核心问题
The boy was wounded ____ his left leg ____ a stone.
A. in; with B. in; by C. on; with D. on; by
《新高考英语必考语法精析》(商务印书馆国际有限公司, p. 92) 给的答案是 A。为什么不能选 B 呢?
词典解答
上面的试题把复杂的语言现象简单化了: by 表示有生命的施动者, with 表示工具。但是, by 和 with 在这方面的用法却要复杂得多。拿 by 来说, 它不仅可以引出有生命的施动者, 也可以引出无生命的施动者、工具、手段或方式。因此, 上题也可以选 B。只要跟下面的句子
by bus/by the bus
作一对比,就会明白这一点:
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damage caused by fire 火灾造成的损害
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We were amazed by what she told us. 她告诉我们的话使我们感到很惊讶。
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The window had been broken by a stone. 窗户被一块石头打碎了。
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He was killed by a falling stone. 他被一块掉下来的石头砸死了。
由此看来,上题中使用 with a stone, by a stone 都是正确的,而且基本含义相同。如果有什么区别的话,那只是表现在暗含的意义上:with a stone 含有某人用 a stone 作为工具的意思,而 by a stone 可能表示自然的原因。
[试题句意]这个男孩的左腿被一块石头击伤。
by bus/by the bus 见 bus
by bus/on the bus 见 bus
by day/by the day 见 day