in front of 的10個“兄弟”

■湖南道縣一中 蔣柳清

in front of是一個同學們比較熟悉的有用搭配，它的特點是：第一個詞是介詞in，最后一個詞是介詞of，中間的名詞前沒有任何修飾語（既沒有冠詞也沒有物主代詞），整個短語相當于一個介詞（語法上稱之為“復合介詞”）。

一、in front of 的用法

in front of 的意思是“在……前面；在……面前”。如：

A van was parked right in front of my car. 一輛貨車正好停在我的汽車面前。

You shouldn’t use such bad language in front of the children. 在孩子們面前，你不應該說這種粗話。

注意in front of 與 in the front of 的意思不同：前者指范圍之外的“在……前面”，后者指范圍之內的“在……前部”。比如：

The car stopped in front of the post office. 車在郵局前面停了下來。

The driver sits in the front of the bus. 公共汽車司機上的司機都是坐在車前的。

二、in front of 的10個“兄弟”

1. in case of 以防；如果

The wall was built along the river in case of floods. 沿河筑了防護墻以防洪水。

In case of fire, walk quickly to the nearest door. 如果失火，就趕快朝最近的門跑。

2. in charge of 負責；管理

The teacher is in charge of the class. 這位教師負責這個班。

The butler is in charge of the wine cellar. 仆役長負責管理酒窖。

3. in control of 管理；控制

He is in control of the shop. 他管理這個商店。

The police are in control of the situation. 警察控制著局勢。

4. in course of 在……過程中；在進行中

The goods ordered are now in course of shipment. 定的貨正在運輸途中。

The new railway is in course of construction. 新鐵路正在興建當中。

5. in danger of 有……的危險

The sick man is in danger of death. 這位病人有死亡的危險。

The woman was in danger of losing her life. 這個女人有喪失生命的危險。

6. in memory of 為紀念

He planted some apple trees in memory of his wife. 他種了些蘋果樹紀念他的妻子。

She set up the charitable trust in memory of her father. 她設立了慈善信托基金以紀念她的父親。

7. in need of 需要

The doctor says I am in need of a holiday. 醫生說我需要休假。

He was tired and hungry, and badly in need of a bath. 他又累又餓，并且急需洗個澡。

8. in place of 代替

Won’t you go in place of me? 你能代替我去嗎？

Who is here in place of the manager? 誰在這里代理經理？

9. in search of 尋找；尋求

She went into the kitchen in search of a drink. 她進了廚房，想找點喝的。

Many people had left their homes to go in search of food. 許多人離開家園去尋覓食物。

10. in support of 支持；支援

Steve spoke in support of the proposal. 史蒂夫發言支持那個計劃。

A scientist must produce evidence in support of a theory. 科學家必須提出證據以支持其理論。

【邊學邊練】在下面各句的空白處填入適當的詞，使句子語法正確，意思通順。

1. In ________ of fire, ring the bell.

2. The person in ________ of our office left last week.

3. Many people move from city to city in ________ of good work.

4. If you are sick, she will have to go in ________ of you.

5. Deeds are better than words when people are in ________ of help.

6. The woman was badly wounded. She was in ________ of losing her life. ________

參考答案：1. case  2. charge  3. search  4. place  5. need  6. danger

（原載《第二課堂》B版2015年第1期）