(1) can't help doing sth.意思是“禁不住,不由得,被迫使着做某事”,总之,使你去做某事,即便你不想或不该做。
- Excuse me. I couldn't help overhearing what you said.
对不起,我禁不住偷听了你说的话。
(2) 有时用can't help (it),意思是“没有法子的事;没有办法;控制不了”。
- I can't help it if they do not come.
如果他们不来,我也没办法。 - Sorry, I broke the cup — I couldn't help it .
很抱歉,我打破了这个茶杯——我不是故意的。 - They talked too much. They couldn't help it themselves .
他们讲得太多了,他们自己也控制不住。
(3) can't help/choose but do sth.意思与can't help doing sth.相同,表示“不能不;禁不住”,但这种结构不常用,特别不用于口语中。
- I could not help but realize that something was wrong.
我不能不意识到出了什么差错。 - I cannot choose but stay up late into the night to do the work.
我别无选择,只好熬夜来做这项工作。
(4) cannot but do sth.与cannot help but do sth.同义。
- I cannot but admit the truth of your remarks although they go against my wishes.
虽然你的话与我的意愿背道而驰,但我却不得不承认你话中的事实。
(5) cannot help sb./sth. doing sth.意思是“不能使某人/某事不做某事(这种情况是不可改变的)”。
- We can't help him resigning if he wants to.
如果他要辞职,我们也没法拦住他。 - She could not help the tears of rage rolling down her cheeks.
她无法抑制住愤怒的泪水从脸颊上掉下来。