英語中表示時間的詞語主要分為以下幾類:時間點、時間段、動作發(fā)生的頻度,、動作或事件發(fā)生的先后,。一般可用單個副詞來表示,也可以用帶有介詞in, at, on和for的短語來表示。此外,一些不帶介詞的短語也可以用來表示動作(事件)發(fā)生(狀態(tài)持續(xù))的時間,。

    一、單個副詞表示時間

    1. 表示動作(事件)發(fā)生的時間

    這類副詞常見的有:ago, before, lately, later (on), now, recently, then, today, tomorrow, tonight, yesterday等。例如:

    1)It’s beginning to rain now! (時間點)現(xiàn)在開始下雨了,！

    2)I haven’t seen her recently. (時間段) 最近我沒見到她。

    3)Will you be free tonight? (時間段) 你今晚有空嗎,？

    4)See you later. (時間點)回頭見,。

    2. 表示頻度

    這類副詞常見的有:always, constantly, continuously, continually, ever, frequently, generally, hardly ever, much, never, normally, occasionally(偶爾), often, periodically(定期地,偶爾), rarely, regularly, repeatedly, seldom(很少), sometimes, usually, now and then(偶爾,有時)等。例如:

    1)She is constantly changing her mind. (頻度)她老是改變主意,。

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    2)We do meet now and then, but not regularly. (頻度)我們確實偶爾也見面,但不經(jīng)常,。

    3)Lester rarely left his room. (頻度)萊斯特很少離開他的房間。

    3. 其他一些表示時間的副詞:

    主要有:already, early, finally, first, immediately, just, late, long, presently, shortly, since, soon, yet等,。例如:

    1)I’ll be back presently(shortly). 我一會兒就回來,。

    2)What decision did you finally arrive at?你們最后做出了什么決定？

    3)Nancy was up early. 南希很早就起來了,。

    4)He has just had an operation. 他剛動過手術(shù),。

    分析:

    句1)中的presently (shortly)(不久,一會兒),強調(diào)從現(xiàn)在算起到將來的某一時刻,時間持續(xù)很短；句2)中的finally(最終)強調(diào)事件的最終結(jié)果,；句3)中的early(早)表示動作發(fā)生的時間比通常所認定的時間早,；句4)中的just表示從過去的某個時間算起到現(xiàn)在,時間持續(xù)很短。

    二,、前面帶有介詞in, at, on和for表示時間的短語

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    1. 帶有介詞in的時間短語:

    in a flash(瞬時), in a lucky hour(在幸運時刻), in an evil hour(在不幸的時刻), in a minute, in a second, in a short time, in a while, in advance(預(yù)先), in an instant, in broad day(在大白天), in due course(及時地), in future, in good season(及時地), in no time(馬上), in one’s childhood, in one’s spare time, in one’s teens, in one’s youth, in re-cent years, in some cases(有時候), in spring, in the beginning, in the daytime, in the end, in the long run(最后), in the meantime, in the morning, in the past, in this period, in those days, in time等,。例如:

    1)He was born in1980. 他生于1980年。

    2)The policeman arrived intime and caught the thief in a flash. 警察及時趕到,瞬時抓住了那個小偷,。

    2. 帶有介詞on的時間短語:

    on a certain day, on Christmas Day, on night shift, on one’s birthday, on schedule(按時), on Sunday, on the moment, on that date, on the eve of, on the following day, on the Monday morning, on the New Year’s Eve, on the point of(正在……時候),on this day, on this occasion, on time等,。例如:

    1)There are varieties of celebrations on Christmas Day. 圣誕節(jié)那天有多種慶?；顒印?/span>

    2)When he heard the bad news, he burst into tears on the moment. 聽到那個壞消息,他的眼淚立刻奪眶而出,。

    3)He always arrives on time in time of an appointment. 約會時他總是很準時,。

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    3. 帶有介詞at的時間短語:

    at a time(在某時), at a wedding(婚禮), at all times(一直), at any moment, at Christmas, at dark (天黑時), at dawn(在黎明), at daybreak, at dinner-time, at dusk(在黃昏), at first sight, at first, at last, at night, at nightfall, at noon, at present, at six o’clock, at sunrise, at sunset, at that moment, at that time, at the age of, at the beginning of , at the end of, at the last minute, at the moment, at the same time, at the stage(眼下), at the start, at this point(此時), at this sea-son, at times(有時)等。例如:

