rather用法小結

下面是小編整理的一些關於rather的用法小結， 希望讓大家更好地認識rather這個單詞，提高英語水平。

　　一、rather 與其同義詞的區分

rather作爲獨立的副詞使用,可表示"相當"的意思。其同義詞有:pretty, quite, fairly。它們表示"相當"的程度從強到弱依次爲:rather, pretty, quite, fairly。例如,對於HarryPorter這本書,有人認爲"fairly good(還可以,還不錯)",這種評價通常並不能引起聽話人去看這本書的興趣;有人認爲"quite good(相當不錯,值得一看)",這可以說是一種推薦的說法;而如果有人說"rather good",那就表示"遠遠勝過其他同類",你可應該看一看了。可見這組詞在"相當"程度上的語氣差別。當pretty表示"相當"的意思時,通常只用於口語。

此外,還要注意這組詞各自特定的使用場合:

1. 當rather修飾表示批評、失望、驚奇等帶有負面含義的形容詞和副詞時,該詞傳達說話人的一種否定、不贊成的態度,意爲"頗,在一定程度上"。例如:

This initially rather dull hobby had led him into fresh fields of enjoyment. 這個剛開始頗無趣的愛好帶他進入了一個全新的樂土。

注:fairly也可表示"頗,在一定程度上"的意思,但通常置於一些帶有肯定、正面含義的形容詞和副詞之前。如果所修飾的形容詞或副詞爲中性詞,那麼用rather,就會傳達出說話人否定、不贊成的態度,用fairly則傳達說話人肯定的態度。

The summer in Beijing is rather hot. (The speaker dislikes it.)

The summer in Beijing is fairly dry. (The speaker likes it.)

2. 當rather用於一些帶有肯定含義的形容詞和副詞(如:amusing, clever, good, etc.)之前時,意爲"非常,相當",含義接近very。此時不傳達任何否定或不贊成的態度。

It is a rather good film. 這是相當好的一部電影。(表達說話者對該電影的一種相當推崇的態度)

3. 上述副詞中只有quite和rather 可以修飾動詞,如:

I quite like this book.

She rather enjoys sweeping and cleaning.

4. 修飾單數可數名詞時,fairly和pretty只能放在冠詞之後,而quite 和rather 可前可後。如:

It is quite a good film. = It is a quite good film.

It is rather a good film. = It is a rather good film.

It is a fairly good film.

It is a pretty good film.

　　二、rather 構成的習慣用語及搭配形式

1. would rather 寧可,寧願

(1)would rather後接動詞原形;表否定時,後接not +動詞原形

I’ll never be dependent on anyone again. I would rather starve (than be dependent on anyone else). 我再也不依靠任何人了。我寧願餓死(也不靠別人)。

John really dislikes dancing. He would rather not go dancing with his wife. 約翰確實不喜歡跳舞。他寧可不和妻子一起去跳舞。

(2)would rather後接that從句,從句用虛擬語氣,即用一般過去時表示現在或將來的動作或狀態,用過去完成時表示過去的動作或狀態。如:

I’d rather (that) you set out to do the task now.我寧願你現在就着手這項工作。

I’d rather you picked her up at the airport tomorrow morning. 我寧願你明早去機場接她。

I’d rather you had not told her the news that day.我寧願你那天沒告訴她這個消息。

(3)變體形式:would rather do ... than do ...

I would rather die than surrender to the enemy.

我寧可死也不會向敵人屈服。

2. rather than

(1)接形容詞/名詞,表示"與其……,不如……"

This pair of shoes is comfortable rather than pretty. 這雙鞋與其說是漂亮,不如說是舒服。

John is a doctor rather than a teacher.與其說約翰是個老師,不如說他是個醫生。

(2)接名詞或代詞,可表示"而不是"的意思,相當於短語instead of或in place of。I, rather than he, should be responsible for this failure. 該對這次失敗負責的是我,而不是他。

(3)接動詞原形,表示"而不是"Rather than allow the vegetables to go bad, he sold them at half price. 他將蔬菜半價賣掉,而不是讓菜壞掉。

3. or rather,表示"更確切地說",起進一步解釋說明的作用。

She worked as a secretary, or rather, a personal assistant. 她當了祕書,確切地講,是私人助理。

4. not ... but rather ... 表示"不是……,相反(而是)……"

Their problem is not a lack of funding, but rather a lack of planning. 他們的問題不是缺乏資金,而是缺乏規劃。

5. rather than 與prefer 連用,表示"寧願做……而不願做……"

(1)prefer to do ... rather than do ...,如:

They prefer to repeat their former experiences rather than take new risks.

