有一本英语惯用法辞典说：“no choice but to do something 一语中的‘to’不可省去。”但我却不止一次地读到不带“to”的句子：
- I could not choose but go. 我不得不去。
nothing but do 1000
- He did nothing but complain. (PEG) 他只是抱怨。
统而言之,介词 but 后面的动词,一般带有“to”:
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We had no alternative but to confess our guilt. (RWRT) 除了承认有罪,我们别无选择。
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We have no choice but to arrive late. (MD) 除了迟到,我们别无选择。
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He wanted nothing but to stay there. (Sinclair) 他只想留在那里。
但是在 can(could), do 之后, but 后边的动词不定式符号“to”可以省略:
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I could not choose but love her. 除了爱她,我别无选择。
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He does everything in the house but put the children to bed. (CGEL) 除了放孩子上床睡觉之外, 家里的什么事他都干。
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We'll do anything (everything) but confess our guilt. 除了承认我们有罪之外,我们什么事情都愿意干。
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I do nothing but write verse. (Yeats) 我只写韵文。
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There seemed nothing else to do but send for a doctor. (Mis) 除了去请医生,看来没有别的办法。
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So there was nothing to do but follow. (Sinclair) 因此, 只能服从。
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There was nothing to do but wait till he came back. (PEG) 只好等待他回来。(除了等他回来以外,别无他法。)
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I've done everything you want but make the beds. (LEG) 除了铺床之外,你要我做的事我都做了。
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Election days are torture because there's nothing to do but wait. (Hillary, Living History) 选举的日子实在是种折磨，因为除了等待，什么也不能做。(希拉里，《亲历历史》)
(参见 but )