緊縮定語從句“介詞+關系代詞+不定式”的用法

一、用法實例

“介詞+關系代詞+不定式”的表現形式通常為 in which to do sth, with which to do sth, on which to do sth等，其中的介詞視具體語境的搭配而定。如：

She must have time in which to grow calm. 她需要有時間冷靜下來。

She had no time left in which to pack her things. 她沒有時間收拾行李了。

He had only the long nights in which to study. 他只有漫漫長夜可用來學習。

Allow me one minute in which to change my costumes. 給我一點時間來卸裝。

Now he had no pretext on which to prolong his stay. 現在他已沒有繼續留下去借口。

He had a couple of revolvers with which to defend himself. 他只有一兩把手槍用來自衛。

She had some money in the bank, with which to help her mother. 她銀行里有些錢用來幫助她的母親。

The boy wants another fifty cents with which to buy some ice cream. 這男孩還要五角錢去買冰淇淋。

It was a marvelous place to begin one’s management career. First of all, there were so many different aspects of transport on which to try my hand. 這是開始一個人的經營管理生涯的好地方。首先，那里有涉及運輸許多方面工作讓我初試身手。

二、結構分析

在閱讀中我們經常可以見到以上這樣的“介詞+關系代詞+不定式”形式，許多讀者不明白它是什么結構，其實它就是一種緊縮了的定語從句。在正式文體中，當引導定語從句的關系代詞用作介詞的賓語時，有時可用“介詞+關系代詞+不定式”這樣的結構來簡化定語從句。比較：

She must have time in which she can grow calm.=She must have time in which to grow calm. 她必須有冷靜下來時的時間。

Allow me one minute in which I can change my clothes.=Allow me one minute in which to change my clothes. 給我一點時間換衣服。

He was miserable unless he had neighbors with whom he could quarrel.=He was miserable unless he had neighbors with whom to quarrel. 他要是沒有鄰居吵架就難受。

She had some money in the bank, with which she could help her mother. =She had some money in the bank, with which to help her mother.  她銀行里有些錢用來幫助她的母親。

三、補充說明

對于“介詞+關系代詞+不定式”結構，若語義清楚，且結構恰當，有時可進一步省略其中的關系代詞，而只保留介詞和不定式（注意，此時介詞要移至不定式之后，且當先行詞為表時間的名詞時，該介詞通常省略）。如：

She must have time to grow calm (in). 她必須有冷靜下來時的時間。

Allow me one minute to change my clothes (in). 給我一點時間換衣服。

He was miserable unless he had neighbors to quarrel with. 他要是沒有鄰居吵架就難受。

It’s reported that the city needs more land to build houses on. 據報道，這座城市需要更多的土地來建房。

四、特別提示

值得指出的是，“介詞+關系代詞+不定式”結構中的介詞不能沒有，并且該介詞也不能位于不定式后面。如：

在那兒孩子們有個玩耍的花園。

正：There the children had a garden in which to play. (很正式)

正：There the children had a garden in which they could play. (較正式)

正：There the children had a garden to play in. (較口語化)

誤：There the children had a garden which to play in.