区别辨析 can't help doing, can't help/choose but do, cannot but do 与 cannot help sb./sth. doing

(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”。

  • 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。

  • could not help but realize that something was wrong.
    我不能不意识到出了什么差错。
  • 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。

  • 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。