请问这个 after 从句如何理解与翻译:
After he has acted in that selfish way, who will respect him?
张老师:
徐孟雄先生曾经在其《英语难题研究一千则》谈起过这个问题:after 字面的意思为“在……之后”,指时间;但在句子行文中,其含义有时与其说指时间不如说是指原因。前事为因,后事为果。
After he has acted in that selfish way, whowill respect him?
因为他行为那么自私,谁还尊敬他?
罗老师:
After he has acted in that selfish way, who will respect him? 他做事自私,谁会尊重他?
after 就是“在……事情之后”的含义,在此句中是连词,引导时间状语从句。
这个句子之所以觉得令人“不自在”,是因为主句是个特殊疑问句,本来特殊疑问词要在句首,如:Who will respect him after he has acted in that selfish way?
但是这样的话,这个句子的主句和后面的问号显然相隔太远,会引起句子的混乱,让人以为问号跟在了时间状语从句后面,所以,类似的句子就把主句放在后面,还是为了句子结构的完整、平衡。