取录自《英语自学参考系列·句法手册》 第五章  第三节 时间状语从句

英语自学参考系列 句法手册   第五章   英语复合句及并列句

编者  川竹 樑翁

第三节  英语时间状语从句㈣

（续前：4. 时间连词before、after与since）

5. 时间连词 till／until与once

⑴till与until引导的时间状语从句

①till和until这两个词的基本词义是“直到…”，可用作连词或介词，其意义和用法差不多。当其不在句首时，一般可以互换替用；但若用在句首时，通常只用until形式。虽till通常不用于句首，但在口语中却较为常见。

例：Wait till I call you. 等到我叫你。

Please wait until I arrived. 在我到达之前请等我。

I’ll wait till／until they arrive. 我会一直等到他们来。

We’re open till／until 6 o’clock. 我们营业到6点钟。

The exhibition continues until／till 25 July. 展览要持续到7月25日。

Bake until／till the pastry is golden and crisp. 把油酥糕点烤至金黄酥脆。

Until he recovered he was given treatment and cared for. 他一直受到治疗和护理直到痊愈.

Until you told me, I had heard nothing of what happened. 到你告诉我之前，出了什么事我一点也不知道。

 

②till或until引导时间状语从句时，主句若为肯定式，主句谓语动词必须为延续性动词，而且该动词所表动作或状态一直延续到until／till从句所表示的时间范围结束，可译作“(直)到…(时候为止)”【做某事直至某时】。

例：She waited until／till I returned. 她一直等到我回来。

I’ll wait here until／till the rain stops. 我将在这里等着，直到雨停。

Most men worked until／till they’re 65. 大多数男人工作到65岁。

He waited until she was about to leave. 他等着一直到她准备离开。

We all held our breath till the bomb burst. 我们屏住呼吸直到炸弹爆炸。

 

③如果主句谓语动词是延续性动词时，用肯定或否定形式都可以，但表达的意思不同。

比较：I worked until he came back.  我工作到他回来为止。

I didn’t work until he came back. 他回来了我这才开始工作。

They walked till／until it was dark. 他们一直走到天黑。

They didn’t walk till／until it was dark. 直到天黑他们才走。

 

④主句为否定式【即式not…until】——主句谓语动词如是非持续性瞬间动词，则该动词所表动作在until／till从句表示的时间才开始发生。一般先译从句，后译主句，not译成“才”，即“直到…才(开始)…”【直至某时才做某事】。若主句谓语动词是延续性动词，则须根据上下文去理解until／till从句的含义。

例：I did not begin to work till he had gone. 他走之后我才开始工作。

I didn’t manage to do it until you had explained how. 直到你教我以后，我才会做。

She didn’t go to bed till／until myher father came back. 直到她父亲回来她才上床睡觉。

We didn’ discuss the problem until he came back. 我们一直等到他回来后才讨论问题。

His mother didn’t leave until／till he was asleep. 直到他睡着了，他母亲才离开。

You can’t go home until／till you finish your work. 直到你完成你的工作，你才能回家。

Xiao Ming didn’t leave home till／until his father came back. 小明直到他爸爸回来才离开家。

It was not until the meeting was over that he began to teach me English. 直到散会之后他才开始教我英语。

若：He didn’t wait until／till I returned. 他没有等到我回来。

She didn’t sleep until／till I returned. 她直到我回来才睡着。

 

⑤until／till在包括含never、nobody、no、nothing、hardly等否定词的肯定形式句中，一般也译为“直到…才…／没有到…不…”，或用某些其它译词。

例：We’ll never give up until the goal is reached. 不达目的决不罢休。

Nobody can leave until／till the meeting is over. 直到散会才能离开。

No one could do anything about this until Indra was born. 谁也没办法，直到因陀罗降生.

I'll do nothing until I hear from you, at any rate. 无论如何，我在收到你的信以前不采取任何措施.

I could hardly wait until New Year ’'s Day to try them out. 我简直等不到新年来临就迫不急待地跃跃欲试。

 

⑥Not until…若置于句首，主句须要用倒装语序——当Not until位于句首时，其主句需要倒装。其结构为：“Not until +从句【时间词组】+主句助动词+主句主语+谓语动词+...”。

例：Not until next week will the sports meet be held. 直到下周才开运动会。

Not until the teacher came in did the students stop talking. 直到老师进来学生们才停止讲话。

Not until the middle of April did she finally find a companion. 一直到了四月半，她才有了个伴儿。

Not until the early years of the 19th century did man know what heat is. 直到第十九世纪早期人们才知道热是什么。

Not until I began to work did I realize how much time I had wasted.

