英语讲义(23)few&afew一a之别

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2007:09:25 13:11:59
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

下面是一句从一张餐馆广告中看到的话：

“If you have few years of experience in managing a fine dining restaurant and possess the capability to organize and operate banquet functions, you are the person we are looking for.”

这句话很清楚，但是否有不妥之处？有！看起来是芝麻绿豆事，但却是关系到数目和数量的问题。

英语里的数目词包括“many, a few, few, a large number of ”等。数量词是“much, a little, little, a great deal of”等。前者和可数复数名词连用，如例①-③；后者则和不可数名词连用，如例④-⑥：

① Jason has written many books.

② David has a few good friends.

③ There are a large number of people in the cinema.

④ How much money do you need?

⑤ I need only a little sugar for my coffee.

⑥ One can get a great deal of knowledge from reading.

在数目词中，有“few”和“a few”两个。看似相同，其实差别甚大，一不小心，可能有错。例如：

⑦ The minister is leaving Singapore for few days.

⑧ Many students here can speak English quite fluently, but a few can write well.

显然，⑦里的“few”和⑧里的“a few”要对换，才符合全句的意思。

“Few”的意思是“not many”（ 不多；少）；反义词是“many ”。“A few”的意思是“some”（一些）；反义词里“none”（没有）。例如：

⑨ Though Jason is not sociable, he has a few bosom friends.

⑩ Mary is very extroverted, but she has few intimate friends.

11. The teacher has spotted a few grammatical errors in her essay.

12. There are few errors in Bettys report. it is excellent.

从上面例子看，“a few”和“few”的意思有些相似，但在句中整体的含义有差别。“A few”出现之处，“few”不适合，反之亦然。

“Few”约等于“little”：“a few”和“a little”相近。但 “little”和“a little”只和不可数名词连用，例如：

13. As we have little money left, we should spend carefully.

14. There is still a little hope, so dont give up.

13里的“little”和14里的“a little”语意分明，各得其所。如果两个对调，便牛头不对马嘴，格格不入。

餐馆广告中的“few”对吗？是不是应该改为“a few”呢？