定语是用来修饰名词或代词的，说明所修饰词的性质、特征及所属，限定或修饰名词（或代词）的句子成分。英语中常见作定语的有：名词、形容词、分词、动名词、动词不定式、数词、代词、副词、介词短语和从句等。现将其表示法归纳如下：
一、 名词作前置定语
名词作前置定语应注意：
1. 通常表示在以下几种情况。
(1) 中心词的用途或功能: a milk bottle, eye drops
(2)发生的时间: an evening party, birthday card, summer vacation
(3) 处所: Tsinghua University,Tian An Men Square, Nanjing Road
(4) 性别或身份: a boy friend, a baby kangaroo
(5) 性质或类别: the paper tiger, the time table
2. man和woman作定语时应注意其单复数形式。
例a man doctor---men doctors 男医生
a woman engineer---women engineers 女工程师
3. 表示时间、距离、国家、城市、团体等的名词作定语可以用加’s所有格的形式。
例today’s newspaper, ten minutes’ walk, China’s industry
4. 某些名词如sports, goods, clothes, sales等作定语时只用复数。
例a sports car 一辆跑车
a sales manager 一位销售经理
5. 名词作定语和所有格作定语的区别。
例girl friend 女朋友---the girl’s friend 那位女孩的朋友
women drivers 女司机--- the woman’s driver 那位妇女的司机
【真题再现】
1. The_____ is just around the corner and you won’t miss it.(2001上海春季)
A. bicycle’s shop B. bicycle shop
C. bicycle shops D. bicycles’ shop
2. He dropped the____ and broke it. (NMET1993)
A. cup of coffee B. coffee’s cup
C. cup for coffee D. coffee cup
key BD
注：名词作定语修饰另一名词，若前后两个名词都是人或物时，一般不用’s所有格形式。
例 My brother takes care of the vegetable garden.
Today country music has returned.
二、分词作前置定语或后置定语
分词作定语时：
1. 应注意它与被修饰的名词之间的关系。现在分词与被修饰名词构成主谓关系；过去分词则与被修饰名词构成动宾关系。因此，现在分词带有主动和进行的意义，过去分词带有被动和完成的意义。
2. 一般地说，单个分词作定语时，放在被修饰的名词之前作前置定语；分词短语作定语时，则放在被修饰的名词之后作后置定语。
例 a developing country 发展中国家
a developed country 发达国家
The boy singing now is a classmate of mine.
【真题再现】
1. The disc, digitally _________ in the studio, sounded fantastic at the party that night. (2004上海)
A. recorded B. recording
C. to be recorded D. having recorded
2. The picture_____ on the wall is painted by my nephew. (2000北京春季)
A. having hung B. hanging
C. hangs D. being hung
3. The Olympic Games, _____in 776 B.C., did not include women players until 1912. (NMET1997)
A. first playing B. to be first played
C. first played D. to be first playing
key ABC
三、动名词作前置定语
动名词和现在分词的形式一样，都由动词+ing构成，都可作定语，动名词所修饰的一般是物，表示所修饰名词的用途、性质或功能，具有名词的性质，它同所修饰的名词间不存在主谓关系。
例a walking(为动名词) stick=a stick which is used for walking
an ironing(为动名词) board=a board which is used for ironing
a sleeping (为现在分词) boy=a boy who is sleeping 在睡觉的男孩
a sleeping (为动名词) bag=a bag which is used for sleeping 睡袋
四、动词不定式作后置定语
动词不定式作定语应注意：
1. 表示将要发生的动作，有时根据句意需要加上介词，这时介词不能省略，因为被修饰的名词是它的宾语。
例The farmers thought of ways to protect their crops.
We have only a small cold room to live in.
2. 用于修饰被序数词、最高级或no, all, any等限定的中心词。
例 Marie Curie became the first woman in France to be a university professor.
She was the first person in the word to receive two Nobel Prize.
He was the best man to do the job.
3. 根据不同的句意，不定式可用主动语态或被动语态。
例 Have you got anything to post? (post的动作执行者是“你”)
Have you got anything to be posted?(post的动作执行者是“我”或“别人”)
There are some plates to wash (to be washed).
