It happens that...“碰巧……”

It happened that…是英语中一个很有用的句式，其意为“碰巧……”。句首的 it 可视为形式主语。如：

It happened that the ferry service was canceled. 碰巧渡船服务取消了。

It happened that her parents were both out.  有时刚好她父母会同时不在家。

It happened that the harvest was bad that year. 恰好那年收成不好。

It happened that I had driven that kind of car before. 碰巧我过去曾开过那种汽车。

It happened that I was standing next to him when he collapsed. 他倒下的时候我恰巧站在他旁边。

类似的结构还有：it chanced that…。如：

It chanced that the man was a doctor. 那男人碰巧是位医生。

It chanced that she was in when he called. 他打电话时碰巧她在家。

It happened / chanced that she spoke fluent Swahili. 偏巧她很会说斯瓦希里语。

为加强语气，so 常与 happen / chance 连用。如：

It so happened / chanced that I’d met her a few years before. 碰巧我几年前见过她。