| 释义 |
- used to say that something happens immediately after something else一…就；刚…就
- No sooner had she said it than she burst into tears.她刚一说完，泪水便夺眶而出。
Grammar Point hardly / scarcely / barely / no soonerhardly / scarcely / barely / no sooner- Hardly, scarcely and barely can all be used to say that something is only just true or possible. They are used with words like any and anyone, with adjectives and verbs, and are often placed between can, could, have, be, etc. and the main part of the verb:
- They have sold scarcely any copies of the book.这书他们几乎没卖出几本。
- I barely recognized her.我几乎认不出她了。
- His words were barely audible.他的话勉强听得见。
- I can hardly believe it.我几乎不敢相信。
- I hardly can believe it.
- Hardly, scarcely and barely are negative words and should not be used with not or other negatives:
- I can’t hardly believe it.
- You can also use hardly, scarcely and barely to say that one thing happens immediately after another:
- We had hardly/scarcely/barely sat down at the table, when the doorbell rang.我们刚在桌边坐下，门铃就响了。
In formal, written English, especially in a literary style, these words can be placed at the beginning of the sentence and then the subject and verb are turned around:- Hardly/Scarcely had we sat down at the table, when the doorbell rang.我们刚在桌边坐下，门铃就响了。
Note that you usually use when in these sentences, not than. You can also use before:- I scarcely had time to ring the bell before the door opened.我刚一按门铃，门就开了。
No sooner can be used in the same way, but is always used with than:- No sooner had we sat down at the table than the doorbell rang.我们刚在桌边坐下，门铃就响了。
- Hardly and scarcely can be used to mean ‘almost never’, but barely is not used in this way:
- She hardly (ever) sees her parents these days.这些日子她难得见到她父母。
- She barely sees her parents these days.
See also soon |