分詞短語 (participial phrase 或 participle phrase), 亦稱分詞子句 (participle clause) 是一個修飾名詞 (尤指主語名詞) 的短語/子句 (由於語法學家對於子句及短語定義不一, 是故出現兩個不同名稱).
分詞短語主要用於簡化從屬子句, 使主語只出現一次, 且省略從屬連詞.
用分詞短語則寫成:
Having finished my homework, I went to play basketball
分詞即是動詞表中第二行及第四行的形態. 現在分詞 (第二行: walking, doing, etc) 於分詞短語中, 主要用於說明主動的行為:
一. 同時或先後發生的動作 (被省略從屬連詞 when, while, after...):
Walking down the road, I saw two men kissing. (同時發生)
= When I was walking down the road, I saw two men kissing.
While doing excercise, John hurt himself (同時發生, 但一動作長, 一動作短)
= While John was doing excercise, he hurt himself.
Turning off the television, Mike went to bed. (先後發生)
= After he'd turned off the television, Mike went to bed.
假如要表達長時間的動作先發生, 則要用 Having + past participle
Having repaired the radio, John took it to the beach. (先後發生, 前者長, 後者短)
= After he'd repaired the radio, John took it to the beach.
Having saved enough money, I bought a new iPod.
二. 表示原因 (被省略從屬連詞 because, so...):
People waited for hours, wanting to vote for the new president.
= People waited for hours, because they want to vote for the new president.
Having heard the terrible news, she decided not to go to Iceland.
=Because she had heard the terrible news, she decided not to go to Iceland.
下回跟大家談談過去分詞短語及常見錯誤.
