比较的用法:
①双方比较,表示一方超过另一方时,用“比较级+than”的结构表示。例如:This pen is better than that one. He is cleverer than his sister.但注意这种表达法:She is the older of the two sisters.
②表示一方不及另一方时,用“less+原级+than”的结构表示。例如:This park is less beautiful than that one.
③表示一方超过另一方的程度或数量时,可在比较级前加表示程度的状语(如even,a lot,a bit,a little,still,much,far,yet,by far等)修饰。例如:He works even harder than before. Things are far worse than expected.注意:英语比较级前若无even,still,yet等时,译成汉语时可用“较”或“……一些”,或不译出,一般不用“更”。例如:She feels better than yesterday.她比昨天好些了。Please come earlier tomorrow.请明天早点来。注意:by far通常用于强调最高级。用于比较级时,一般放在比较级的后面,如放在前面,应在中间加“the”。例如:He is taller by far than his brother.He is by far the taller of the two brothers.
④表示一方随另一方的程序而变化,即表达“越……(就)越……”意义时,用the+比较级(主语+谓语),the+比较级(主语+谓语)”的结构。例如:The harder he worked,the more progress he made. The more you listen to English,the easier it becomes.
⑤不与其它事物相比,表示本身程度的改变,即表达“越来越……”意义时,用“比较级+and+比较级”的结构。例如:The weather is getting colder and colder. The city is becoming more and more beautiful.
⑥“no+比较级”与“not+比较级”结构含义不同。“no+比较级”表示两个人(事物)都含有与该形容词相反的属性;“not+比较级”表示两个事物都具有该形容词的属性,只是在程度上前者不如后者。试比较:Tom is no taller than Jack.(=Tom is as short as Jack.) Tom is not taller than Jack.(=Tom is not so tall as Jack.)
⑦某些以or结尾的形容词进行比较时,用to代替than。(这些词有inferior,superior,junior,senior,prior等。)例如:He is su-perior to Mr. Wang in mathematics.
⑧在比较从句中,为了避免重复,我们通常用that(those),one(ones)代替前面出现的名词。that指物,one既可指人,也可指物。that可代替可数名词单数和不可数名词,而one只能代替可数名词。例如:The book on the table is more interesting than that on the desk. A box made of iron is stronger than the one made of wood.
⑨倍数表示法。假定两事物A和B对比,比较中有A是B的几倍和A比B大(小)几倍两种情况:
(1)A是B的几倍可表示为:A is...times as+形容词(副词)原级+as
B./A is...times the size(length/height/amount etc.)of B.例如:这座桥是旧桥的3倍长。
①This bridge is three times as long as the old one.
②This bridge is three times the length of the old one.
(2)A比B大(小)几倍或多(少)几倍可表示为:
A is...times+比较级+than
B./A is...times+more(less)than B.例如:这座桥比旧桥长3倍。This birdge is three times longer than that of the old one.=This bridge is four times as long as the old one.再如:我厂今年的产量比去年多2倍。The output of our plant this year is twice larger than last year.=The output of our plant this year is three times the amount of last year.用times表示倍数,一般只限于表示包括基数在内三倍或三倍以上的数。表示两倍可以用twice或double。
最高级的用法:
①三者或三者以上相比,表示最高程度时,用“the+最高级”的结构表示。这种句式一般常有表示比较范围的介词短语。例如:Zhang Hua is the tallest of the three. He works(the)hardest in his class. This is the most brave nation in the world.