"occur to" 是一个表达思维突然触发的短语,意为:
强调想法是不经意间、毫无预兆地冒出来 ,而非刻意思考的结果。
"occur to" 的主语通常是抽象的想法/念头(如 idea, thought, notion 等),但实际使用中更常用 "it 作形式主语" 的结构(避免直接用抽象名词作主语导致句子笨重)。以下是三类核心结构:
"it" 是形式主语,真正的主语是后面的 that 从句(表示想到的具体内容 )。
It never occurred to me that she might be lying.
(我从来没想到她可能在撒谎。)
It suddenly occurred to him that he had forgotten his wife's birthday.
(他突然想到自己忘了妻子的生日。)
"it" 仍是形式主语,真正的主语是不定式短语(to do sth.)(表示想到要做的动作 )。
Did it occur to you to call the police when you saw the accident?
(你看到事故时有没有想到要报警?)
It never occurs to her to ask for help when she's stuck.
(她遇到困难时从来没想到要求助。)
直接用具体的想法/念头作主语,"to sb." 表示这个想法属于谁 。
A brilliant idea occurred to me while I was taking a shower.
(我洗澡时突然想到一个绝妙的主意。)
An uncomfortable thought occurred to him as he walked alone at night.
(他深夜独自行走时,一个不安的念头冒了出来。)
1、 主语与宾语不能颠倒:
不能说 "Sb. occurs to sth."(人不能出现在想法里 ),必须是 "sth. occurs to sb." 或用 it 作形式主语。
❌ 错误:I occurred to a good idea.
✅ 正确:A good idea occurred to me./It occurred to me that I had a good idea.
2、 时态变化:
"occur" 的过去式/过去分词是 occurred(注意双写 r),现在分词是 occurring。
It had never occurred to me that he would quit.
(我从来没想到他会辞职。)(过去完成时,强调在过去某件事之前没想到 )
Has it ever occurred to you that you might be wrong?
(你有没有想过自己可能错了?)(现在完成时,强调到目前为止的想法 )
3、 与类似短语的区别:
"occur to" 侧重突然、不经意 ,而 "think of" / "come up with" 更强调刻意思考后想到 :
刻意思考:I thought of a solution after hours of work.
(我工作了几小时后想到一个解决方案。)
突然想到:It occurred to me that I could use my phone to find the address.
(我突然想到可以用手机查地址。)
"occur to" 的关键是表达突然冒出来的想法 ,核心结构是:
It occurs to sb. that...(想到内容)
It occurs to sb. to do sth.(想到动作)
Sth. occurs to sb.(想法直接出现)
掌握这些结构,就能准确用 "occur to" 描述突然灵光一现 的时刻~