数 词 的 基 本 用 法

数 词 的 基 本 用 法
江汉油田广华中学 董丽君

英语中，数词一 般分基数词和序数词两大类。基数词和序数词又可以用来构成分数词。这些数词可以用来表达确定数目，也可以用来表达不确定数目。中学英语教材中，学习英语数词的难点并不在于计算，而在于如何使用。因此，对数词的考查应重点集中在，如何用数词来表达数量（包括确定数量和不确定数量）、顺序、时间、倍数以及构成复合形容词作名词修饰语等。
一 、用基数词表示数量
1、用基数词表示确定数量。
用基数词表示确定数量时，技术词（包括加hundred, thousand, million, billion等构成的数词）要用单数形式，后面的复数名词前一 般不得加of。例如：
比较以下正误：
The project lasted 5 years and cost 2 billion dollars.
The Chinese have been *** paper for two thousand years.
One thousand pounds is a lot of money.
(F) I sold a hundred of books by myself.
(T) I sold a hundred books by myself.
(F) I have two hundreds pounds.
(T) I have two hundred dollars.
英语中，名词dozen（一 打，12个）和score（20个）也与hundred, thousand, million有相似的用法。在表示确定数量时，dozen, score用于基数词之后也不能”-s”。例如：
Shortly after the accident, three dozens police were sent to the spot to keep order. (MET92)
Two score years of prison life has made Nelson a nationally recognized man. (93 上海题)
2、用基数词表示不确定数量
用基数词表示不确定数量的方式有以下两种：
⑴ 在基数词前加表示“多于”“少于”“不到”“接近”“大约”“左右”意义的（如 or, or so, about, some, around, round, more or less, more than, less than, over, above, under, below, nearly, almost等）。例如：
They move on to a new place every two or three years. (SB. 1 A P.15)
The population of Canada is about 29 million. (SB. 2A P.38)
Three famous parks in and around London had over 1400 trees blown over. (SB.2A P.64)
There will be more than three hundred scientists attending the meeting to be held the day after tomorrow. (93 上海题)
Hundred, thousand, million等在several 之后一 般用单数形式。但是，hundred , thousand , million 等被several, many, a few, some修饰时，既可用复数形式，也可用单数形式。例如：
But the carmakers haven’t decided if they will put it into production because it would add several hundred dollars to the cost of their cars. (NMET 95)
比较以下试题：
1、Mr.Smith________me to buy several_____eggs for the dinner.(94上海题)
A.asked…dozen B.suddested,,,dozens of C.had,,,dozen D.persuaded…dozens
2、____people in the world are sending information by E_mail every day.(2001春上海题)
A. Several million B. Many millions C. Several millions D. Many million
解析：此题的干扰项B. Many millions D. Many million 一 般写作Many millions of; C. Several millions应写作Several millions of.
⑵ 用基数词的复数形式表示不确定数量。英语中，hundred, thousand, million, billion 这些词用于确定数量时，不用复数形式， 后面直接加名词，但是，这些词用来表示不确定数量时，必须使用复数形式，同时，接“of+复数名词”。例如：
At that time, gold was discovered in California and thousands of people rushed there to look for gold.(SB. 2A P.28)
需要注意的是：a hundred (and one); a thousand ( and one), a million 有时也可以表示不定数量， 用于夸张，类似汉语中的：“十分可惜”， “百年大计”， “十万火急”， “百万雄师”等成语中数词的用法。例如：
There are a hundred and one questions to ask.
A thousand thanks for your kindness.
He made a thousand and one excuses.
二、用分数（百分数） 表示数量
分数时由基数词和序数词合成的。分子用基数词，分母用序数词。分子是1时，分母（序数词）用单数形式；分子大于1时，分母（序数词）用复数形式。百分数由基数词后直接加percent ( per cent)构成。用分数（百分数）表示数量关系时，需要在分数（百分数）和表示人或物的名词之间加上介词of。例如：
Canada has one third of the world’s supply of fresh water. (SB..2A P.39)
This is because two-thirds of the earth’s su***ce is made up of vast oceans. (SB. 2B P.20)
As a result, they saved 90% ( ninety percent) of the trees in the forest. (SB. 1A P.18)
At present about 89% of smokers are male. (SB.2A P.
