| 释义 |
less/les/ det., adj., adv., pron. & prep.●det. 1 smaller in extent, quantity, degree, or duration (opp. 反义 MORE) 更(较)小的，更(较)少的，更(较)短的 of less importance 不太重要的; find less difficulty 发现困难较小; he eats less red meat than before 他吃牛羊肉比以前少了 2 disp. fewer in number [异议] (数目)更(较)小，更(较)少 eat less biscuits 饼干吃得少了 ●adj. archaic of lower rank etc. [古义] (地位等)更(较)低的 no less a person than 与…同等地位的人； James the Less 副手詹姆斯 ●adv. to a smaller extent, in a lower degree 更(较)小地，更(较)少地 uses it less than she used to 她用得比过去少了; goes less frequently than she did 比以往去得少了; a less popular book 一本不太流行的书; regards him less as a colleague than as a friend 把他当作朋友胜过当作同事 ●pron. 1 a smaller amount or quantity 更(较)小量，更(较)少量 cannot take less 不可少拿; for less than ￡ 10 少于 10 英镑; is little less than disgraceful 有点儿丢脸 2 disp. fewer [异议]更(较)小数目 I don't have many friends, but he has even less 我的朋友不多，但他的朋友更少 ●prep. minus 扣除，减去，去掉 made ￡ 1,000 less tax 除掉税收挣 1000 英镑 □ in less than no time joc. very quickly or soon [诙]很快，马上 □ less and less to an extent that is becoming continuously smaller 越来越少 □ much (or still) less with even greater force of denial 更不必说，更何况 do not suspect him of negligence, much less of dishonesty 没有怀疑他失职，更不会去怀疑他的不诚实了 [Old English lœˉssa (adj.), lœˉs (adv.), from Germanic]■ Usage 用法说明 The use of less as a determiner with countable nouns, as in sense 2, or as a pronoun in sense 2, is regarded as incorrect in formal English, although it is frequent in informal usage. Strictly, less should be used only with uncountable nouns as the comparative of little, e.g. I have little time; she has even less, but I have few books; she has even fewer. less 与可数名词连用作限定词(如限定词中的释义 2) 或作代词(如代词中的释义 2) ，虽然在非正式用法中常可见到，但是作为正式英语这种用法是不正确的。严格地讲， less 作为 little 的比较级，只能与不可数名词连用，如：可以说 I have little time;she has even less (我的时间不多；她的时间更少), 但是又能说 I have few books; she has even fewer (我的书不多；她的书更少)。 |