直到我开始工作，我才认识到了我已蹉跎了几多岁月。

 

⑦It is／was not until+名词词组／主谓结构+that-clause.——这是强调结构句，意表 “直到…才…”。

例：It is not until next week that the sports meet will be held. 直到我结婚的时候，我才有钱买了自己的房子。

It was not until the teacher came in that the students stopped talking. 直到老师进来，学生们才停止了讲话。

It was not until I began to work that I realized how much time I had wasted.

直到我开始工作，我才意识到我浪费了多少时间。

特别提示：关于till／until的其它。

A在肯定句中有时可用before代替till 或until，表达“(直到)…才…”的意思。

例：The ball bounced twice before he could reach it. 球弹了两次他才接到。

We had to wait almost an hour before he condescended to see us. 我们等了几乎一小时他才屈尊大驾来见我们。

Btill或until也常用作介词，其后跟名词或代词。

例：I slept until midnight. 我一直睡到半夜时醒了。

She didn’t arrive until 6 o’clock. 她直到6点才到。
Cuntil when疑问句中，until要放在句首。

例：—Until when are you staying? 你要呆到什么时候？

—Until next Monday. 呆到下周一。

 

⑵巧辨before和until

作为引导时间状语从句连词的before和until，因为都有“在…以前／直到…才”的词义，故使初学者极易混淆它们在这一词义上的用法。那么怎样才能清楚地区分何时能用until，又何时可用before呢？实际上，只要把握住两词使用时本身的含义及主句动词是终止性的，还是延续性的；是用于肯定式，还是否定式这么两大点，就能容易地解决这类问题。现详细阐明如下：

1).在下列情况下，两者可互换用，但含义略有不同。Before重在表示“在…之前”的意思，强调时间先后关系；而until重在表示“直到…才”的意思。

① 主句为肯定式延续性谓语动词，表示主句动作的终止时间；这类动词用work、wait、stay、talk、stick、live等。

例：I worked until he came back. 我工作到他回来为止。

I worked before he came back. 他回来前我都在工作。【工作到他回来而中止】

I will wait until／before he comes to my help. 我会等到他来帮助我。

I shall stay here until／before you come back. 我要留在这里直到你回来。

I’ll stick it out here until／before they are back. 我要在这儿顶下去直到他们回来。

He lived with his parents until／before he graduated from school.

他和他的父母生活在一起直到他从学校毕业。

 

②主句为否定式终止性谓语动词，强调主句动作的起始时间；这类常用动词有open、come、start、stop、arrive、leave等。

例：But do not open it until／before you get back home. 不过到家以前别把它打开。

The children won’t come back until／before it is dark. 孩子们天黑之前都不会回来。

We did not start until／before the sun rose in the east. 直到太阳从东方升起，我们才出发。

The noise of the street didn’t stop until／before it was midnight. 街上的噪音直到半夜才停止。

A message did not arrive in the queue before／until the time-out expired. 在超时过期之前消息没有到达队列。

I didn’t leave the lovely boy until／before his mother came home.

在他妈妈回家来之前，我一直没有离开这个可爱的小男孩。

 

2).在下列情况下，用before不用until。

①主句为肯定式终止性谓语动词，只用before。

例：We arrived there before it atarted to rain.  在我们到达那里之前就开始下雨了。

He almost knocked me down before he saw me. 他几乎快把我撞倒才看见我。

The holiday came to the end befor I knew it.  假期结束之前我就知道了这件事。

He fell asleep before I could take off his clothes. 他睡着了，我才可以脱掉他的衣服。

 

②主句谓语动词强调动作需经若干时间的迟缓性，只用before；常伴有段时间状语或段时间暗示。

例：We had sailed for two days before we saw the land.  我们航行了两天才看到陆地。【伴段时间状语】

The fire lasted about four hours before the firefighters could countrol it. 火灾持续了四个小时才由消防队员控制住。

It was three months before they met again. 三个月后他们又见面了。【作表语的时段为段时间暗示】

It was midnight before my brother came home. 我哥哥到家已是午夜时分了。

It was quite some time before he found the elephant at all. 这是一段时间之前，他在所有发现大象。

We had walked a long way before we found some water.  我们走了很长的路才找到水。【a long way也属段时间暗示】

 

③若需强调从句谓语动作尚未发生就发生了主句谓语的动作，只用before；常译为“来不及…便／尚未…就／不等…就”之类的汉意。

例：He was tackled before he had a chance to shoot. 他还来不及射门即遭阻截。

He was found out before he could carry out his plan. 他的计谋还未实现就被人查获了。

We can leave early in the morning before it gets too hot. 不等天太热，我们便可一大清早就离开。

Charles was at bat only a short time before he struck out. 查尔斯击球不到一会就因三击不中而退场了。

Before he reaches the top, he is already sweating and panting. 他还没有爬到山顶就已经浑身出汗，气喘吁吁了。

