2017年成人英语考试备考辅导：垂悬结构

所谓垂悬结构(The Dangling Construction)就是一个句子成分，如分词短语，不定式动词短语等，找不到被修饰的主语或被修饰的对象不合逻辑。垂悬结构是种错误的句法，应该避免。

　　下面是三种常见的垂悬结构及其改正方法：

　　⒈垂悬分词或分词短语，如：

　　① Climbing up the hill， several boars were seen.

　　这句子里的现在分词短语(present participial phrase)修饰主语“several boars”是错的;改正方法有二：

　　(a)确定是逻辑主语，使句子变成“Climbing up the hill， the explorers saw several boars.”

　　(b)把现在分词短语扩大为副词分句(也称状语从句)：“When the explorers climbed up the hill， they saw several boars/ several boars were seen.”

　　⒉垂悬副词短语，如：

　　② After putting a shrimp on the hook， the fish began to bite.

　　这句的副词短语(adverb phrase)和主语“the fish”有什么逻辑关系呢?真正的逻辑主语应该是“the fisherman”或“the angler”才对。改正方法和例①同：

　　(a) After putting a shrimp on the hook， the fisherman found that the fish began to bite.

　　(b) After the fisherman had put a shrimp on the hook， the fish began to bite.

　　⒊垂悬不定式动词短语，如：

　　③ To write well， a lot of practice is needed.

　　④ To be a loyal employee， a sense of belonging is a must.

　　这两个句子的不定式动词短语(infinitive phrases)并不能修饰“practice”和“a sense of belonging”，真正的主语必须是“ 人”，如：

　　(a) To write well， one needs a lot of practice/a person has to practise a lot.

　　(b) To be a loyal employee， he or she must have a sense of belonging.

　　上述三类垂悬结构中，第一类发生的频率最高，必须注意。但是在下列三种情况下，分词短语是对的，它们并非垂悬结构：

　　第一，独立结构(The Absolute Construction，见3月7日《中英合谈》)中的分词短语有自己的主语，所以不是垂悬结构。例如：

　　① Such being the case， we can go home now./……it is not wrong to call it a day.

　　第二，当分词含有介词或连词性质时，它不需要逻辑主语，所以没有垂悬问题存在。例如：

　　② Owing to a lack of funds， the project has to be discontinued.

　　③ Provided that there is sufficient time， everyone can do the job better.

　　第三，当分词短语是用来表示说话者的态度或意见时，也不需要逻辑主语，因此也不存在着垂悬问题。例如：

　　④ Judging from his facial look， the news must have been terrible.

　　⑤ Taken as a whole， there is nothing wrong with the logic behind that idea.