他們寧可重複以前的經歷也不願意進行新的冒險。

(2)prefer +名詞... rather than +名詞,替代prefer ... to的用法,如:

I should prefer wine rather than beer. 我寧願喝紅酒而不願喝啤酒。

　　牛刀小試

請選擇最合適的選項完成句子。

1. —Shall we go skating or stay at home?

—Which _____ do?

A. do you rather

B. would you rather

C. will you rather

D. should you rather

2. Rather than ______ by bus, he prefers ______ there.

A. go; walk

B. going; walk

C. go; to walk

D. to go; walking

3. Some patients suffering from severe pain can be helped by "drugs" that aren’t really drugs at all ______ sugar pills that contain non-active chemical elements.

A. or rather

B. but rather

C. rather than

D. other than

4. As he was late, he had to quickly walk ______ run to his office.

A. rather than

B. more than

C. or rather

D. other than

5. Yoga exercise is _______ difficult for a new beginner like me.

A. fairly

B. prefer

C. rather than

D. rather

6. I would rather that she _____ with her friends than stay alone in holidays.

A. travel by train

B. traveled by train

C. travels by train

D. traveling by train

7. This book is instructive ______ interesting.

A. than

B. more than

C. rather than

D. but rather

　　答案及解析

1. B。句意：——我們是去溜冰還是呆在家裏?——你更願意做什麼?分析：根據句意，應用would rather搭配表示“寧可，寧願”的含義，故選B。

2. C。句意：他寧願步行去那兒，也不願坐公共汽車。分析：該句考查的是prefer to do ... rather than do ...結構，本句中rather than 提前。符合此類搭配的只有C選項。

3. B。句意：一些遭受嚴重疼痛的病人可以得到“藥物”的幫助，但不是真正的藥物而是含有非活性化學成分的糖衣片。分析：該句考查的是not ... but rather ...結構，用來表示“不是……而是……”。A 選項or rather表示“更確切地說”;C選項rather than 表示“寧可”;D選項other than表示“除了……之外，還有”，如：Other than that, what else do you know about him?(除了那個，關於他你還了解什麼?)。因此只有B項合適。

4. C。句意：由於他遲到了，他不得不快點走，更確切地說，跑到辦公室。分析：該句考查的是or rather 的用法，其可用來連接前後兩個對等成分。句中它連接了walk與run，表示“更確切地說”。

5. D。句意：瑜伽對於像我這樣的初學者來說頗難。分析：該句考查的是rather 與其同義詞的區分。rather than和prefer均不符句意。fairly可以表示“頗，相當”的含義，但它常用來修飾帶有肯定意味或褒義的形容詞，而rather在表達這一含義時，卻是通常與較負面和貶義的形容詞搭配，difficult正是這樣的形容詞。故本題選D。

6. B。句意：我寧可她假期和朋友坐火車旅行也不願她獨自呆着。分析：該句考查的是would rather (that) 接從句的用法，would rather 之後出現的從句必須使用虛擬語氣。該從句表示的是對將來情況的假設，從句應該用一般過去時，因此正確答案爲B。

7. C。句意：與其說這本書有趣，不如說這本書有教育意義。分析：該句考查的是rather than 連接形容詞的用法，表示“與其……，不如……”。A選項than是比較級的連接詞，必須使用more ... than結構;B選項more than含義是“十分”，如: I am more than happy to see you.(見到你我十分高興。)，more than 的另一種形式more ... than連接形容詞，可以表示“與其……不如”，因此該句可以改寫爲：This book is more instructive than interesting;D選項(but rather)與否定連用，表示“不是……而是”，該句中沒有否定詞，不符合。因此只有C選項正確。