few 用法1 (few / a few)
問：我一直搞不清few 與a few 用法和區別。ALD 將few 解釋為not many (不多), 但我們老師說few 具有否定含義。“不多”怎麼能說是否定含義呢?
答：a few 具有肯定的意義, 也就是說, 說話人的語氣在於強調其“有”, 儘管數目不是很多。一般可譯為“一些”、“若干”:
- Could I have a few words with you? 我可以同你談幾句話嗎?
- Let’s invite a few friends to come with us. 我們邀請幾個朋友我們一起去吧。
few 用法跟little 一樣, 雖然在形態上不是否定的, 但在語意和句法功能上卻是否定的。中國學生總是很難理解這一點。許多英漢詞典(如《遠東英漢大辭典》) 均將few 譯為:“很少的”、“不多的”。學生們問:“很少的”和“不多的”, 不是都表示“有一些”嗎? 怎麼能說“具有否定意義”呢? 這裡應向學生們指出, few 的真正含義並不是“幾個”、“一些”、“不多”, 而是“幾乎沒有”、“幾乎不存在”。說話人的口氣是傾向於“無”的, 但又不是“絕對地無”。我們說few 具有否定意義或半否定意義, 那是從說話人的口氣來說的。
- He has few friends.
他幾乎沒有什麼朋友。 - He is a man of few words.
他是個寡言少語的人。 - They have many supporters, while we have few.
他們有許多支持者, 而我們沒有什麼支持者。 - Few people die of small pox nowadays.
現在很少有人死於天花了。
小練習：請選出正確的答案與改錯。（留言作答）
1. The house itself had _______ surprises for Mr Bolton. It was exactly as he had imagined it.
A. little
B. a little
C. few
D a few
2. “Did you go on many of the club’s ski trips this year?”
A. little at all
B. not much
C. quite less
D. very few
3. Generally speaking, tax returns must be filed annually, but in few cases they must be submitted every six months.
(參見little / a little)
few 用法2 (some few)
問：Francis Bacon…wrote these words,“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested”(《高中英語教科書》(選修)第三冊(下), 人民教育出版社、朗文出版集團有限公司, 1998, p. 13)
[原譯] ⋯⋯“有些書是應當嘗嘗滋味的, 有些書是應當吞食下去的, 有少數書是應當咀嚼和消化的。(《教師教學用書》第三冊(下), p. 150)
some few 是“言其少以至於無”呢, 還是“言其有相當的數目”呢? 也就是說, some few 是相當於few 表示否定呢, 還是相當於a few 表示肯定呢?
答：some few 的意思是some but not many (一些, 但不是很多), a considerable number, a fair number (相當多, 頗有一些), 它相當於(quite) a few, 表示肯定意義。據此, 可以斷定, 上句中的some few 並不是從否定的意義上說需要咀嚼和消化的書少而又少, 而是從肯定的意義上說需要咀嚼和消化的書是相當不少的。
[試譯] ⋯⋯有些書應當品嘗, 另一些書應當吞食, 還有一些書則應當咀嚼和消化。
[附注] 從翻譯史上看, 培根這句名言中的some few 一直被譯成“很少”。
有些書只須淺嘗, 另一些可以吞食, 只有少數好書需要仔細咀嚼, 慢慢消化。培根《論學問》(轉引自《外國名句辭典》, p. 754)
few 用法3 (quite a few/ a very few)
問：few 意為“很少”,“幾乎沒有”, 具有否定意義。quit e a few 是否也表示“很少”, 具有否定意義呢?
答：quit e a few 表示“好些/ 好幾個”的意思, 沒有否定意義, 相當於a good few。a very few 表示“很少幾個”, 語意仍屬肯定。請注意不要與very few 用法混淆, 後者具有否定意義。例如:
- There were quite a few students absent from class today.
今天有好幾個學生缺課。 - You’ll have to wait a good few weeks.
你必須等好幾個星期。 - A: Have you seen many houses for sale? 你看到有很多房屋出售嗎?
B: No, I’ve seen only a very few 沒有, 我只看到了很少幾棟。 - Very few people can afford to pay those prices.
很少有人能出得起那樣的價錢。
(參見few 用法4)
few 用法4 (a good few)
問：a good deal, not a few 都是“很多”的意思。a good few 按字面解, 應當是“很少”的意思。對嗎?
答：a good few, 如同quite a few 一樣, 不應按字面解釋為“很少”, 恰恰相反, 它的意思是“ 好些/ 好幾個”、“不少”(參見few 用法3) :
few 用法5 (a very few)
見few 用法3
few 用法6 (fewer/ less)
問：Why is there ________ traffic on the streets in February than in May?
A. less
B. fewer
C. few
D. little
(研究所學考試英語試題, 84A)
我知道這裡應當選個形容詞比較級less 或fewer, 但不知選哪個正確。
答：應當記住, 形容詞比較級les s 一般用在不可數名詞之前, 而形容詞比較級fewer 用在可數複數名詞之前。例如:
| less strength | fewer rivers |
| less work | fewer jobs |
| less money | fewer books |
| less speed | fewer mistakes |
| less water | fewer boys |
| less noise | fewer houses |
| less success | fewer trees |
- There are fewer boys than girls in my class.
我們班上男生比女生少。 - They made fewer mistakes with the new calculating machine.
有了新的電腦器, 他們出的差錯較以前少了。 - He has less money.
他的錢少一些。
few 用法7 (no fewer than)
見no fewer than
few 用法8 (no fewer than/ no less than)
見no less than
D
D