1.shadow用作动词意思是“投影于…之上”“遮蔽光亮”,指一物体使另一物体模糊不清。引申可表示“变阴暗”“变朦胧”“紧跟着”“盯梢”等。
2.shadow既可用作及物动词,也可用作不及物动词。用作及物动词时,接名词、代词作宾语。用作不及物动词时,多与介词into连用。

shadow into(v.+prep.)
变阴暗,变朦胧 change dark
▲shadow into sth
The mountains were shadowing into blackness.群山渐渐消失在黑暗中。

用作及物动词
▲S+～+n./pron.
Trees shadowed the pool.那些树的阴影遮蔽了池塘。
A grove of trees shadowed the house densely.树丛把这幢房子遮蔽得很密实。
Our planes shadowed the enemy fighters until they left our airspace.我们的飞机一直跟踪着敌人的那几架战斗机,直至它们飞离我们的领空。
◇ 用于be ～ed结构
The later part of his life was shadowed by his son's tragic death.他儿子的死这一悲惨事件给他的晚年生活投下了阴影。
He is shadowed by the police.他被警察跟踪。

shadow, shade
这两个动词的共同意思是“遮蔽”。其区别在于：
1.shade指遮蔽光亮和炎热,而shadow只可指遮蔽光亮。
2.shade形成的是一个立体空间,而shadow只在地面上形成一个平面。
3.shade所形成的阴影没有明显的轮廓,而shadow所形成的阴影有明显的轮廓。

［词源］  ＜古英语sceadwe(黑,暗)

1.shadow表示“阴影,阴暗”时,是不可数名词; 表示“人或物的影子”时,是可数名词。
2.shadow指投射到平面上的黑暗部分,作“部分黑暗”“半暗”解时,常用复数形式。
3.shadow还可喻指“不祥之兆”。

be a shadow of one's〔its〕 former self
已不再有以前的力量、影响力等 not have the strength, influence, etc. that one〔it〕 formerly had
She used to be a great player, but now she's only a shadow of her former self.她以前是个健将,现在已不及当年了。
After his illness he was a shadow of his former self.他病后瘦弱不堪。

be afraid of one's own shadow
很胆小 be very timid
Johnny cries whenever he must say hello to an adult, he is afraid of his own shadow.约翰尼该跟大人打招呼时就哭鼻子,他胆小极了。
She stays at home all the time and never makes any new friends, she seems to be afraid of her own shadow.她成天呆在家里,从不结交新朋友,她仿佛连自己的影子都害怕。
He is sonervous that he is afraid of his own shadow.他神经过敏得甚至怕自己的影子。
One gets the impression that the whole back line are afraid of their own shadows.人们得到的印象是,整个后排的人神经紧张。

Her face was in deep shadow.她的脸部在一片很暗的阴影中。
He walked along in the shadows hoping no one would recognize him.他走在暗处,希望没有人认出他来。
She stood aghast at the black shadow in the drawing room. 她被客厅里的黑影吓呆了。
As the sun set, the shadows lengthened.随着太阳的下山,影子变长了。
The earth's shadow sometimes falls on the moon.地球的影子有时落在月球上面。
Shadow is longer when the sun is low in the sky.太阳很低,物体的影子就很长。
The dog is his master's shadow.这条狗跟主人形影不离。
You can't spend your life chasing after shadows.你不能一辈子追求不存在的东西。
The invalid was worn to a shadow.病人瘦得皮包骨头。
The police put a shadow on the suspected robber.警方派探员盯住那个抢劫犯。
They followed the criminal up like a shadow and arrested him at his lodging.他们形影不离地跟踪那个罪犯,并在他的住所抓住了他。
For years he lived in the shadow of his famous mother.他多年受母亲盛名所累，难露头角。
There's not a shadow of justification for your behaviour.你的举动毫无道理。
There is not a shadow of (a) doubt about his guilt.关于他的罪状毫无可疑之处。
This event is a shadow.这件事是个不祥之兆。
The coming war cast a shadow over the people.即将来临的战争给人们内心投下了阴影。
The shadow of this early tragedy has affected her whole life.她年纪轻轻遭此劫难,影响了她一生。
The bad news cast a shadow on our meeting.那个坏消息给会议蒙上了一层阴影。

shadow, shade
参见shade条。