核心结论
这组知识点是英语中常见的「固定搭配 + doing」句型框架族。核心特征是:这些结构中出现的 to 或 of 都是介词(不是不定式标记),因此后面必须接动名词 doing,而非动词原形或不定式。
该族可分为三大类:① when it comes to doing(谈到/涉及)、with a view to / with the aim of doing(目的是)等介词短语;② be busy / spend time / waste time (in) doing 等「动词 + (介词) + doing」结构;③ be on the verge/point/brink of / be in danger/habit/process/course of / stand a chance of doing 等「be + 名词短语 + of + doing」框架。
特别注意三组对立项:cannot help doing(忍不住)接 doing,但 cannot (help) but do / do nothing but do(只能/不得不)接动词原形;be worth doing 用主动表被动,be worthwhile to do 用不定式主动式;as ... as possible 等价于 as ... as one can,中间接形容词/副词原级。
易错点与直译陷阱
最高频陷阱:看到 to 就接动词原形 —— when it comes to *learn* (✗) 应为 when it comes to learning (✓)。判断方法:该 to 前若是动词(aim/look forward 等)或名词性结构(with a view),通常是介词;to 前若是动词原形或助动词,才是不定式标记。
be worth doing 的被动误解 —— The book is worth reading 不是「书值得读」的主动逻辑,而是「书值得被读」,reading 在此结构中已包含被动含义,不能写成 *be worth being read*(冗余错误)。
cannot help doing 与 cannot but do 混淆 —— cannot help laughing(忍不住笑)≠ cannot but laugh(不得不笑/只能笑),前者接 doing 表示情感上的不由自主,后者接原形表示逻辑上的别无选择,语义和结构都不同。
be in ... of doing 族的语义误判 —— be in the process of building(正在建设中)、be in danger of collapsing(有倒塌危险)、be in the habit of smoking(有抽烟习惯),同样是 be in ... of doing 框架,但 process 表进程、danger 表风险、habit 表习惯,必须根据中心名词判断整体含义,不能一概而论。
as ... as possible 的比较级误用 —— *as more quickly as possible* (✗) 应为 as quickly as possible (✓),中间只能接原级,已经表示「尽可能……的程度」,加比较级属于重复比较。
近似结构辨析
when it comes to doing vs when to do:前者是「当谈到/涉及做某事时」,to 是介词,comes to 是固定搭配;后者是「何时做某事」,to 是不定式标记。例:When it comes to learning English (谈到学英语), we should know when to practice speaking (何时练口语)。
cannot help doing vs cannot (help) but do vs do nothing but do:cannot help doing 强调「情不自禁、忍不住」(情感驱动);cannot but do 表示「不得不、只能」(逻辑必然);do nothing but do 表示「只是/仅仅做」(排他性行为)。前者接 doing,后两者接原形。
be worth doing vs be worthwhile to do/doing:be worth 后只能接 doing 且主语是被做对象(The film is worth watching = 电影值得被看);be worthwhile 可接 to do 或 doing,且可用 it 作形式主语(It is worthwhile to watch the film)。worthwhile 更灵活,worth 更简洁。
with a view to doing vs in order to do:两者都表目的,但 with a view to 的 to 是介词(接 doing),in order to 的 to 是不定式标记(接动词原形)。例:He studied hard with a view to passing the exam = He studied hard in order to pass the exam。
be on the verge/point/brink of doing:三者都表示「即将、濒临」,可互换,但语域略有差异:on the verge of 较正式学术,on the point of 中性常见,on the brink of 常带负面语义(brink 原意悬崖边缘,多用于危机、战争、崩溃等)。
理解与翻译方法
识别 to 的词性三步法:① 看 to 前的词 —— 若是动词原形/助动词/情态动词,to 多半是不定式标记;若是名词、介词、固定搭配的一部分(look forward to / be used to 等),to 是介词。② 看 to 后能否接名词 —— 介词 to 后可接名词(look forward to the meeting),不定式 to 后只能接动词原形。③ 记住高频介词 to 搭配:when it comes to / with a view to / look forward to / be used to / object to / lead to 等,看到这些直接接 doing。
判断 worth 系列的主被动关系:先找主语指代的是「做事的人」还是「被做的对象」。若主语是对象(The book / The film / The problem),用 be worth doing,此时 doing 在语义上是被动的;若主语是人或用 it 作形式主语,用 be worthwhile to do。记住公式:对象 + be worth doing,人/it + be worthwhile to do。
