首先,请翻译一句话:"He said that that 'that' that that man used was wrong."。
如果你能看明白这句话,那你就不必往下看了。但如果你不明白,还是请耐心看下去。"that"可以说是一个应用很广,用法、意思很多的词,很难真正把握其用法。尤其是什么时候该用"that",什么时候该用"which",很多人会犯迷糊。
它们的区别在于:
1."Which"引导关系从句--就是用来补充说明,无论有没有都对主句的意思没有影响的从句。例如:
The exhibition, which was held in the market reserve, contained some interesting examples of contemporary sculpture.
在这个例句中,作者假定读者知道所提及的展览会,所以展览地点只是一个补充说明。
2."That"引导的从句对事物起定义作用。例如:
The exhibition that was held in the market reserve contained some interesting examples of contemporary sculpture.
这里,作者假定读者不知道提及的展览会,因此要告诉读者是哪个展览会:"the one in the market reserve",(and not the one in the Botanic Gardens, or the one in the Town Hall)。
因为"That"引导的从具有定义的作用,把它们删掉会影响主句的意思。他们和所定义的词是一个完整的意思单元,因此中间没有用逗号分隔。
所以,关于文章开头的那个句子,很多人会换个说法:"He said that that 'that' which that man used was wrong.",但这样的话又是另一个意思了。