “extending” are underlined in green. This is because Word’s grammar check knows about this exception.
當(dāng)你在Word里打字時(shí),要是在以上這些例子后面加上了動(dòng)詞的-ing形式,你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)你打的“deleting”和“extending”下面有綠色的波浪號(hào)出現(xiàn)。這是因?yàn)閃ord的語(yǔ)法檢查能查出這些。
“Agree” is not the only verb covered by this exception. Others are “consent”, “entitled” “inclined” and “prone”.
“agree”不是唯一的例外。還有“consent”,“entitled”,“inclined”和“prone”。
Here are some examples:
這里舉出了一些例子:
EX. The duchess has consented to open her London house to the public for two months every summer.
例句:公爵夫人已經(jīng)同意每年夏天開(kāi)放其住所供群眾參觀。
EX. The Company is entitled to request that the authority reassesses the circumstances of the case.
例句:本公司有權(quán)要求當(dāng)局重新評(píng)估案件的情況。
EX. I am inclined to agree with you.
例句:我傾向于你的觀點(diǎn)。
例句:這個(gè)職員很容易哮喘病發(fā)作,所以他不能在塵土飛揚(yáng)的環(huán)境里工作。
More on “agree to”
“agree to”的更多說(shuō)明
However, there is a difference in meaning between “agree to + -ing” and “agree to + infinitive”. Let’s make a comparison:
但是“agree to + -ing” 和“agree to + 不定式”在意思上還是有區(qū)別的。讓我們來(lái)比較一下這個(gè)例子:
I cannot agree to delete Section 3.7.
I cannot agree to deleting Section 3.7.
The first one means I am not going to delete Section 3.7 myself; whereas the second sentence means I don’t want Section 3.7 to be deleted by anybody.
第一句句子意思是我不會(huì)自己去刪掉3.7節(jié),但第二句句子表達(dá)的是我不希望任何人刪掉3.7節(jié)。
If you find it difficult to see the difference in meaning, try replacing the -ing form with a noun phrase:
如果你覺(jué)得要看出其中的差異有點(diǎn)難,那你可以試著用一個(gè)名詞性詞組來(lái)代替動(dòng)詞-ing形式:
EX. I cannot agree to the deletion of Section 3.7. (Deletion by anyone)
例句:我不同意刪掉第3.7節(jié)。(任何人去刪除,我都不會(huì)同意的)