Before-从-句-的-翻-译(共3页)

1、Before 从 句 的 翻 译众所周知,连词before用来引导时间状语从句,其本义是在之前。然而，一些学生倾向于把before从句一概译成在之前。但这样翻译在很多情况下并不是通顺达意的汉语。请比较下例两例的译文：(1)He went away before I could reply.a.在我能够回答之前,他就离去了。b.我还没来得及回答,他就离去了。(2)It will be five years before we meet again.a.在我们再见之前,将会是五年的时间。b.我们将在五年之后才能再见。显然，上两例中的a译文都不如b译文更贴切，顺畅。下面介绍before从句的几种译法

2、，供大家参考。1.译成“(在)前”。这时强调主句动作发生在从句动作之前，句子侧重在主句；从句译文前置。(3)Before I came here, I hadnt had any English.来这儿之前，我没学过英语。(4)Ill see you again before you return home.在你回家之前，我再来看你。(5)Take the medicine before you go to bed.你睡觉之前服药。2.用“正反译法”处理。即：原before从句从正面表达，其中不含任何否定词或否定词缀，而译文从反面表达，通常含有否定字眼。A.译成“还没就”。例如：(6)He h

3、ad pressed the button before we stopped him.我们还没来得及阻止他，他就按了按钮。(7)Before I realized it, the year had passed.还没等我弄清是怎么回事，这一年就过去了。(8)You startle your friends by asking nervously, Who is it? What do you want? andhanging up before they have time to reply.你神经兮兮地问道：“你是谁？你想干什么？”，而朋友们还没来得及回答，你就挂了电话。你这种言行使他们大

4、吃一惊。B.有时before从句用过去完成时，还是强调动作的未完成或未实现，仍然译成“还没就”。(9)He arrived before I had finished my lunch.我还没吃完午饭，他就到来了。(10)Before I had gone much farther, I caught them up.我还没走多远，就赶上了他们。(11)The bell rang before we had finished our work.我们还没完成作业，铃就响了。C.有时，主从句的动作并不存在紧凑的连贯性，这时的before从句，可直接用“正反译法”处理，不再用后文的关联词“就”。(1

5、2)She arrived before I expected.我想不到，她到得那么早。(13)Three months went by before Aqiao knew it.阿巧不知不觉地过了三个月。(14)Before their first child was two years old, Maurice and Vera moved to a cottage in the country.在他们第一个小孩还不满两岁时，莫里斯和维拉搬到了一间乡下的房子去住。3.译成“（之后），才”。这时，主句往往带有时间状语或直接表示时间概念，句子侧重在从句；原文从句多后置，其译文也后置。(15)T

6、hey had been married many years before a child was born to them.他们结婚许多年,才生了一个孩子。(16)But my teacher had been with me several weeks before I understood that everything has a name.可是，老师和我在一起好几周之后，我才明白每一样东西都有名称。(17)It was some time before his eyes could bear the light after having been so long in total

7、darkness.适应了一阵子之后，他的眼睛才能够忍受了那光线，因为他在完全的黑暗中呆了好长时间。4.译成“只有，才”。这时，表示主句是从句的必要条件，原文的从句后置，其译文也后置。(18)We must study hard before we can overcome our shortcomings.只有努力学习，我们才能克服缺点。(19)A great effort must be made before the ideals can be turned into reality.只有经过巨大努力，理想才能变为现实。(20)There must be enough time given

8、 before I can finish the difficult task.只有给予足够的时间，我才能完成这项艰巨的任务。5.译成“为了（要想），就得（必须）”。这时,从句表达目的，主句表达到目的所需的必要条件。原文的从句前置，其译文也前置。(21)Before we can decrease friction, we must pay attention to lubrication.为了可以减少摩擦，我们就得注意润滑。(22)Before one can speak English fluently, he must speak the language as often as pos

9、sible.一个人要想能讲一口流利的英语，他就必须尽可能经常地讲这种语言。(23)Before we can fulfil the production plan, we must work harder than ever.为了能够完成生产计划，我们必须更加努力地工作。6.译成“比先（早）”。这时，主句和从句的动作相同，从句往往用代动词代替主句的动作。原文的从句后置，译文成比较句。(24)They got there before we did.他们比我们先到那里。(25)He finished his homework before I did.他比我先做完作业.(26)My mother

10、 often gets up before I do.母亲经常比我起得早。7.在Hardly(Scarcely)before句型中,译成“(刚)一,就”。这时，before = when。(27)Hardly had we got to the station before the train left.我们刚到火车站，火车就开了。(28)Hardly had the operator pressed the button before all the machines began to work.操作人员一按电钮,所有的机器就开始运行。(29)Scarcely had he gone out

11、 before it began to rain.他一出去，就下起雨来了。8.不用译出。这时，原文的主句常用否定形式，从句后置，其译文也后置。(30)It was not long before he came.他不久就来了。(31)I had not gone a mile before I felt tired.没有走到一英里路，我已经疲倦了。(32)They had not proceeded far before they perceived a bear making toward them with great rage.他们没走多远，就看到了一头大熊愤怒地朝他们而来。9.少数情况下，译成“，最后”。这时，一系列有序的动作在前，从句处末尾，其译文也处于最后。(33)They left Tennessee and headed east, stopping in Louisville and Lexington in Kentucky, and then wandering north through Cincinnati, Columbus and Da