英文present,past tense ge問題

其實用present tense或者past tense最重要的意義並非事件真的現在發生還是過去發生,而是強調時態而已.

如例句一,首先要說明的是born不是一個verb,而是adjective.這句句子惟一一個verb是was (verb to be).因此,這一句句子的重要並非Hong Kong,而是born這個adjective,即強調出生的時刻.用past tense去表明我當年在香港出生是恰當的.相反, I come from Hong Kong的強點明顯地在from Hong Kong,這樣一來from Hong Kong是一個超越時間性的discription,所以我們把它當作一個fact去處理,所以用present tense.但若如果要說 I came from Hong Kong, 文法上又有沒有問題呢? 答案是沒有的,不過句子的重點卻會大大的轉移了.意思可能帶著我以前來自香港,現在不是了的意義.

而最後一句,情況亦如此. A man is robbed by a thief in the afternoon today的重要放在rob這個動作.這句句子的意思是表明有人被打劫這一個fact,時間是幾時我們並不重視,所以這句句子用present tense,是不計較時間性的.相反,如果將句子改為 A man was robbed by a thief in the afternoon today,文法一樣沒錯,但句子的重點則由rob轉移至in the afternoon today了.更甚者我可以將句子再變為 A man has been robbed by a thief in the afternoon today,重點則變成為那個人還受著rob這件事所困擾.還可以改為 A man has been being robbed by a thief in the afternoon today,這做到perfect continuous tense的passive voice,比較罕見,但卻清楚地表明了那人被打劫的過程是有一段時間的,並非一下子便被劫了.中間是否有反抗,糾纏,留待讀者想像,或上文下理再作闡述了.

所以說,tenses的深層意義並非表達時間性,而是表明了作者希望讀者如何interpret這一句句子的強點和時態.若present tense只可以說現在,past tense只可以說過去,future tense只可以說未來,那麼英文文學的趣味便大減了.

I was born in Hong Kong.
This sentence uses past tense because I was born in Hong Kong before 2006 (in the past), not now. So we must use past tense.
Example: You was born in China in 1987. (In the past)

A man is robbed by a thief in the afternnon today.
This sentence uses present tense because when the sentence has the words, today,
every day, every Friday, etc, you must use the present tense.
Example: I go to school on foot every day.

因為I was born in hong kong 已經發生左..


A man is robbed by a thief in the afternnon today.
呢個就因為係passive voice
又係另一樣野,but 你要知用passive voice ge 時候個verb 就一定會係past lor,

希望help 到 u..

the first:you in long long ago in hk born.the second:the thief in this afternoon get a man the things.