区分 cannot help doing 与 cannot but do 的语义:遇到 cannot help 时,先判断后面有没有 but —— 有 but 则接原形表示「只能/不得不」(逻辑必然),无 but 则接 doing 表示「忍不住」(情感不由自主)。快速记忆:help doing = 忍不住帮着做,but do = 别无选择只能做。
处理 be in ... of doing 族的步骤:① 定位中心名词(process / danger / habit / course);② 根据名词判断语义框架(process/course = 进程中,danger = 有风险,habit = 习惯性);③ 将 of doing 理解为该名词的具体内容。公式:be in the [名词] of [该名词的具体内容]。
as ... as possible 的替换与扩展:见到 as ... as possible 时,可直接替换为 as ... as one can,其中 one 改为具体主语(he / we / you 等),can 的时态与主句保持一致。若要表达过去的「尽可能」,用 as ... as one could。记住中间永远是原级:as quickly / carefully / much as possible。
考法提示
四六级语法选择题常考:给出 when it comes to / with a view to / look forward to 等结构,在选项中设置 do / to do / doing 三个干扰项,正确答案必须是 doing。解题关键是识别 to 是介词而非不定式标记。
考研完形填空高频考点:在 be worth ___ 或 spend time ___ 的空格处,选项设置 to do / doing / done 三种形式。be worth 后必须接 doing(主动表被动),spend time 后接 (in) doing,选 done 是典型错误(误以为要被动式)。
阅读理解长难句中,be on the verge/point of doing 与 be about to do 可能同时出现,需区分:前者更正式且可接较长的 doing 短语,后者口语化且后接动词原形。翻译时都可译为「即将」,但识别结构时注意 of 后接 doing。
写作中 cannot help doing 与 cannot but do 是高分辨析点:表达「忍不住」用 cannot help doing,表达「不得不/只能」用 cannot but do 或 have no choice but to do。用错会导致语义偏差,评分时计入「语法与词汇使用准确性」。
翻译题常考 be worth doing 的被动误译:原文「这本书值得一读」,错误译文 *The book is worth being read*(冗余),正确译文 The book is worth reading。考查点是理解 doing 在此结构中已包含被动含义。
记忆技巧
介词 to 口诀:「come、view、aim、forward、used,to 后 doing 不会错」—— 涵盖 when it comes to / with a view to / with the aim of / look forward to / be used to 等高频结构。
cannot help 记忆法:help 有「帮助」义,cannot help doing 可理解为「无法帮助自己不做 → 忍不住做」;若出现 but,则 but 表示「除了」,cannot but do = 除了做别无选择 → 只能做。
worth 系列对比记忆:worth 只有 5 个字母,短小精悍,只接 doing 且用法固定;worthwhile 有 10 个字母,更长更灵活,可接 to do 也可接 doing,还能用 it 作形式主语。
be in ... of doing 族分类记:process/course(进程类,中性)、danger(风险类,负面)、habit(习惯类,描述性),记住中心词的感情色彩,有助于快速判断句子语义。
教学例句
When it comes to reducing carbon emissions, governments must take immediate action rather than merely making promises.
在减少碳排放方面,政府必须立即采取行动,而不是仅仅做出承诺。
演示 when it comes to doing(谈到/涉及)+ 对比结构 rather than
The company is on the verge of launching a new product, having spent millions on research and development.
该公司即将推出新产品,已在研发上投入数百万。
演示 be on the verge of doing(即将)+ 现在分词作状语
Many students cannot help checking their phones during lectures, even though they know it harms their concentration.
许多学生在听课时忍不住看手机,尽管他们知道这会损害注意力。
演示 cannot help doing(忍不住)+ 让步状语从句
The historical building is worth preserving not only for its architectural value but also for its cultural significance.
这座历史建筑值得保护,不仅因其建筑价值,还因其文化意义。
演示 be worth doing(值得被做,主动表被动)+ not only ... but also 结构
Researchers are in the process of analyzing data collected from over 10,000 participants, and preliminary results will be published next month.
研究人员正在分析从一万多名参与者收集的数据,初步结果将于下月公布。
演示 be in the process of doing(正在进行中)+ 并列句
To master a foreign language, one should practice speaking as frequently as possible and avoid translating word by word.
要掌握一门外语,应该尽可能频繁地练习口语,避免逐字翻译。
演示 as ... as possible(尽可能)修饰副词 frequently