【真题再现】
1. I’m going to the supermarket this afternoon. Do you have anything______?(2004上海春季)
A. to be buying B. to buy
C. for buying D. bought
2. She will tell us why she feels so strongly that each of us has a role_______ in making the earth a better place to live. (2003上海春季)
A. to have played B. to play
C. to be played D. to be playing
key BB
五、形容词作前置定语或后置定语
1． 多个形容词修饰一个名词时，与该名词关系密切的、反应名词最本质的形容词最靠近该名词，一般排序如下： 限定词+数量形容词+描绘性形容词+大小、长短、高低等形容词+ 新旧、老幼形容词+ 颜色+ 国籍+ 材料+ 被修饰的名词。
2． 形容词修饰以-body,-one,-thing,-where结尾的复合不定代词，常作后置定语。
例 I have something important to tell you.
We didn’t meet anybody new at the party.
3． 多数以a-开头的形容词，如afraid, alive, alone, asleep, awake, ashamed, alike等只能作后置定语。
例 Until recently, the only milu deer alive in the world belonged to the Duke of Bedford in English.
【真题再现】
1.---How was your recent visit to Qingdao? (NMET1995)
---It was GREat. We visited some friends, and spent the____ days at the seaside.
A. few last sunny B. last few sunny
C. last sunny few D. few sunny last
2. ________students are required to take part in the boat race.(2004浙江)
A. Ten strong young Chinese
B. Ten Chinese strong young
C. Chinese ten young strong
D. Young strong ten Chinese
3. John Smith, a successful businessman, has a _______ car. (2004辽宁)
A. large German white B. large white German
C. white large German D. German large white
4. The house smells as if it hasn’t been lived in for years. (2004江苏)
A. little white wooden B. little wooden white
C. white wooden little D. wooden white little
5. This_______ girl is Linda’s cousin. (2005北京卷)
A. pretty little Spanish B. Spanish little pretty
C. Spanish pretty little D. little pretty Spanish
key BABAA
六、数词作前置定语
数词作定语应注意：
1． 基数词与序数词连用时，序数词通常在前。
例 the first five pages of the book 这本书的前五页
2． 序数词前通常加定冠词the，表顺序，但也可以加不定冠词a/an，表示“又，再”。
例Try a second time and you’ll succeed. 再试一次，你会成功。
【真题再现】
1. Many students signed up for the______ race in the sports meeting to be held next week. (2003上海春季)
A. 800-metre-long B.800-metres-long
C. 800 metre length D.800 metres length
key A
七、代词作前置定语
形容词性物主代词、指示代词、不定代词修饰名词都作前置定语。
【真题再现】
1. ---Have you finished your report yet?
---No, I’ll finish it in_____ ten minutes. （NMET1995）
A. another B. other
C. more D. less
2. ---Can you come on Monday or Tuesday?
---I’m afraid day is possible. （NM-ET1998）
A. either B. neither
C. some D. any
key AB
注：another和more的用法：another+数词+名词，而数词+more+名词。
八、副词作后置定语
副词修饰名词作定语时常后置，常见的副词如here, there, out, up, down, home, abroad, together 等。
例 The peasants there are very friendly.
I met Mr. Wang on my way home.
九、介词短语作后置定语
介词短语修饰名词或代词只能作后置定语。
例 The girl in a red coat is my sister.
One of the most important temples in danger was the one at Abu Symbol.
Nowhere else in the world can there be such a quiet, beautiful place.
十、从句作后置定语
高考题中对定语从句的考查越来越频繁，主要集中于：
（1）先行词的选择；
（下转29页）
（2）非限制性定语从句的判断及先行词的使用；
（3）定语从句与其他从句的区别。解题时应注意分析具体的语义、语境及句子结构，首先应判断先行词在句中担当何种成分，再选择不同的关系代词或副词。
【真题再现】
1. There are two buildings; _____ stands nearly a hundred feet high. (2004湖北卷)
A. the larger B. the larger of them
C. the larger one that D. the larger of which
2. The place_______ the bridge is supposed to be built should be________the cross-river traffic is the heaviest. （2005江苏卷）
A. which, where B. at which, which
C. at which, where D. which, in which
3. GREat changes have taken place in that school. It is no longer______ it was 20 years ago, ______ it was so poorly equipped. (2005安徽卷)
A. what, when B. that, which
C. what, which D. which, that
4. His sister has become a lawyer, _____she wanted to be. （2005湖北卷）
A. who B. that
C. what D. which
5. There were dirty marks on her trousers____ she had wiped her hands. (2004全国卷II)
A. where B. which
C. when D. what
6. ____is often the case, we have work out the production plan. （2004江苏）
A. Which B. When
C. What D. As
key DCADAD
注：as引导的非限制性定语从句的位置比较灵活，可位于句首、句中、句末，而which在定语从句中可以作主语或宾语，不能位于句首。
