文化講座
The Phantom Phone Call
皆さん、こんにちは!
今月は「文の種類」を取り上げます。文をその構造で分類します。Garyのパッセージ「The Phantom Phone Call」を楽しみながら、文の種類を確認しましょう。
やさしい英文法講座の第1回「文の骨格」で「S+V」が文の骨格をなす大切な存在であることを学びました。文を構造によって分類する時も、この「S+V」はとても大切な存在です。英文は構造上、3つの種類に分けられます。
即ち、「主部+述部」が1つだけ含まれる文が「単文」、2つ以上の「主部+述部」が接続詞で結ばれているものが、重文と複文です。重文と複文は、「主部+述部」を結ぶ接続詞の種類によって分けられます。
「主部+述部」って何?と思いましたか。ここから説明しましょう。
主部:文の中で「~は、~が」にあたる部分で、中心になる主語とその修飾語で構成されます。
(例)The book on the desk is mine.
the book on the desk が主部で、その中心となる語bookが主語です。
述部:主語について「~である、~する」などのように述べる部分です。
(例)The book on the desk is mine.
is mine が述部で、その中心になるisが述語動詞です。
では、単文、複文、重文を例を挙げながら説明しましょう。
種類 | 例文 | |
単文 | 「主部+述部」が1組だけで構成される文 | The actress on the stage won Academy Award this year. 主部:The actress on the stage 述部:won Academy Award this year. |
重文 | 「主部+述部」が複数組、等位接続詞(and, but, or, so, for, nor など)で結ばれる文 | My sister likes cooking and her husband loves eating. 主部①:my sister 述部①:likes cooking 主部②:her husband 述部②:loves eating |
複文 | 「主部+述部」が複数組、従位接続詞(that, when, while, because, as , though, if, unless, before, after, till, until, since.....など ) で結ばれる文 | The woman with black hair called her mother when she arrived at the airport. 主部①:the woman with black hair 述部①:called her mother 主部②:she 述部②:arrived at the airport I know that he is kind. 主部①:I 述部①:know 主部②:he 述部②:is kind |
それでは、Garyのパッセージ「The Phantom Phone Call」を読みましょう。どんな文が用いられているでしょうか。単文の代表一文を赤で、重文の代表一文を青で、そして複文の代表一文を緑で示してあります。
The Phantom Phone Call
A watched pot never boils. This is an old English saying. In our modern times the same might be said about cell phones that don't ring. But what about phones that we think are ringing or vibrating but aren't? My having experienced this on an almost daily basis has made me think I'm going crazy. Believing this is not a sign you are going crazy. It really means that your brain is healthy. In one study done in England it was found that 80% of people reported feeling false cell phones vibrations. So what is happening? Is this some strange new mental illness? No. Scientists say feeling something like this is a normal part of brain functioning. Our brains are systems designed to read the signals coming from our bodies. The brain tries to read all the signals and match them with the required action, to check your phone or not. In this case, your phone is either vibrating or not and your brain has to judge which and take action. Sometimes this is more difficult if there are a lot of signals. For example, it is easy to respond when a person calls your name, right? If you are in a noisy room it is more difficult. With cell phones mistakes happen more often because there are a lot of signals coming from your body. What should you do? Scientist say you need to make it easier for your brain to decide. Set your phone to a stronger vibration setting. So don't worry. You aren't going crazy and your phone isn't broken. (263 words)
いかがでしたか? 複文が圧倒的に多いですね。
では、また来月お会いしましょう! 来月は「仮定法」を取り上げます。