The lawbreaker was overpowered before he could reach for his knife. 那个违法分子没来得及伸手拿刀就已被制服了。

 

④要意表“与其…毋宁…／与其说…倒不如…”，不用until而用before，与would或will连用而隐含比较。

例：He will die of hunger before he will steal. 他宁愿饿死也不愿偷窃。

He would fight to death before he surrendered. 他宁愿战斗到死，决不屈服。

He would die before he would betray his country. 他宁愿死也不背叛自己的国家。

I would give up my job before I’d agree to be dismissed. 与其要我同意被解雇，倒不如我自己放弃这工作。

 

⑤在某些特定句型中用before。

a). It was not long before…——“不久／没过多久／不久之后”

例：It was not long before his anger melted. 不久他的火气就消了.

It was not long before tragedy struck again. 没多久，灾难又再次降临。

It was not long before I realized my mistake. 不久我就意识到了我的错误。

It was not long before he came back from abroad. 没过多久他就从国外回来了。

It was not long before the news was widely circulated. 这个消息不久就哄传开了。

It was not long before I tracked down the lost wallet. 不久我就找到了遗失的钱包。

It was not long before everyone came to like him. 不久之后，人人都开始喜欢起他来了。

 

b). It will probably not be long before…——“不久”

例：It will not be long before Father returns. 父亲不久就要回来。

It will not be long before oats come in. 燕麦不久就可以收割了。

It will not be long before we know the truth. 不久真相就会大白。

It will not be long before we meet again. 不久我们就又会见面。

It was not long before they learnt the news. 他们不久就知道了这消息。

 

3).下列情况一般区别使用until。

①主句是持续性谓语动词时，肯定、否定都可以，但意义完全不同。肯定表动作终止，而否定表动作开始。

比较：I worked until／before she left here. 我工作到她离开这里为止。【动作结束的时间】

I didn’t work until she left here. 到她离开这里我这才开始工作。【动作开始的时间】

We discussed the problem until／before he came back. 我们一直讨论到他回来。

We didn’t discuss the problem until he came back. 我们一直等到他回来后才讨论问题。

 

②“not…until”结构中的until，尽管在某些情况下可与before互换使用，但在强调句中一般仍用until。

例：It was not until he came that I left. 直到他来了我才离开。

It was not until he was thirty that he started to paint. 他直到三十岁才开始绘画。

It was not until he told me that I knew it. 直到他告诉了我，我才知道这件事。

It was not until he finished his homework that he went home. 直到做完作业后，他才回了家。

It was not until he went abroad that he know the truth of the fact. 直到他出国以后才了解到事实真相。

 

⑶由once引导的时间状语从句

①从属连词once用来引导时间状语从句，意思是“一旦／一经…，就…”，相当于as soo as。

例：You will like her once you get to know her. 你一旦了解了她，就会喜欢她了。【主句在前】

Your feet will soon warm up once you get indoors. 你一进屋，脚就会很快暖和起来。

Physics is easy to learn once you understand the rules. 一旦你理解了规则，物理就不难学了。

Once he goes, we can clean up. 他一走，我们就能够清理。【once从句在前】

Once you begin, you must continue. 一经开始，你就必须继续下去。

Once the plan is made, we must carry it out. 一旦计划拟定，我们就必须执行。

Once you make a promise, you should fulfil it. 一旦你许了诺，就要履行诺言。

Once you are old it’s downhill all the way. (一旦)人的年纪大了，身体就会每况愈下。

Once you get into a bad habit, you’ll find it hard to get out of it. 一旦染上坏习惯，想改掉就难了。

Once you understand the rules of the game, you will enjoy it. 一旦你了解这个游戏的规则，你就会喜欢它。

Once he makes up his mind to do something, no one can hold him back.  一旦他下定决心要做某事，没人能让他回头。

 

②省略了it was的once从句——若once作“一旦”讲，它引导那从句的主语与主句主语相同，或者其主谓语含“it+be”，这it be常被省略。

例：Once (you) begin, you should go on. 你一旦开了头，就应该继续下去。【主从句主语同】

Once (he) opens his mouth, he never stops. 他一打开话匣子就没个完。

Once (you are) aboard, you will be secure. 一旦上船了，你就安全了。【主从句同“主语+be”】

Once (you are) unemployed, you are done for. 一旦失业，你就完了。

Once (it is) printed, the book will be very popular．一旦付印，这本书一定会流行。【从句含it be】

Once (it was) helped by the teacher, I’ll make rapid progress. 一旦受到老师帮助，我会很快进步。

The reseach is so designed that once (it was) begun nothing can be done to change it

研究工作被如此策划，一旦开始就不能改变。

（未完待续）