比较以下高考题：
1、About _______ of the workers in that steel works are young people. (83高考题)
A．third-fifths B. three-fifths C.　three-fives D.　three-fifth
注意：分数用作前置定语时，后有连字符号（如：a two-thirds mile）。当分数相当于名词是，用不用连字符号皆可，因此，three fifths of the workers 和four-fifths of the books 均可。
2、____of the land in that district ____ covered with trees and grass.(2000 上海题)
A. Two fifth…is 　B. Two fifth…are C. Two fifths…is D. Two fifths…are
三、用数词表示顺序
表示顺序用的序数词与基数词是不同的。例如：“第九课”的读法有以下两种：
用基数词表示：Lesson Nine (Lesson 9)
用序数词表示：the Ninth Lesson
四、用数词表示时间
表示年代和年龄。英语中，整十位数的复数形式（如： twenties 20—29）; thirties 30—39；forties 40—49; fifties 50—59) 可以用来表示“几十年代”和人的“几十几岁”之类的年龄，但是，在上述“几十年代”前要加上the, 在某人的“几上十几岁”前也要加适当的限定词（如：his , her, their 等）。例如：
In the 1870, when Marx was already in his fifties, he found it important to study the situation in Russia, so he began to learn Russian. (SB. 1B P.26)
When Germany was ruled by Hitle in the early 1930s, Einstin found it impossible to continue living in Germany. ( SB. 2B P.4)
比较以下高考题：
1、The hero of the story is an artist in his ______. (MET’ 91)
A.　thirtieth B. thirty C.　thirty’s D.　thirties
2、It is not rare in ______ that people in ____ fifties are going to university for further education. ( 99 上海题)
A. 90s…the B. the 90s…/ C.90s… their D. the 90s… their
表示年月日。英语中，年月日的顺序，可以先写日子，再写月份，最后写年份；也可以先写月份，再写月份，最后写年份。年月日中，除了月份外，均用阿拉伯数字书写。例如：
月日——　a). January 2nd 或January 2
[读作：January the second; 在美式英语里，一 般读作：January second;写的时候，the和 of 可以不写。]
　　　　　　　b). 2nd January 或2 January［读作： the second ( of ) January］
　　年月——　a). January, 1980
b). January 1980
年月日——a). 2nd January, 1980或2 January, 1980
b). January 2nd, 1980或 January 2, 1980
同时，用必要指出：　英语中，也有类似汉语中完全用数字表示：“年月日”的用法。例如：8/7/1998
但是，对此，可以有两种不同的理解：在英国“表示：8/7/1998July the eighth nineteen ninety-eight ( 1998年7月８日)；在美国“8/7/1998”表示：August the seventh nineteen ninety-eight (1998年８月７日)。因此，在使用英语时，　不得随意按中国人的习惯完全用数字来表示年月日，以免歧义。
五、用数词表示倍数
基数词可以用于以下结构中表示倍数：
⑴ A is three times as big ( long, wide ) as B. 例如：
If you offered me six times (as much as ) what you have just offered, I would still take my pound of fresh. (SB. 3A P.62)
⑵ A is three times bigger (longer, wider) than B. 例如：
The population in and around San Francisco is now ten times more than it was in 1906. (SB. 1A P/27)
⑶A is three times the size ( height, length, width) of B. 例如：
The New building is four times the size of the old one. ( STB. 3A P. 150)
需要注意的是：用times表示倍数，一 般限于表示包括基数在内三倍或以上的数；表示两倍的数一 般用twice。同时，应注意twice, three times 等在上述结构中的位置。
比较以下试题：
1、After the new technique was introduced, the factory produced ___ tractors in 1988 as the year before. (MET.90)
A. as twice many B. as many as C. as twice as many D. twice as many
解析：　注意twice 在as…as 结构中的位置。
2、Paper produced every year is ____ the world’s production of vehicles. (98上海题)
A. the three times weight of B. three times the weight of
C. as three times heavy as D. three times as heavier as
同时，分数词也可以用于上述结构中。例如：China is ____ large than the United States. ( 90 上海题)
A. one six B. one sixth C. one sixes D. one sixths
六、用数词构成度量结构作修饰语
由“数词＋名词”构成的度量结构可以用作名词的虚实语。如果该度量结构中的名词是单数，一 般在短语最后一 个词之后加“－s”如果该名词是复数，一 般加“-’”. 例如：
What was NO.64 Middle School’s football team like? (JB. 3 P.90)
Jane and Setty are going on separate holidays in a few days’ time. ( SB.1A P.13)
比较以下高考题：
Come and see me _____ two or three _____. (95 上海市题)
A. for…days B. after… days C. in…days’ time D. during… day times
解析：　此题中，two or three days’ 用作名词time 的修饰语。由于two or three days 中的名词是复数，因此，因在短语之后加”-’”,从而构成in two or three days’ time。　但是，　不要与复合形容词修饰名词结构混淆。比较：
a three-colour picture a two-way radio
the five-year plan a ten-year-old boy
an eleven-year-old boy a twenty-dollar bill
因此，我们在英语数词的学习使用中，一 定要遵循数词使用的基本规律，符合英语的表达方法。