14.Objective“it”
“英文要写得好很难，要说得好更难”一句，译成英文It is very dficult to write English well，but it is still more difficult to speak well.据说错了，应在speak后加it一字才对，请就it的宾语用法扼要说明。
【解答】这也是中英两种语文不同的地方。中文常把他动词的宾语略去，而英文则非得说出不可。如质问中的英译句，write和speak都是他动词，write后有English一个宾语，spepk后还得再说出宾语来，现为避免重复用English一字，改用代名词it来代替。下列各句同样的用法，值得注意，因为中文的宾语常被略去。
We would have appreciated it better if you had written to him personally.（如蒙亲笔去函，尤为感激。）句中的it是指“如蒙亲笔去函”，在中文应略，而英文则非要不可。
When you have received a letter，you must answer it as soon as possible.（接到别人的信，须马上回复。）英文在answer的他动词后，必须加上代表letter的it字样，否则不通。
I never rely upon his word，for he never makes a promise with the will to keep it.（我从不信任他说的话，因为他总是轻诺而不履行。）
The say he has left town，but I do not believe it.（据说他已离开本市，但我不信。）英文在他动词believe后必须加代表he has left town的it一个宾语不可。
现就Objective“It”，举例如下：
The Japanese lorded it over the natives of Formosa.(=played the lord with；domineered ove）.（日本人曾威凌台湾人民。）
The actress is starring it in the provinces.(=attracting great attention）.（那女伶在各地方演出大为卖座。）
You'll catch it！(=You'll be scolded，punished，etc.)（你将要受到处罚，挨骂。）
He is too old to rough it.（他年纪太大，过不了这种艰苦生活。）
He tried to swim it.（他努力想游过去。）
We must fight it out.（我们必须奋斗到底。）
Let us make an evening of it.（让我们愉快地过一个晚上。）
He had the best of it.（他成功了。）
He had the worst of it.（他失败了。）
We had nothing for it(=no alternative left）but to rough it out.(=face and overcome any difficulties that might arise）.（我们没有别的办法，只好面对事实，克服困难。）
They are making a jolly life of it.（他们生活得非常愉快。）
You are in for it.(=You are caught in a critical situation，and can not escape）.（你现陷于困境，不得脱身。）
It's very near，so you can walk it.（很近，你可以走去。）
现再就美国两位作家，一新一旧，对it的特别用法，例示如下：
Bob：I was at the appointed place on time.When you struck the match to light your cigar I saw it was the face of the man wanted in Chicago.Somehow I couldn't do it myself，so I went around and got the plain clothes man to do the job.——O.Henry，After Twenty Years.（鲍布君：我准时到达了指定的地点。当你擦燃火柴来点雪茄时，我就看到了那个面孔正是支加哥警方所要追捕的人。可是我自己不好意思拘捕你，所以我便走开去，而找了一个便衣警察来干这件事。）作者不说arrest you而用do it和do the job来代替，因为前文已经说明白了。
All he did was keep talking about some babe he was supposed to have had sexual intercourse with.Evety time he told it，it was different.One minute he'd be giving it to her in his cousin's Buick，the next minute he'd be giving it to her under some boardwalk.——J.D.Salinger，The Catcher in the Rye.（他只一味继续讲述和他发生过肉体关系的女孩子的事情。每次他说的时候，都有所不同。有时他是在从他表哥处借来的汽车里和她干那回事，有时他又在海滨木板铺成的步道底下来干。）
15.oneself的六种用法
“王先生和我本人都要到会的”一句，译成英文的Mr.Wong and myself will be present，为何不对？请将myself的用法详为说明。
【解答】在古代英语中，曾经以me，him，them等单纯代名词，当作myself，himself，themselves来用，使之具有反身的意味(Reflexive Meaninge)，如Shakespeare说的I have writ me here a letter.（我在此写了一封信。）及Byron说的To their salutations he bends him slightly.（对于他们的敬礼，他略为弯身回答。）反过来具有-self的字，却用于没有反身的意恩(non-reflexively）了，如I am inviting yourself and your wife.（我要招待你和你的太太。）所以质问中翻译的英文句子，在古代是通的，但现代英语却不许这样说了，必须改为：
Mr.Wong and I will be present.
