whether...or...引导状语从句是不是让步状语从句？
2012-05-22 21:06阅读：
昨晚，一名高一的学生问我一个问题：怎么分析下面划线部分的句子成分？
The theme park you are probably most familiar with is
Disneyland. It can be found in several parts of the world. It will
bring you into a magical world and make your dreams come true,
whether traveling through space, visiting a
pirate ship or meeting your favourite fairy tale or Disney cartoon
character.
很明显，It will bring you into a magical world and make your dreams
come
true是主句，划线部分是状语从句。问题是我一下子无法判断到底是条件状语从句还是让步状语从句。按理说whether不能引导条件状语从句，但是traveling
through space, visiting a pirate ship, 和 meeting your
favourite fairy tale or Disney cartoon character理解成bring you into a
magical world and make your dreams come
true的三个条件也很合理啊。如果是让步状语从句，典型的连词应该是although、even if等等，如：
Although he is a child, he can do it alone.
(尽管他还是个孩子，他却可以独立完成此事。）
让步状语从句的英文是：Adverbial Clauses of Concession
concession：让步，妥协。英文解释是：something that you allow or
do, or allow sb to have, in
order to end an argument or to make a situation less
difficult。
但是原文'whether...or...or...'(无论是。。。。。。还是。。。。。。抑或是。。。。。。）完全理解成“让步”是不是也很牵强？
会不会有语法学家将whether...or...引导这种状语从句列为一种新的分类呢？在网上google了一下，还真有收获。原来有人将这种状语称为：Alternative
Conditional-Concessive
clauses，国内语法书有译作“选择条件-让步状语从句”的。下面是摘录的英文版详细讲解：
a) They're introduced by the correlative sequence
whether (…) or... which coordinates 2 subordinate clauses.
>The subordinate clauses combine conditional meaning with
disjunctive meaning :
Finite clauses
:
[Whether he goes
out] or [(whether) he stays home], his wife isn't
happy.
I'll do it
[whether they like it] or
[not] =
whether they like it or whether they don't like it.
Non-finite clauses
:
He's always
tired whether working or
relaxing.
She's always
happy, whether admired or
not.
The subordinator can be omitted
:
Working or
playing/ Admired or not, she's always happy.
Verbless clauses
:
I'll buy you a
present, money or no money.
Note : 'Conditional' meaning : whether has the
characteristic s of If (which is the main subordinator
introducing conditional clauses)
'Concessive' meaning : comes in
secondarily: Whether he goes out or (whether) he stays at home, his
wife isn't happy = Even if he stays at home, his wife isn't
happy.
b) Universal
conditional-concessive clauses :
They indicate a free choice
from among any number of conditions :
She looks pretty
[whatever she wears]
Meaning : even
though she were to wear overalls or a space suit
Subordinators
: whatever, whoever, no matter
what/where/why, it doesn't matter wh-.
Structure : Finite or verbless
[No matter how hard I try] I
can never catch up with him.