    1)At that time, Mary earned so little money that she could hardly af-ford a coat like this. 那時瑪麗掙錢很少,幾乎買不起這樣一件大衣,。

    2)At times, Robert is seen to be walking along with a beautiful girl. 有時可以看到羅伯特和一個漂亮女孩走在一起,。

    3)At the stage, Tom doesn’t have enough time to write such a long paper. 眼下湯姆沒有時間寫那么長的一篇論文。

    分析:

    句1)中的at that time(那時)表示某種境遇存在的時間段,；句2)中的at times(有時)表示事件發(fā)生的頻度,；句3)中的at the stage(眼下)表示離說話前后不久的一段時間。

    4."介詞for + 表示時間的名詞短語"表示動作持續(xù)或狀態(tài)存在的時間段:

    for ten seconds, for five minutes, for an hour, for two days, for six months, for a year, for a decade, for a whole century, for a long time, for a short while等,。例如:

    1) On hearing the news, Helen stood there for ten seconds without saying a word. 聽到這個消息后,海倫站在那里十秒鐘沒說出一句話來,。

    2) I feel as if I had left school for a whole century. 我覺得我好像離開學(xué)校整整一個世紀了。

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    三,、不帶介詞的表示時間的短語:

    just now, so far, last night, right away, the day after tomorrow, the day before yesterday, five days ago, five days before, this week, next week, a week ago, a week before, last month, next month, this year, next year, three months ago, this century, last century等,。例如:

    1)The old couple haven’t heard from their son so far. 那對老夫婦目前還沒收到兒子的來信。

    2) Susan will take the college entrance examination the day after tomorrow. 蘇姍后天要參加大學(xué)入學(xué)考試,。

    3) He said his father had died three years before. 他說他父親三年前去世了,。分析:

    句1)中的so far(到目前為止)是副詞短語,表示到現(xiàn)在為止的時間段；句2)中的the day after tomorrow(后天)表示事件將要發(fā)生的時間,；句3)中的three years before(三年前)表示過去某件事發(fā)生的時間,用于間接引語中,。選擇最合適的選項完成句子。

    牛刀小試

    1. I haven’t seen Margaret ______.

    A. constantly

    B. recently

    C. Usually

    D. finally

    2. You have to hand in your paper ______ Monday morning.

    A. in

    B. On

    C. at

    D. for

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    3. He finished the writing part ______ the last minute of the examination.

    A. in B. on C. at D. For

    4. He thought about the question _______ a short while and gave the answer quickly.

    A. in B. on C. atD. For

    5. Stevenson’s girlfriend promised to marry him ________ next year.

    A. in B. on C. at D. /

    答案及解析

    1. B,。句意：最近我沒有見到瑪格利特,。分析：本題缺少一個表示動作發(fā)生時間的副詞，而constantly和usually表示動作或事件發(fā)生的頻率,，finally表示動作或事件發(fā)生的順序,。只有recently可表示動作或事件發(fā)生的時間，故選B,。

    2. B,。句意：你必須在周一早晨交論文。分析：“in the morning”是固定短語,，其中的介詞in不能用其他介詞代替,。但如果morning前面加上表示一周的任何一天的名詞（從Monday到Sunday），其前面的介詞要用on,。故選B,。

    3. C。句意：他在考試的最后一刻完成了寫作部分。分析：介詞短語at the last minute是固定搭配,，其中的介詞at不能用其他任何介詞代替,。

    4. D。句意：他對這個問題稍作思考,，便很快給出了答案。分析：“for a short while”是表示時間段的固定短語,，意為“一小會兒”,，其中介詞for不能用其他介詞代替。

    5. D,。句意：斯蒂文森的女朋友答應(yīng)明年嫁給他,。分析：next year前面一般沒有介詞，故選D,。