【英語】無生物主語を制すものは自然な英語を制す！
G’day! It’s cloudy today and is going to rain in the afternoon.
Actually, I like summer rain, as it cools down the summer heat.
On top of that, summer rain brings a petrichor, which is an earthy, pleasant scent produced by rainfall on dry ground, often followed by a rainbow brought by the sunshine after the rain🌈 For details about petrichor, please take a look at my past post as follows.
みなさま、こんにちは✨今日は天気が微妙ですが、いかがお過ごしでしょうか。私は夏の雨が実は結構好きです。乾いた地面に雨が降る時に発生するあの香りが好きなんです。それに、雨が上がった後は、もしかすると虹が出るかもしれませんね🌈そう考えると、ワクワクします。
タイトルにある通り、今日のテーマは【無生物主語】です。
皆さんは英文を作るときに、毎回、I （私は）を連呼していませんか。そんなお悩みがある方に今回のテーマはもってこいですよ⭐️
無生物主語を制するものは自然な英語を制します。
それでは行ってみましょう。Let’s get started💪
① 無生物主語ってなんだろう
まずは無生物主語について見ていきましょうね。無生物主語は文字通り、無生物つまり、モノやコトを主語にすることです。自然な英語では、モノやコトを主語にして、冗長な表現を避けることが多々あります。
以下の例文を見てみましょう：
She could not attend the class because she was sick.
上記では主語がSheですが、モノやコトを主語にすると↓
Her sickness caused her to miss the class.
She was sickをHer sicknessと名詞形にして、コトを主語にしました。そして動詞はcause 人 to 原型を使用し、〜を欠席するという意味のmissを代わりに使用しました。
Her sickness prevented her from attending the class.
他の言い換えとして、上記でも表現できます。今度はprevent 人 from 〜ingを使用しています。
このように主語を無生物主語にすることで、文章をスッキリさせることができます。このちょっとした工夫が、毎回、I（私は）から始まる文章を連呼せずに、スタイリッシュな英文になるコツです💕
② 無生物主語にする際によく使用する動詞
前述でコトを主語にしたときに使用した動詞（causeやprevent）は、無生物主語の文章ではよく一緒に使用されます。このセクションでは、無生物主語でよく使用される動詞をご紹介いたします。
⑴ 因果関係
無生物主語の文章では、主語との因果関係を表す動詞がよく使用されています。
先ほど例に挙げたcauseは典型的な因果関係を表す単語ですよね。
その他、以下のような単語が挙げられます：
🍀基本の動詞
take / bring / cost / save / make / let
The sunshine after the rain brought a rainbow.
= When the Sun shines after the rain, a rainbow comes.
Smoking cost his health.
= His health was damaged because of smoking.
The consultation with his boss saved him a lot of trouble.
= He escaped from a lot of trouble because he consulted with his boss.
Studying hard made him pass the exam.
= He passed the exam because he studied hard.
🍀可能性や許可を表す動詞
enable A to B
allow A to B
permit A to B
ensure / make possible O / make it possible to do
The vaccine rollout enabled the nation to reopen the economy.
= When the vaccine rollout became widespread, the economy reopened.
上記は分詞構文や関係代名詞などで長い文になるとき、かなり重宝しますよ。
🍀必要性を表す動詞
force A to B
urge A to B
require A to B
necessitate / call for
A surge in the number of COVID-19 cases forced the government to declare a third state of emergency.
= As the number of COVID-19 cases surged, the government had to declare a third state of emergency.
🍀伴うことを表す動詞
involve / entail
The preventive measures against COVID-19 involve wearing a mask and self-restraint on nonessential, nonurgent outings.
＝ The government requested us to wear a mask and voluntarily refrain from nonessential, nonurgent outings as the preventative measures against COVID-19.
🍀予想を表す動詞
expect A to B
The company has been severely affected by the economic slowdown due to COVID-19, expecting its revenue to decrease by 1.5 million yen.
= The company has been severely affected by the economic slowdown due to COVID-19 and it expects that its revenue will decrease by 1.5 million yen.
🍀結果を表す動詞
see A do/doing
cause A to B
lead to
result in
bring about
make for / yield / produce
log / record / post / mark / rack up
stand at / come to
The company posted improved business performance and saw exports increase due to the reopening of the economy.
= The company’s business performance was improved and its exports increased due to the reopening of the economy.
🍀助長を表す動詞
prompt/promote A to B
spur A to B
help A do / aid O in doing
Increased awareness of climate change prompted the company to step up its initiatives toward SDGs.
= As awareness of climate change increased, the company stepped up its initiatives toward SDGs.
🍀避けることを表す動詞
prevent A from doing
stop A from doing
keep A from doing
eliminate the need/possibility for
Heavy snow prevented him from going on a school trip.
= He could not go on a school trip because of heavy snow.
🍀提供を表す動詞
provide / offer
The absence of the conventional battery in the product provided a reduction in weight.
= We achieved a reduction in weight, as we were able to get rid of the conventional battery in the product.
⑵ 報告など
demonstrate / indicate / say / tell / show
The demonstration against the event showed the frustration toward the government’s approach to COVID-19.
= People demonstrated against the event, as they were frustrated about the government’s approach to COVID-19.
⑶ 増減
increase / raise / rise / grow / surge /
decrease / reduce / shorten / lower など
※rise / grow / surgeは自動詞なので、目的語を取らない
e.g.
Net sales rose
Operating profit surged 3%
●●の●●が増加というときは前置詞inを使いましょう。
The new product grew in popularity.
Cryptocurrencies recently surged in values.
The company’s cost-cutting efforts reduced cost of goods.
As the company made efforts to reduce cost, the company decreased cost of goods.
⑷ その他
🍀状態にする動詞
render＋人＋形容詞
The shock of the news almost rendered him speechless.
= He was so shocked at the news that he almost became speechless.
🍀機能を表す動詞
serve as A / function as A
Mask mandatory in place will serve as an effective measure to prevent the spread of the virus.
= The government put in place mask mandatory and considered it as an effective measure to prevent the spread of the virus.
⭐️まとめ
最後までお読みいただき、ありがとうございます。今回はだいぶ長文になってしまい、本当にお付き合いいただきありがとうございます。また、数あるノートの中で私のノートにたどり着いていただいたこと本当に感謝申し上げます🙏
今回は無生物主語を取り上げましたが、いかがでしたでしょうか。無生物主語を制して、より自然でスタイリッシュな英語を作ってみてくださいね。
Many many thanks for reading my post. I hope you enjoyed this post. If you liked my post, please hit a like and don’t forget to subscribe to my note.
I really appreciate your support. Have a good one✨ Cheers!