Phil Listen to the difference between these pairs of sentences. Think about what sounds most important in each.
Examples Devastated, she sat on the grass and watched the other team lift the trophy. The devastated player sat on the grass and watched the other team lift the trophy. (那个垂头丧气的球员坐在草地上,看着对方队伍举起奖杯。)
Tired and hungry, the man pushed open the door and sat down. The tired and hungry man pushed open the door and sat down. (这个又累又饿的男人推开门坐了下来。)
在第二组例句的第一句话中,为了强调 “the man” 的状态是 “又累又饿的”,形容词 “tired” 和 “hungry” 被放在了句首。
Phil We've said that it's not just adjectives that can be fronted, so let's look at other parts of speech that work in this way, starting with adverbs. We could change the sentence in the question to say 'Desperately, people pushed their way out'.
Jiaying 将副词 “desperately” 前置在句首,要比说 “People desperately pushed their way out.” 更能突出强调人们 “往外挤” 的动作是 “不顾一切地”。我们再来听两个将副词前置的例句。
Examples Calmly, the students walked out of the hall and into class. The students walked calmly out of the hall and into class. (学生们平静地走出大厅,走进教室。)
Angrily, he slammed down his bag and walked off. He angrily slammed down his bag and walked off. (他气愤地扔下书包走了。)
Phil It's not just adverbs but also adverbial phrases that can work like this. We could change the sentence from the question to 'In a desperate way, people pushed their way out'. Again, consider how the emphasis changes from 'People pushed their way out in a desperate way'.
Examples In a panic, she checked to see if the money was still there. She checked to see if the money was still there in a panic. (她慌忙检查钱是否还在。)
With a heavy heart, she handed in her resignation. She handed in her resignation with a heavy heart. (她怀着沉重的心情递交了辞呈。)
Phil The question asked if adjectives could be used as adverbials. While they can't, we've seen how fronting can be used in a similar way with both adjectives and adverbials to change the emphasis in a sentence.
Phil We hope that we've answered your question. If you have a question that you'd like us to answer, you can email us too at: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk