此處in that的用法對嗎？

本站特約作者 李  翔

譯林版《牛津高中英語》 (模塊三•高一下學期) (2007年12月第4次印刷) p10：In most cases, we cannot use that to begin a noun clause after a preposition. However, we can use that to begin a noun clause after in or except.

The problem lies in that the mist may become a thick fog.

眾所周知，在英語中，in that 已經形成一種固定搭配，即《牛津高階英語詞典》所說的Idioms (習慣用語) ，且有了固定的含義“for the reason that；because (因為) ”。 

L G Alexander 等在其 編著的English grammatical structure (Second impression 1977) p197上把in that定義為Subordinating Conjunction，并舉例：We have failed in that some of you remain unconvinced.

Randolph Quirk等在其編著的A COMPREHENSIVE GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (First printed1985) P998上將in that定義為Complex Subordinator (即復合從屬連詞) 。

John Sinclair在其主編的《Collins Cobuild 英語語法系列》：9 《連詞》 ( 任紹曾主編 外文出版社 2001年4月第1版) p44上把 in that 定義為引導“理由從句”的 “連接詞”：I am an optimist in that I believe that human beings do not always perversely try to make life worse for themselves. 我是樂天派的人，因為我認為人類并非總是違反常情地力圖使自己的生活變差。

Most of them are not in reality engineers, in that the work they do is mostly clerical. 他們中的大多數人實際上都不是工程師，因為他們做的主要是辦公室工作。

再請看其他的例證：

1. Lingoes (http://www.lingoes.cn/) 之“柯林斯高級英語學習詞典” (第5版) ：You use in that to introduce an explanation of a statement you have just made.   I'm lucky in that I've got four sisters.

2. Lingoes (http://www.lingoes.cn/) 之“美國傳統詞典[雙解]”：習慣用語: in that — for the reason that. 因為

3. Lingoes (http://www.lingoes.cn/) 之 “朗文當代英語詞典”：in that —used after a statement to begin to explain in what way it is true：I've been lucky in that I have never had to worry about money.

4. Lingoes (http://www.lingoes.cn/) 之“麥克米蘭英語詞典 – American”：in that —used for introducing an explanation of what you have just said, showing in what way it is true:  The new system is better in that it provides faster access to the Internet.

5. Lingoes (http://www.lingoes.cn/) 之 “牛津高階英語詞典”: Idioms: in that (written) for the reason that; because: She was fortunate in that she had friends to help her.

6. Lingoes (http://www.lingoes.cn/) 之 “牛津高階英漢雙解詞典”: (idm 習語) in that  —for the reason that; because  基于...的理由; 因為: Privatization is thought to be beneficial in that it promotes competition. 私營化的優點在于能促進相互競爭。

7.《朗文當代英漢雙解詞典》 (First published 1988) p721：in that  because 因為：“I’m in a slightly awkward position , in that he’s not arriving until the 10^th.” “我的處境有點難堪，因為他要十號才來。”

8. 《朗文當代高級英語辭典》 (英英•英漢雙解) (外語教學與研究出版社2004年7月第1版) p987：in that  because 由于：The situation is rather complicated in that we have two managing directors. 由于我們 有兩位總經理，所以情況很復雜。

9. 《牛津高階英漢雙解詞典》 (第六版) (商務印書館 2004年 8月第2版) p888：in that for the reason that; because 原因是；由于：She was fortunate  in that she had friends to help her.  她很幸運，有一些朋友幫助她。

從以上例證可以看出：in that 已經完全變成一個引導原因狀語從句的連詞，相當于for the reason that 或 because。那么用 for the reason that 或 because 去解釋 “The problem lie in that the mist may become a thick fog.”中的 in that 顯然是解釋不通的，因為這句話的真實意思是“問題在于薄霧可能會變成大霧。” 即 in 和 that 不能連在一起構成表示 “because” 意義的連詞；而應該是 lie 和 in 搭配在一起，意思是“在于”，但 that 又不能作一般意義上介詞 in 的賓語，因此這句話是一個錯誤的表達，建議改為 The problem is that the mist may become a thick fog. 或 The problem lie in the fact that the mist may become a thick fog. 前者的正確性是眾所周知的；后者也是英美語中的習慣表達形式。

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