英语中的言不由衷
当我们判定一个句子是肯定还是否定，我们多会首先从形式上加以裁判。在汉语里有“不”“非”等，在英语里有“no”“not”等来表示否定，而用“是”“yes”来表示肯定。
句中使用了表示否定意义的词的句子为否定句，反之则为肯定句。在绝大多数时候，句子的形式及其传达的意义是统一的。然而，无论中文还是英文，都会出现由于表达的习惯，语气的不同以及修辞等目的，用否定句式表达肯定含义，用肯定形式表达否定含义的言不由衷的情况。笔者试着做了一个并不全面的归纳，以期抛砖引玉。
在英语中，时常为了达到某种交际的目的而采取一种以否定句式来表达肯定含义的修辞方法，以加强语气或使语气更加委婉含蓄。我们常使用一些特殊的手段来达此目的。第一，词汇和短语手段。cannot/couldn`t或can/could+否定词(not,never,hardly,scarcely,etc) eg: I can`t wait to see him.(=I`m excited to see him.) 。否定词(no,not,little,nothing,none,nobody,etc) 与but,beyond,except,etc)连用eg: Nobody but Peter can do it well.(=Only Peter can do it well.)。第二，使用一些特殊的句式，否定形式的虚拟语气句eg: If he had not study hard, he could not go to college now.(Thanks to his hard work, he is in college now.)，否定的一般疑问句, eg: Don`t you think we should try again?(=I think we should try again.)或特殊疑问句.eg: There is a lift, but why not use the lift?(=You should use the lift since there is a lift.) 。过去时的no sooner…than否定结构的句子eg: No sooner had she got to Guangzhou, she called me.(=She called me the moment she reached Guangzhou.)。含有not+表瞬间动作的动词+till/untill短语或从句.eg: He didn`t come back till 12:00(=He came back at 12:00.)。
与此同时，又有一些肯定的句式表达着否定的含义。我们也借助一些词汇和句型来达此目的。在名词及短语中,常见的有absence不在，stranger不熟悉,eg: I am a stranger in this city.(=I am not familiar with this city.);动词及短语有escape逃过，ignore忽略，miss错过,eg: I missed the early bus.(I didn`t catch the early bus.);形容词及短语有last不愿意的，deaf to不听，blind to看不见,eg:He is the last man I want to see.(=I don`t want to see him at all.)，介词及短语except, instead of. eg: I`d like all kinds of food except noodle.(=I don't like to noodle.);在复合句中包含before引出的状语从句, He left before I got there(=when I got there he wasn`t there.)。
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