英文法律文书简明教程（三）冠词

冠词指“a”，“an”，和“the”。学生常在句子中漏掉冠词，以为这样“高效”或“听起来象律师（说得话）”。但是，漏掉冠词往往写出劣质文章。需要用冠词的时候就用冠词，律师也不能例外。亚洲国家学生在写作时应注意正确使用冠词，因为许多亚洲国家语言没有冠词。

1 避免律师的习惯干扰。漏掉冠词并不能使句子更简洁，反而使句子更难懂。不要试图把句子写得“象律师写的那样”。文章最好写得正式，而不是“象律师那样”。

Incorrect: Police officer moved evidence to avoid disappearance from crime scene.

Correct: The police office moved the evidence to avoid its disappearance from the crime scene.

Incorrect: Abrams, officer on duty at time of crime, testified against defendant, Joanna Stone.

Correct: Abrams, the officer on duty at the time of the crime, testified against the defendant, Joanna Stone.

2 发元音和发辅音。如何选用“a”和“an”。原则很简单：以辅音开头的名词前用a，以元音开头的名词前用“an”。在第三点中将讨论稍难些的问题－如何处理元音发音和辅音发音。

Incorrect: The judge had an gavel, and he used it frequently.

Correct: The judge had a gavel, and he used it frequently.

Incorrect: The judge had a elephant in her courtroom, though nobody noticed.

Correct: The judge had an elephant in her courtroom, though nobody noticed.

3 元音发音开头和辅音发音开头。

有时一个单词以辅音开头，但听起来象以元音开头（即，发元音），这些单词在选用冠词时应被看作是以元音开头。这些单词多以“h”打头（例如hour和 heir），但是如果该辅音发声（发声的辅音），就应象其它辅音一样选用冠词“a”。从而，单词“heir”以元音发音开头，单词“hotel”以辅音发音开头。

下面举个辅音开头发元音选用冠词的例子。

Incorrect: The judge gave the lawyers a hour's recess to review the new evidence.

Correct: The judge gave the lawyers an hour's recess to review the new evidence.

下面举个辅音开头发辅音选用冠词的例子。

Incorrect: The professor was well known for posing an hypothetical question when students suggested that one rule would suffice for all situations.

Correct: The professor was well known for posing a hypothetical question when students suggested that one rule would suffice for all situations