作者:廖冰舒 新航道武汉学校留学预备课程讲师,中南财经政法大学外国语言学及应用语言学硕士。语言基本功扎实,英语专业八级,对待学生认真负责。
留学预备课程阶段的学生们对于“现在完成时”的理解和运用通常陷入一个怪圈:规则背得滚瓜烂熟、练习做得正确无误,却极少在口语中自主地展开应用。说起现在完成时,学生们都能迅速地应答出它的结构和含义:表示“从过去某个不确定时间开始,到现在已经完成,且对现在有影响,结构是主语+ have\has+过去分词”。而真正在口语练习时,现在完成时的实操性不强,学生们习惯了描述“现在”的动作时用一般现在时、“过去”的动作用一般过去时,丝毫找不到现在完成时的用武之地。
新航道公开课 免费预约试听 ↓↓↓
留学预备听说课程三级第七单元Speaking部分讲解了现在完成时的用法:“Use the present perfect tense to talk about an event at an unspecified past time. The exact time is unknown or unimportant.”(Unit 7 page 73)本单元第二篇听力Phobia中有这样一段节选,我们来从地道英文中体会一下现在完成时的用法:
Host: Oh! I’ve always hated spiders.
Dr.: You do? Does this impair your day-to-day activities?
Host: Uh, well, I saw a spider in my closet and haven’t opened it for two weeks.
下划线部分便是现在完成时的结构。让我们走进host的内心活动,感受一下他使用现在完成时想表明什么:我一直都讨厌蜘蛛…我两个礼拜都没打开过出现过蜘蛛的壁橱!细细揣测,不难得出现在完成时传达的动作或状态的“持续性”和说话者对“动作对现在的影响”而非动作本身的强调。
同理,我们“在某处学习”,“梦想做某种工作”,“某人的某种性格特征”……是否也具有持续性和对现在的影响?那么我们是否也能使用现在完成时及其变形结构现在完成进行时,对我们的句式进行升级呢?
现在完成时:
基本结构:主语+ have + done
概念:从过去某个不确定时间开始,到现在已经完成。
标志性时间词:since + 具体时间点/过去的动作/段时间+ ago, for +一段时间
现在完成进行时
基本结构:主语 + have been + v.-ing
概念:从过去某个不确定时间开始,到现在已经完成,有可能继续下去。
标志性时间词:so far, up till now, all night, all day, the whole day, since + 具体时间点/过去的动作/段时间 + ago, for + 段时间
首先,我们来看看面对日常问句,可以如何摆脱人人都会的“无营养”的基础结构,用“现在完成”来回答:
常规问题:
1) Are you a student or do you work?
基础回答:I'm a student. I study in … School.
升级句式:I'm a student. I have been studying in … school for two and a half years. (以前是这个学校的学生,现在依旧是。)
2) Did you like science classes when you were young?
基础回答:Yes. When I was young, I liked science classes very much. My science teacher was very funny.
升级句式:Yes, I've been really keen on science since I had my first science class at the age of seven. I've learned a lot about it since then. (小时候喜欢,到现在一直喜欢)
3) What are the most popular subjects in China?
基础回答:I think Chinese and Math are the most popular subjects in our country. They're very interesting.
升级句式:As far as I know, English has been one of the most popular subjects in our country for at least two decades. I mean, since the 1990s, the government has tried to promote the language levels of the public as the country is opening up to the world. (英语一直很受欢迎。从90年代到现在,中国政府持续推动公民语言水平的提升。)
除了日常问句,留学预备课程中的口语话题仍然可以通过将将一般过去时和一般现在时替换成现在完成时,甚至拔高一点,用过去完成时(had done)、过去完成进行时(had been doing)来增强语言表达的准确性和语法的多样化:
用have / has been dreaming of doing代替want to do
用sb have / has been considered to be adj.代替 sb. is adj.
用sb. had been asking for sth. before ...代替 sb. wanted sth. when ...
在积累了以上句式后,我们试试针对出现在留学预备听说课程中的不同话题,用多种“完成时”的结构展开表达:
1) 地点:Describe a city you would like to live in. (三级Unit 3)
基础回答:I wanted to travel to Philippines when I saw the beautiful pictures.
升级句式:I've been dreaming of visiting Philippines since I first learned about it from a magazine called National Geography.
2) 人物①:Describe a person who is a good parent. (二级Unit 1)
基础回答:My father is reliable and amiable. We can always rely on him.
升级句式:My father has long been considered to be an amiable and reliable person, who we can always rely on.
人物②:Describe a successful person you admire. (三级Unit 5)
基础回答:I'd like to talk about my tutor. She is working in xxx university and she's an expert.
升级句式:I'd like to talk about my tutor / a popular language teacher, Ever, who has been working in xxx university for 3 decades and has become an expert in the field.
3) 物品①: Describe a childhood toy of you. (一级Unit 3)
基础回答:I wanted to have a Barbie doll at that time.
升级句式:I'd been dreaming of having a Barbie doll since I first saw it in a boutique.
物品②:Describe a perfect job for you. (二级Unit 10)
基础回答:I want to become a dentist.
升级句式:I'd been dreaming of becoming a dentist since childhood.
满满的干货句式后,你心里的“have done”是否有了灵魂?是否有了百变灵活的姿态?在表达持续性和强调影响时,只要对一般现在时和一般过去时稍加变形,留预阶段的学生也能轻松巧用现在完成时、现在完成进行时、过去完成时、过去完成进行时,在增强表达准确性的同时,提升了语法的多样化。大胆用起来,赋予“死记硬背”的语法生命力吧!
新航道公开课 免费预约试听 ↓↓↓
英语高能高分·就上新航道 >>点击在线咨询<<