11.比較・否定
英文法講座の11回目は比較・否定についてです。
<1.同等比較級⇔比較級⇔最上級>
この3つのことは、お互いに書き換えられます。
例文です。
She is the best pianist in this town.
→She plays the piano better than anyone else in this town.
→No one else in this town plays the piano better than she.
→No other pianist in this town plays the piano as well as she.
Nancy is the most diligent student in our class.
→Nancy is more diligent than any other student in our class.
→No other student in our class is more diligent than Nancy.
→No other student in our class is as diligent as Nancy.
He is the greatest novelist that ever lived.
→He is greater than any other novelist that ever lived.
→He is as great a novelist as any (novelist that ever) lived.
注意:than の後のother novelistは、単数のこと
☆the をつけないのが普通の最上級
・副詞の最上級
I like roses best of all the flowers.
・同一人(物)の最高
The lake s deepest at this point.
He is happiest at home with his wife and children.
<2.less, worseを用いた表現>
例文です。
Peggy doesn't eat as much as Jill.
→Peggy eats less than Jill.
I don't have more difficulty than before when I speak English.
→I have less difficulty than before when I speak English.
This question is not so difficult as that one.
→This question is less difficult than that one.
His brother can do it more skillfully than Randy.
→Randy can do it less skillfully than his brother.
Marry types better than he.
→He types worse than Marry.
The book we used is better than this book.
→This book is worse than the one we used.
<3.used toを用いる表現>
例文です。
Planes fly much faster than they used to. (昔よりも)
I don't smoke as[so] much as I used to.
→I smoke less than I used to. (昔ほどは;かつてほど)
<4.the+比較級+理由を表す句・節>
例文です。
I like him all the better for his fault.
→I like him all the better because he has a fault.
(彼に欠点があるからなおさら私は彼が好きだ)
We like the teacher none the less for often scolding us.
→We like the teacher none the less because he often scolds us.
(よく叱られるけれども、それにもかかわらず、私たちはその先生が好きです)
解説:allやnoneは、強調を表す
<5.the+比較級...., the+比較級...>
これが使えればいいですね。
まず、例文です。
The higher the tree is, the harder the wind blows.
(木が高ければ高いほど、風当たりは強くなる)
The more money one earns, the more one wants.
(お金を持てば持つほど、ますます欲しくなる)
<6.moreを用いた表現>
・no more than=only「たったの;ほんの~にすぎない」
He is no more than a child.
(彼は、ほんのこどもにすぎない)
He has no more than ten books.
(彼は、たった10冊の本を持っているにすぎない)
このno more thanは、ときどき、出くわします。
・A is no more B than C is D.=A is not B any more than C is D.
これは、有名なクジラの構文です。
訳し方は、「CがDでないように、AはBでない」
「AがBでないのは、CがDでないのと同じだ」
BとDが同一の時は、Dは省略されます。
では、例文です。
A bat is no more a bird than a rat is (a bird).
・not more than=at most 「多くとも;せいぜい」
He has not more than 1,000 yen.
(彼は多くとも1,000円しか持っていない)
・not more ~ than... 「...ほど~ない」
She is not more brilliant than her sister.
(彼女は、妹ほど優秀でない)
<7.lessを用いた重要表現>
・no less than=as many(much) as 「...ほども多くの」
He has no less than six children.
(彼には子供が6人もいる)
・no less ~ than ... 「...と同様に~]
Our behavior is no less important than our words to carry the meaning.
(行動は言葉と同様に意味を伝えるのに重要である)
・not less than=at least
She has not less than 10,000 dollars in her handbag not.
(かの上は、今少なくともハンドバックの中に1万ドル持っている)
・not less ~ than ... 「...に勝るとも劣らず、~」
Human resources are not less important than natural resources.
(人的資源は天然資源に勝るとも劣らず、需要である」
<8.know better than to do 〜「〜するような馬鹿ではない」
I know better than to believe such a silly story.
(ばかげた話を信じるような馬鹿ではない)
<9.「...ましてや〜」
still[much] less ~, still[much] more ~, to say nothing of ~,
not to mention ~, without mentioning, let alone ~
She cannnot speak French, not to speak of Arabic.
=She cannnot speak French, still less Arabic.
(彼女は、フランス語が話せない。ましてやアラビア語なんて話せない)
☆肯定文では、much[still] more、否定文では、much[still] less ~を用いる。
let aloneも否定の文脈で用いるのが普通。
He cannot read, let alone write.
(彼は読むことができません。ましてや書くこともできません)
<10.the last [名詞] to do 〜 「もっとも〜しそうになう[名詞]」
He is the last man to break his promise.
=He is the last man who[that] would break his promise.
<11.not so much A as B = B rather than A 「AというよりはむしろB」
これは、英文によく出てくる有名な表現です。
He is not so much a scholar as a journalist.
特に、6と7のmoreを用いた表現とlessを用いた表現は、通訳案内士試験のために、必死に覚えました。