To begin with he was Prince Charming. 首先,他是一个白马王子。
请问这句中的 Prince Charming 前可加上不定冠词吗?比如说成:
To begin with he was a Prince Charming.
陈老师:
▲Prince Charming 表示“白马王子”,通常含有 humorous 意味,指的是 a man who seems to be a perfect boyfriend or husband because he is attractive, kind, etc. 用法同专有名词,其前通常不用不定冠词。又如:
(1) She had some fancy that Prince Charming would come along. 她感觉自己的白马王子迟早会来的。
(2) In the stroke of midnight, Prince Charming turned back into a rat. 午夜的钟声敲响时,白马王子又变回一只老鼠。
(3) How much time have you wasted sitting around waiting for Prince Charming to appear? 你浪费了多少时间坐在那里干等白马王子的出现?
但查了一下BNC(英国国家语料库),查到一例(浩翰的国家级语料库,只查到一例,可见连用不定冠词的用法极为少见):
(4) You should have shown your readers that there isn’t a Prince Charming, so they won't feel disappointed and cheated if their prince turns into a frog, like mine did.
▲但若语义需要,其前可用 no, one’s 等修饰。如:
(1) He’s no Prince Charming, but he’s okay. 他绝不是什么白马王子,但还过得去。
(2) I’m still waiting for my Prince Charming! 我还在等着我的白马王子呢!
▲顺便说一句,与 Prince Charming 用法相似的还有 Mr Right(白马王子,如意朗君)。如:
(1) Jill’s still looking for Mr Right. 吉尔还寻找如意朗君。
(2) She’s still waiting for Mr right to come along. 她还在等待如意朗君的到来。
(3) She confesses to having trouble finding Mr Right. 她承认找不到自己的白马王子。
(4) I’m not going to get married in a hurry—I’m waiting for Mr Right to come along. 我不会仓促结婚,我在等待如意郎君的出现。
胡老师:
谢谢陈老师的详解解答!