“My father will be here tomorrow.”“Oh, I thought that he ____ today.”
A. was coming B. is coming C. will come D. comes(TOEFL)
试题要求选 A(was coming)。我不明白这里为什么要用动词的过去进行时,这是不是意味着“他正在来”?
大家知道,动词的现在进行时可用来表示将来:
-
The match is starting at 2:30 tomorrow. (CGEL) 比赛定于明天二点半开始。
-
‘A new play is coming to “The Globe” soon,’ I said. ‘Will you be seeing it?’ (New Concept English, Book 2, L. 40) “‘环球剧场’不久将上演一部新剧，您去看吗?”我说。
与此相类似,动词的过去进行时可用来表示过去的将来(即从过去的某个时间角度来看是将来的事情):
-
Andy was very happy when his parents told him they were coming back to China very soon. (EGU) 安迪听到父母说他们不久将回到中国时,非常高兴。
-
They were getting married the following spring. (CGEL) 他们要在下一年春天结婚。
在上面试题里之所以使用过去进行时 was coming 是受 I thought 的制约, 即在 I thought 的时候, was coming 是将来的事。具有这种用法的动词还有 go, arrive, leave, start 等 (参见 come )。