★ I don't know whether they are not here.

我想他们可能会在这里。

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乍然看来，此句不难理解，似乎是："我不知道他们是否在这里"，相当于I don't know wherther they are here or not. 实际上，这个句子并不是表示这个意思，因为它是个特殊句型，故不能按照字面去理解和翻译，其内涵相当于I think that they might be here. 正确的译文如上。为什么我们说这是一个特殊的句型呢？在回答之前，也让我们先看两个句子：

They are here.

他们在这里。(肯定形式的陈述句)

Aren't they here?

他们不在这里吗？(近乎肯定的疑问句，说话人的心目中认为他们在这里，这样问，只是想证实自己的想法无误。)

I don't know whether they are not here就是表示类似语义的一种句型。句中的I don't know并不是真正的不知道，而是表示"没有十足把握"或"未经证实"的意味，其后的whether they are not here是近乎肯定的猜测内容，故全句可译作："我想他们可能会在这里"。

"I don't know whether...not"和"I wonder whether...not"都是同一种类型的特殊句型，老是用以表示说话人主观看法或猜测的解释句(a pattern of interpretation)。



现在请读者将现在一段文章译成汉语，要注意whether...not所表达的内涵：

Dr. Aline Wong, a Singapore Government minister, has made a new pitch for Hong Kong people to migrate there after announcing that the number of Hongkongers who have taken up permanent residence since July 1989 had reached about 4,700. Dr. Wong said Singapore and Hong Konghad much in common. Both had Dynamic economies with modern infrastructures. Therefore, she wonders whether Hongkongers will not migrate to Singapore.
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