英語中專指兩者和三者的不定代詞

陳仁禎

一、分類歸納

1. 只用兩者

只用于表示兩個人或兩個事物的不定代詞主要有 both， either和neither。如：

If you lose your job， Ill lose mine； so were both in the same boat. 假使你失業，我也會失業，所以我們是難兄難弟。

Come on Tuesday or Thursday. Either day is OK. 星期二或星期四來吧。這兩天中哪一天都行。

Neither of my parents likes my boyfriend. 我的父母都不喜歡我的男朋友。

2. 只用三者

只用于表示三個或三個以上的人或事物的不定代詞主要有 all， any， none和every。如：

The door was open and all his things had gone. 門開著，他所有的東西都沒了。

These books are not interesting， and I dont like any of them. 這些書都沒趣，我都不喜歡。

I tried on a few jackets， but none of them looked nice. 我試了好幾件外套，可是都不好看。

He knew every corner of the old town. 他熟悉這座古鎮的每個角落。

3. 可用于兩者和三者

既可用于兩者也可用于三者或三者以上的人或事物的不定代詞只有一個 each。如：

She had a cut on each of her feet. 她每只腳上都有傷口。

There are four bedrooms， and each has its bathroom. 共有4間臥室，每間都有單獨的盥洗室。

注意，由于 each 既可指兩者也可指三者或三者以上的“每個”，而 every 只用于指三者或三者以上的“每個”，因此當指兩者時，只能用each。

There are new houses on each side of the street. 街道兩邊有新樓房。（不能用every）

二、相似比較

以下三組句子，均分別含有表示兩者和三者的不定代詞，請注意體會：

He has two sons， and both of them are clever. 他有兩個兒子，都很聰明。

He has three sons， and all of them are clever. 他有三個兒子，都很聰明。

He has two sons， and either of them is clever. 他有兩個兒子，哪個都很聰明。

He has three sons， and any of them is clever. 他有三個兒子，哪個都很聰明。

He has two sons， and neither of them is clever. 他有兩個兒子，兩個都不聰明。

He has three sons， and none of them are clever. 他有三個兒子，個個都不聰明。

三、語法特點

1. 既可用作代詞也可用作形容詞

在以上歸納的表示兩者和三者的不定代詞中，大多數既可用作代詞也可用作形容詞，比如 both， either， neither， all， any 等。如：

Both children go to the same school. 兩個孩子在同一所學校讀書。（both為形容詞）

Both of the children go to the same school. 兩個孩子在同一所學校讀書。（both為代詞）

Here are two dictionaries； you may take either one. 這里有兩本詞典，你拿哪一本都可以。（either為形容詞）

Here are two dictionaries； you may take either. 這里有兩本詞典，你拿哪一本都可以。（either為代詞）

2. 只用作代詞而不用作形容詞

只用作代詞而不用作形容詞的不定代詞只有一個，即 none。由于 none 不用作形容詞，所以絕對不能用它來修飾名詞。如：

誤：None keys would open the door.

正：None of the keys would open the door. 這些鑰匙沒有一把可以打開這扇門。

3. 只用作形容詞而不用作代詞

這樣的詞也只有一個，即 every。由于 every 具有形容詞性質，所以它不能單獨使用，也不能后接 of 短語，而必須后接名詞。如：

誤：Every of the students wants to try.

正：Each of the students wants to try. 每個學生都想試一試。

注：嚴格來說，every不是代詞，但由于它與本文提到的不定代詞在用法上有許多相似之處，且考試中命題者常把它與其他不定代詞綜合在一起進行考查，所以本文也將其歸納在一起分析。

四、考題分析

1. —How did you get the new pen， from a shop or by phone？

— _______. I always like shopping online.

A. None B. Neither C. Both D. All

分析：答案選 B。對話前一句提供的選擇為兩項，即from a shop（從商店）還是by phone（通過電話），所以首先可排除表示三者的 none 和 all；再根據I always like shopping online（我一直喜歡網購）可知，答案應選 neither，即表示既不是從商店購買的，也不是通過電話購買的。

2. My twin brothers promised my parents to give up playing computer games， but _______ of them made it.

A. none B. neither C. either D. both

分析：答案選 B。根據前面的 twin brothers（雙胞胎兄弟）可知，這里是指兩者，故可排除表示三者的 none，即排除A；再根據空格前的轉折連詞 but 可知，空格處只能填 neither 意思才通順。句意：我的雙胞胎兄弟答應我的父母不再打電子游戲，但是他們兩人都沒有做到。

3. —How many students are there in the classroom？

— _______. They are all in the lab.

A. Some B. None C. All D. Neither

分析：答案選 B。根據常識可知，一個班的學生通常會多于兩個，所以空格不宜填表示兩者的 neither；再根據空格后說的“他們都在實驗室”可知答案應選 B，因為既然學生都在實驗室，說明教室里沒有學生。

五、邊學邊練

1. —Ann， would you like to drink tea or coffee？

— _______. Im not thirsty at all.

A. Either B. Any C. Neither D. Both

2. —Dont be angry with your kid when he makes a mistake again， will you？

—No， I wont. I know that _______ of us are perfect after all.

A. none B. neither C. each D. all

3. They were all very tired， but _______ of them took a rest.

A. none B. all C. both D. either

4. —We have red and yellow T-shirts. Which color do you like？

— Im afraid _______. I think blue will be OK.

A. both B. either C. neither D. none

5. —What do you think of the two backpacks？

— _______ of them are very nice.

A. Either B. Both C. Each D. All

6. Peter tried on three jackets， but _______ of them fitted him.

A. all B. both C. none D. neither

7. —What do you think of the four books？

—I hear that they are wonderful， but Ive read _______ of them.

A. all B. both C. neither D. none

8. I cannot understand why Steven bought so many watches but never wears ______ of them.

A. any B. both C. all D. either

（參考答案：1—5 CAACB 6—8 CDA）

（編輯 陳根花）