句子来自雅思题目,不会错的,想问下为何。
本句,university 指 “大学教育”,等于说 university education。这里,“大学” 不表示 “场合”,而是抽象意义,所以不加冠词。归根到底,go to university 等不需要冠词:凸显 “社会功能或作用与功效属性”。
我从一个句子说起:
Ill never lose heart even if I should fail ten times.
即便失败10次,我也不灰心。
《汉英大词典》
这个词组为什么不说 lose a heart, lose the heart, 或者 lose his heart 呢?
heart本来是可数名词,意为“心;心脏”:Your heart is the organ in your chest that pumps the blood around your body. 在lose heart中,为什么不加任何冠词或者物主代词呢?原来,这就是可数名词heart的抽象使用方法。下面,请仔细体味它的几个抽象使用方法。
If you lose heart, you become sad and depressed and are no longer interested in something. (lose heart:失去信心;灰心,泄气)
If you take heart from something, you are encouraged and made to feel optimistic by it. (take heart from:从…得到激励;因…振作精神)
If something gives you heart, it makes you feel more confident or happy about something. (give sb. heart:鼓励某人;让某人振作起来)
If you know something such as a poem by heart, you have learned it so well that you can remember it without having to read it.(by heart:借用记忆;靠记忆)
通过以上对 heart 的解释,大家发现,在这类短语中 heart 一词已经完全失去了它原有些本义,而被赋予了比喻和抽象的意义:信心;记忆。又如:
Although he failed in this entrance examination, he didn’t lose heart. 这次入学考试他虽名落孙山,但他并不气馁。
倘若 heart 之前用了冠词或者物主代词,那样就是它的具体意义,这个时候句子还能讲得通吗?
除此之外,大家还见过 lose face 这个词组。同理,这里的 face 更不是指具体的“脸”,而是比喻抽象的“面子,尊严”。比如:
If Tom doesn’t keep his promise, he’ll lose face. 假如汤姆不信守诺言,他就会丢面子。
His careless work made him lose face with his teacher. 他工作疏忽使他在老师面前丢脸。
大家常常还碰到go to school / go to the school, in church / in the church, sit at table / sit at the table, in office / in the office等诸这样类的词组(或句子),当然大伙都了解它们有什么区别。语法书在讲冠词的时候,也都举一些类似的例子以示不同。但总是只说现象,不说理由(或只说是习惯使用方法)。
大伙了解,可数名词在单数状况下,用时前面应加冠词,若无冠词,则加其他限定词如 my, his, Toms 等,但在实质语言中,确实存在着很多可数名词用作抽象意义的现象。如:
He goes to school every day except Sunday. 除去星期天他天天都去上学。
He sometimes goes to the school to attend a teacher-parent meeting. 他有时去学校参加父母会。
同样是school,为何前者不加冠词?为何后者加了冠词?通过剖析可知,不加冠词时强调了它的“社会功能”(是同意教育的地方),是抽象定义;加了冠词表示“具体的场合”,是具体定义。又如:
She went to church last Sunday. 她上周日都去做礼拜了。
She went to the church for a visit yesterday. 她昨天去参观了那所教堂。
The man stayed in prison for almost ten years. 那人蹲了接近10年监狱。
The man stayed in the prison for a night. 那人在监狱里过了一夜。
He went to bed very late last night. 他昨晚睡觉非常晚。
He went to the bed to fetch his clothes. 他走向床边取衣服。
The whole family are sitting at table. 全家人正在吃饭。
The whole family sat at the table, chatting. 全家人坐在桌边聊天呢。
Mr. Brown is now out of office due to his old age. 因年龄缘由,布朗先生现不在职了。(退休了)
Mr. Brown walked out of the office to get some hot water. 布朗先生走出办公室去取些热水。
又如:
in office 在职 in the office 在办公室里
in class 在上课 in the class 在班级里
in store 在储备中,快要发生 in the store 在仓库里
live on farm 靠农业为生 live on the farm 居住在农场
leave school 毕业,辍学 leave the school 离校
还有,He was ill and had to lie in bed. 此句lie in bed 不加冠词,意为“卧床不起”,也是强调了bed 的作用属性,是抽象定义,不是指具体的某张床。假如指具体的某张床,则说:The man was lying on the bed for a rest.
交通工具也属这种使用方法,不加冠词表示“交通方法”,强调了交通工具的“作用与功效属性”,比如:He came by bus. 他乘乘公交来这儿。加了冠词表示具体的“汽车”,比如:
He was standing by the bus.
除此之外,容易见到的表达还有 by bike, by car, by bus, by train, by ship, by plane, by boat 等,都不加冠词。