有时,用在英语句中的不定式与句子并没有直接的语法关系,只具备插入语的功能,说明讲话人表达意思时的态度和看法。独立不定式主要有如下一些词汇内容。
1.to start with /to begin with 首先;第一
To start with,I don't want to go,and secondly,I haven't got enough money.
第一,我不想去;第二,我没有足够的钱。
To begin with,you must remember that confidence is the mother of success.
首先,你必须记住,自信是成功之母。
2.to be frank with you/to tell you the truth/to be honest /to speak frankly
坦率地说;打开天窗说亮话;恕我直言;老实说;说实在的
To be frank with you,there is no free lunch in the world.
坦率地说,世上没有免费的午餐。
To tell you the truth,you are the most shameless person I have ever seen.
恕我直言,你是我见过的最不知羞耻的人。
To be honest,getting a high grade in every subject requires great effort.
老实说,想要每门学科都得高分需要非常努力。
To speak frankly,health is wealth.
说实在的,健康即财富。
3.not to speak of /to say nothing of ……更不用说;更别提……
He can read Latin,not to speak Greek.
他能读拉丁文,希腊文更不用说了。
Three people were badly hurt,to say nothing of the damage to the building.
三人受了重伤,更不用说对建筑物的损坏了。
4.so to speak /so to say 可以这么说;打个比喻说
The rising generation,is so to speak,the morning sun at 8or 9o'clock.
可以这么说,年轻一代就是早上八、九点钟的太阳。
They are,so to say,upstarts.
可以说,他们是暴发户。
5.not to say 简直可以说;虽不能说
Mrs Black is frugal,not to say stingy.
布莱克太太很节俭,简直可以说吝啬。
6.strange to say 说来奇怪
Strange to say,all the passengers disappeared all of a sudden.
说来奇怪,所有乘客忽然消失了。
7.needless to say 不用说;当然
Needless to say,a singer should havea pleasant voice.
不用说,歌手应有悦耳的声音。
8.to sum up/to conclude总之;最后
To sum up,we shouldn't underestimate the difficulties.总之,我们不能低估困难。
To conclude,nothing is impossible to a willing mind.
总之,天下无难事,只怕有心人。
9.to be exact 精确地说
It's seven o'clock now.To be more exact, it's seven three.
现在是7点,更精确地说是7点3分。
10.to be sure 确实;固然,的确……,可是
To be sure,English is an international language.的确,英语是一种国际语言。
Father isn't rich,to be sure,but he is a gentleman.
固然,父亲并不富有,但他是个绅士。
11.to crown(it)all更妙(糟)的是
His house burnt down and his car was stolen,and to crown it all he lost his job.
他房子烧毁,车子被偷,更糟糕的是他失去了工作。
12.to be brief简单说,扼要地说
To be brief,he was happy with that result.简而言之,他对那个结果感到高兴。
13.to make/cut a long story short
长话短说,简言之
To make a long story short,you are ex- pected to spend the Spring Festival with your family.
长话短说,你应该和家人一起过春节。
14.to give the devil his due 平心而论
To give the devil his due,everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.
平心而论,人人都有优缺点。
Exercises:Complete the sentences given below.
1.He is young,(固然)_____ ,but very eXPerienced.
2.The urgent work was completed in less than one day-six hours,(确切地说)_____ .
3.(坦白说)_____ ,actions speak louder than words.
4.(说也奇怪)_____ ,she is still ignorant of it.
5.(总之)_____ ,one good turn deserves another.
Key:1.to be sure
2.to be exact
3.To be honest/frank
4.Strange to say
5.To sum up/conclude
异彩纷呈的独立不定式