才可以。同样They invited my wife and myself.句中末字也要改为me才合乎现代英语的语法。
现在且说这种-self代名词的正当的用法又是怎样的。
（1）用作他动词的宾语，句中主语和宾语为同一人或同一物时：
The child has burnt itself.（那孩子烫了自己。）
Jesus called himself the son of God.（耶稣叫他自己为上帝之子。）
Don't excuse yourself.（不必道歉。）
（2）“他动词+反身代名词=自动词”时：
I seated myself(=sat down）beside him.（我在他旁边坐下了。）
Don't overeat yourself.（勿过食。）
I have enjoyed myself very much.（玩得很愉快。）
（3）成为介词的宾语时：
You must take good care of yourself.（你必须善自珍摄。）
The door opened of itself.（门自开了。）
He always lives by himself.（总是独居。）
You must do that for yourself.（得自已做。）
He looked at himself in the mirror.（他对镜自照。）
Our captors left us to ourselves.（俘虏我们的人让我们自由行动，不加管束。）
（4）用于主语、宾语、补语的同格，以加强其意义，不加时意思也一样。
The matter itself is very clear.（事情本身很明白。）
He wrote the letter himself.（他亲笔写的信。）
Napoleon himself could not do it.（拿破仑本人也不能做到。）
Even the very gods themselves weep over the slavery of wisdom to folly.——Carlyle（见到贤人为愚人所酷使，鬼神也为之哭泣。）
The old gentleman is hospitality itself.（那老人客气极了。）
（5）用于避免发生误会时：
She asked for a ticket for herself.（她为她自己买了一张票。）如用for her则可能是指别人。
（6）在比较时，用有than，like，so，as时：
She is much taller than myself.（她比我高得多。）
The photo is not in the least like myself.（那照片一点也不像我。）
They are quite as well educated as myself.（他们和我一样受过高深的教育。）
比较：(a)He himself did it.
(b)He did it himself.
(a)近乎文言，(b)为口语；(a)有点装腔作势，(b)有点回想(afterthought）意味，这是根据Jespersen说的。
16.关系代名词的位置
英文的关系代名词，应紧接在其先行词之后，但常见关系代名词与先行词之间，另加入其他的字，使二者有了距离。请就关系代名词的位置举例说明。
【解答】英文中的关系代名词(relative pronoun）是负有两重任务的，既作代名词用，同时又用作连词。作连词用的关系代名词，实和真正的连词完全一样，应置于其所连接的子句的头上是毫无疑义的。同时从它的代名词的机能看来，又得要最靠近它的先行词(anteceden)，所以置于从属子句的头上，更是必然的事。
可是等到实际行文时，常因种种理由，不能完全照这样办，只好把它置于另外的字后面去，例如：a man than whom there were few better fellows in the world.（世界上没有几个比他更好的人。）又如I was brought to the place beyond which there lay the sea.（我被带到靠海不远的地方。）我们无法把句中的than和beyond移到别的地方去，非置于关系代名词之前不可。
他如during，considering，opposite，except等具有形容词性质的介词，也是如此。普通的介词，如of，亦莫不皆然，例如：The mountain the top of which is covered with snow.（山顶积雪），虽可说成The mountain of which the top is covered with snow，但决没有办法把of移到which的后面去，除非我们把of略去，即是不说the top of which，而说whose top，但这种对人的代名词，用于对物，也是要遭受非难的。
还有，我们说the top of which或of which the top，二者是没有什么分别的，但在别的情形时，换动一下，意义上就要发生变化了，例如：He had two daughters，of whom one married a judge.（他有两个女儿，一个嫁了法官）。就与说He had two daughters，one of whom marrled ajudge.有所不同，因为我们说of whom one married a judge就令人有一种预感，以后我们必将继续说and the other的，若说one of whom married a judge，就不会给人这种印象(Jespersen：M.E.G，Pt.III p.188）。
