◎ 這幾個詞都可用作程度副詞,修飾形容詞或副詞,其程度依次增強為:fairly,quite,rather,pretty。
① fairly和rather均可表示“相當地”,但有區(qū)別。fairly常用于修飾“褒義”的表示愉快的形容詞,如 good,clever,well,nice,pretty,brave,diligent等,指在好的方面“相當地”,修飾形容詞或副詞原級,不可與 too 或比較級連用。
He speaks English fairly well. 他英語說得相當好。
She is fairly pleased with your work. 她對你的工作相當滿意。
The quality is fairly good. 質量相當好。
② rather常指在不好的方面“相當地”,常修飾令人不悅的形容詞,如 bad,poor,lazy,stupid,late,tired,crowded 等,但也可修飾褒義詞。rather修飾形容詞和副詞原級,也可修飾比較級,也可同 too 連用,結構為:rather too+形容詞或副詞。
It is rather hot today. 今天相當熱。
You've done rather well. 你做得相當好。
The daughter is fairly clever,but the son is rather dull. 女兒很聰明,但兒子卻很笨。
The book is rather too difficult for a child of ten. 對一個10歲的孩子來說,這本書太難了。
比較
The book is fairly easy. 這本書很容易。(易懂易學)
The book is rather easy. 這本書太容易了。(過分簡單)
③ 同不定冠詞a連用時,a放在rather前后均可,但只能放在fairly前面。
That is a rather poor family.
That is rather a poor family.
那是一個非常貧困的家庭。
That is fairly a rich family.
That is a fairly rich family.
那是一個很富有的家庭。
④ quite在分量上比 fairly 強,rather語氣又比 quite 強,同 pretty和rather 很接近,常用于非正式文體。比較:
quite a+形容詞+名詞
a quite+形容詞+名詞
(a 不可放在 quite 前面)
We were quite impressed by her speech. 我們對她的演講印象不錯。
He is quite an honest man.
他是一個很誠實的人。
He is a quite honest man.
⑤ quite的其他結構:①quite+another+名詞,②quite+形容詞。
He is quite a hero. 他真是一位英雄。
That's quite another story. 那完全是另一回事。
You are quite mistaken. 你完全錯了。