“make”用法

词组 make
释义

■ make

1) make 往往同后面离开一段距离的另一些单词遥相呼应,当中隔着 make 的宾语。这些后面的单词通常是宾语的补足语,可以是形容词,也可以是名词。Make + 宾语 + 宾补语,意思是使得宾语成为或变成宾语补足语的那样。由于宾语有时候可能很长甚至有复杂的句法结构,make 与宾补语之间的联系,常常容易模糊起来,给理解造成困难。

  • Since then, I have worked on making my dream that computers can understand us better and work more simply a reality. (Bill Gates)从那时候起,我就致力于实现我的梦想,要看到电脑能更好地理解我们、工作得更简单方便(making 与 a reality 遥相呼应,宾语 my dream 有很长的定语从句,插在中间,容易扰乱视线)。
  • Vice President Dick Cheney said the press had “made the job of defending against further terrorist attacks more difficult.”(Time, July 10, 2006, p.6)迪克·切尼副总统说,新闻界“已经使得防御今后恐怖袭击的工作更为困难”(made 与 more difficult 遥相呼应,宾语 the job 也有较长的后置定语,不能把 made the job 理解为“做工作”)。
  • For many centuries the dominance of religious beliefs made free scientific inquiries into the origins of people and their institutions difficult. (New Zealand Workers Party)多少个世纪以来,宗教信仰的统治地位,使得对人及其制度的科学探讨难以进行。
  • The US has not persuaded its regional partners that it is serious about negotiations, making efforts to secure their approval for a significantly tougher position difficult if not impossible. (Council on Foreign Relations. The Daily Gazette, Schenectady, New York, May 9, 2003, A2)美国并没有能够说服它的地区盟友们相信它对进行谈判是认真的,因而难以甚至无法进行努力争取他们赞同采取大为强硬的立场(注意不要把 making efforts 看成是“做出努力”,必须连同最后的宾补语 difficult 和 impossible 合在一起来理解)。
  • Aquarium officials did not make the report from the American Zoo and Aquariums Association public. (The Daily Gazette, Schenectady, New York, Aug. 19, 2003, A5)水族馆的人员并没有把美国动物园与水族馆联合会的报告公之于众。
  • While price is a factor for many, the switch to wireless is often a matter of convenience. Fogel in Chicago has moved four times in the past four years. The hassle of changing his phone numbers and paying installation fees made his decision to drop the ground line a little easier. (The Daily Gazette, Schenectady, New York, Aug. 5, 2003, A5)固然价格对于许多人来说是个因素,但是从有线电话转为无线电话往往是为了方便。芝加哥的福杰尔过去四年中搬了四次家。变换电话号码的麻烦,加上又要付安装费,使得他更为容易决定不要固定电话线了。
  • I will continue to press the Congress to make these tax cuts, including the end of the death tax, permanent. (George W. Bush, Jan. 7, 2003)我将继续敦促国会将这些减税措施包括取消遗产税的措施永久化。

2) make somebody do something 是“使某人做某事”。注意 do something 没有 to。

  • The heat made us sweat.我们热得出汗。
  • Don't make me laugh.别逗我笑了。
  • You've made me forget what I was going to say.你让我忘掉了刚才要说的什么。

但是如果 make 转换为被动语态,后面的动词不定式就要有 to。

  • She was made to apologize.她被迫道了歉。

但是,中文的“使”出现率很高,不能一律“对号入座”用英文的 make 来表示。这是因为英文有许多动词或动词词组本身就包含了“使”的意思。中国人学英文,要善于运用这一类的动词或词组。

  • The picture reminded me of my early childhood. (*The picture made me remember my early childhood.)那幅画使我回想起我早年的儿童时代(remind... of... 就是“使”回忆)。
  • A knock at the door brought him to his feet. (*A knock on the door made him stand up.)一下敲门声,使得他站了起来。

3) make X of Y,不要误以为 X of Y 是“Y 的 X”。其实意思是:

a) “把 Y 变为 X”。

  • make a friend of an enemy化敌为友
  • We want to make an engineer of our son.我们想让儿子成为工程师。
  • Don't make a habit of it.别养成这样的习惯。
  • They have made no secret of a desire for independence.他们并不讳言具有独立的愿望。
  • The owner had made a mess of the house.主人把房子弄得一塌糊涂。

有时候 made X of Y 的 Y 可以转换成为被动句的主语。

  • The house had been made a mess of.房子被弄得一塌糊涂。

X 也可以转换成为被动句的主语,但是相比之下,这种用法较少。

  • A mess had been made of the house.房子被弄得乱七八糟。

b) “把 Y 权作 X”。

  • They want to make an example of him by keeping him in prison under very difficult conditions.他们把他监禁在条件十分恶劣的监狱中,以此惩一儆百。
  • It's a long way to drive so I thought I'd make a virtue of necessity and stop off at some interesting places along the way.有一大段路要开车,于是我就想,我可以顺水推舟,沿路开到某些有意思的地方就停一下。

c) to make X of + -ing 也不要误以为 X of + -ing 是“-ing 的 X”,其实意思是“使得 -ing 成为 X”。

  • He has made a career of defending poor people.为穷人辩护,成了他的专业。

也就是说,of + -ing 不是 career 的定语,而是 make 的状语,代表“原料”。

d) 值得注意的是:Y 如果是一个定指的名词成分,也可以去掉 of 而移到 X 前面,如:Don't make a habit of it. 可以改为 Don't make it a habit. 同样,We want to make an engineer of our son 可以改为 We want to make our son an engineer. 但是如果两者都是不定指的,通常只能保持 of 以及两者的次序:to make a friend of an enemy (*to make an enemy a friend) (化敌为友)。

e) 如果 X 是个不定代词、否定代词或疑问代词,这个结构的意思就不是“变 Y 为 X”,而是“对 Y 有某种认识或观感”。

  • I could make nothing of the message.对这个信息,我莫名其妙。
  • Make of that what you will.你爱怎样理解就怎样理解吧。
  • What did you make of him?你看他这个人怎么样?
  • I don't know what to make of it.我对这件事情无法理解。
  • Sherlock Holmes might have made something of these clues.假如是福尔摩斯,就能从这些线索看出一些问题来。

f) to make X of Y 还有一个意义,就是“从 Y 中得到 X 好处”或是“拿 Y 来做 X 文章”。

  • Make the most of you time.充分利用你的时间。
  • Mary realized they were making fun of her.玛丽发觉他们在取笑她。
  • They made much of her beauty.他们盛赞她的美丽。

这样的用法,常常可以把 Y 转换成为被动句的主语。

  • The time was made the most of.时间被充分利用了。
  • Mary realized she was made fun of.玛丽意识到她被取笑了。
  • Her beauty was made much of.她的美被大大地利用了。
目录

 

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