before和until(till)
before作为连词引导时间状语从句,表示“在...之前”,通常含有“在时间上前于”之意,如
I'll be back before you have left.
在你离开前我就回来。
如文中所示, before作连词使用时,有时可表示出“才”的含
The meeting was over before he arrived.
会开完了他才到。
此外,有时还可用 before表示出“宁可...也不...”的含义,如:
She's determined to work herself to death before she gives.
她决心宁可累死也不放弃这个工作。
英语中,在以 before引导的时间状语从句中往往只有肯定形式,不用否定形式,因为 before常常可以表示出从句的否定含义。因此当用before来表达“在...没有...之前”的含义时,应注意其用法,如
He ran out of the room before they could stop him.
他们还没来得及阻止他,他已经跑出了屋子。(注意,此句不可表达为:* Before they could not stop him, he ran out of the room)
将 before和 until 同终止性动词( terminative verb)、延续性动
词( durative verb)一起使用时,注意其用法上的不同
before可与终止性动词使用,而 until在与终止性动词一同使用时,则需使用其否定形式,试比较:
I woke up before she came back.
她回来前我就醒了。
I didn't wake up until she came back.
她回来后我才醒。
它们均可同延续性动词的否定形式一同使用,但使用
before时强调“在...之前”的事实;使用 until则强调
“对...之前的情况的改变”,如
They didn't know any French before they came here.
他们来此之前根本不懂法语。(之后懂不懂就不知道了）
They didn't know any French until they came here.
他们来此之后才开始懂点法语。
Over a year passed before the first attempt was made.
然而一年多过去了才有人出来尝试。(之后时间还是不停的走，参考Q1的答案讲解）
The 'Antoinette' floated on the water until Latham was picked up by a ship.
“安特瓦特”号飞机在海上漂浮，后来有船经过，莱瑟姆方才获救。（之后“安特瓦特”号飞机就没在海上漂浮了）
第1例中用 before陈述以前不懂法语这一事实;第2例中
用 until强调改变了以前的情况。(till也是一样，2者可互换，until相当于强调）
Q1. The first attempt _____ over a year later. (a)was not made till (b)was made in (c)was made after (d)was made until
在表述两个紧接着发生的动作时,发生在另一个过去动作之前的动作通常用一般过去式表达即可,尤其在含有已明确表示出时间顺序的连词或介词 before和afer的句子之中,以下句子均来自新概念3:
Looking at his watch, he saw that it was one o'clock, but the bell struck thirteen times before it stopped.
But just before the competition closed, a lorry arrived at the factory with a truly colossal biscuit which weighed 2,400 pounds
She entered the station twenty minutes before the train was due,
Over a year passed before the first attempt was made.
After he was defeated by a boxer called Gentleman Jackson, he was quickly forgotten
另外注意，这些连接词包括after,as soon as等，从句都不用将来时。
until now&so far
理解了until和before，until now和so far就好理解些了，so far有点像before now。
朗文对until now和so far区别做了详解：
Until now is usually used to say that a situation has just change.
Do not use until now when the situation has not changed. Use so far.
so far强调目前的状态一直在持续，而until now表示目前或此前的状态已结束，新的状态已开始。
从时态看，so far和until now通常都是搭配现在完成时态（have done）。但是，until now在特定语境中，可以搭配一般过去时态（因为它本来就是表达过去时间的），如朗文词典的例句：
Until now I had no one to tell things to.
=I now have someone to tell things to.
until now搭配的时态到底是have done、did还是had done。需要看具体语境和时间点。
牛津词典对until now例句的中文翻译也不太合适，如图：  不能很好的表达出现在的状态（现在不独居了）。可以翻译为：此前，我一直是独居的。 答案： Q1. a本题是有关介词“ till/until”的用法。介词“ till/until(直到)”含有延续性时间概念,当与表示短暂时间概念的动词一同使用时,需将该动词构成否定形式,但仍表达肯定含义。本题中的动词“make”即为表达短暂时间概念的动词,因此(a) was not made till为正确选项; |