【英语泛指与特指的转换与活用】

泛指和特指是近年教师招聘考试中经常出现的考点，在英语中广泛使用。“泛指”是指普遍、不确定的人或事物，而“特指”则是指具体、特定的人或事物。在实践中，这两个概念是可以灵活运用且相互转换的。下面分几个方面谈谈：

一、“泛指”与“特指”的多种表达

说起“泛指”，我们马上想起不定冠词(a/an)，其实不带冠词的不可数名词和复数名词都可以表“泛指”， 有些表“不定”概念的限定词(another, some, a few, most, enough, hundreds of, plent

y of等 )也可以充当这个作用。例如：

I want to buy a book/some books. Books are of great use. Air is all around us.

I will stay there for a few days/another few days.

“特指”经常由定冠词(the)或表“特定”概念的限定词(物主代词，指示代词，名词所有格等)来充当。假如将“中国的第二大河流”说成 “China’s the second longest river” 是不妥当的， 因为China’s 和the 在“特指”的概念上是重复的。“那个门破了的教室”既可以译成 “the classroom whose door is broken”也可以说成 “the

“特指”经常由定冠词(the)或表“特定”概念的限定词(物主代词，指示代词，名词所有格等)来充当。假如将“中国的第二大河流”说成 “China’s the second longest river” 是不妥当的， 因为China’s 和the 在“特指”的概念上是重复的。“那个门破了的教室”既可以译成 “the classroom whose door is broken”也可以说成 “the classroom the door of which is broken”，因为 “door” 前应该有个表“特指”的限定词。同样，“with one’s help/ take one’s place” 可能在另一场

在表达“倍数”时，我们常常看到这样一个公式：“倍数 + the + 名词(size/height/ length) + of ”。如果把它改为“倍数 + 表特指的名词/代词”就可以更好理解的下面的句子了：

① The size of the newly broadened square is four times that of the previous one. (that=the size)

② I offer ten times the money that Antonia has borrowed. =I offer ten times what Antonia has borrowed. (what=the money that 定语从句)

③ You can’t imagine that rats eat 40 to 50 times

③ You can’t imagine that rats eat 40 to 50 times their weight.(their weight=the weight of rats)

二、“泛指”与“特指”的转化

“泛指”与“特指”在不同的语境中并非一成不变，它们是可以转换的。

(一)“泛指”转化为“特指”

1.① I spent many happy hours with them.

② This picture reminds me of the many happy hours I spent with them.

2.① I bought a few books in the bookstore.

② The few books I bought in the bookstore a

re written in English .

3. ① I don’t feel like drinking water.

② I don’t feel like drinking the water from this well.

4.① Cotton played an important part in Industrial Revolution.

② The most important thing about cotton in history is the important part that it played in Industrial Revolution.

5.① I have done a little to help you.

② I hope the little that I’ve been able to do has been of some use to you.

以上的②句中的划线部分都是由于有一个定语限定而转化为“

特指”。

另外，在一些限定词的后面只能接泛指的名词，如：a lot of, plenty of, dozens of, hundreds of等。然而，有些却可以增加一个 “of”，便只能后接特指的成分：

后接表“泛指”的名词 后接表“特指”的名词/代词

some (students) some of (the students) a good many (people) a good many of (the people)

most most of (us) a dozen a dozen of (these apples) five hundred five hundred of (them)

(二)“特指”转化为“泛指”

1.When the spaceship travel

ed above, a new-looking earth appeared before us, an earth that we had never seen before. 当宇宙飞船在上空运行时，一个全新的地球出现在我们面前，以往我们都不曾看过。

2.It is a world of wonders, a world where anything can happen.

3.It’s really fun to walk alone with a full moon hanging in the sky.

4.Having been overseas for half a century, he returned and found himself in a brand-new China.

本来“the earth/ the world/ the moon/ China”都是特指的，但是，如果增加一些修饰成分之后，指

不同时期、不同角度看到的或不同形状的“地球、世界、月亮、中国”的话，它们就转化为泛指了。

5.I knew a John Lennon, but not the famous one.

John Lennon是一个著名歌手，当然是特指。句中的a John Lennon= another person whose name happened to be John Lennon, 是泛指。

6.① He, who led the USA through these years, was shot on April 14, 1865 at a theatre in Washington, D.C.

② He who doesn’t reach the Great Wall is not a true man. 不到长城非好汉。

第一个He=Abraham Lincoln，是特指，要

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