much 用法, 例句, 詳解. 與a lot of 有何分別？

much 用法1

問：(1) I much enjoyed the play.
(2) The doctor says the Helen’s condition is much the same.
請問上面兩個句子裡的much 意義是否相同?

答：上面兩個句子裡的much 用法體現了much 的兩種不同的含義:
在第一個句子裡much 表示“大”、“非常”、“很”(to a great degree) :

1. I shall be much surprised if he succeeds.
   如果他成功的話, 我將非常驚訝。
2. I don’t much like the idea.
   我不大喜歡這個想法。

在第二個句子裡much 用法表示“幾乎、差不多、大致(nearly, about, approximately)”

1. Today was much like yesterday.
   今天跟昨天大體相似。
2. Canada had much the same experience as the United States.
   加拿大與美國有大致相同的經歷。

much 用法2

問：I don’t feel like walking very much today. [《高中英語教科書》(必修) 第一冊(下), 人民教育出版社、朗文出版集團有限公司, 1998, p.33]
[原譯1] 我今天不大想走路。(上書課文注釋, p.143)
[原譯2] 今天我不想走很多路了。(與該書配套的《教師教學用書》, p.114)
其他的教輔材料也存在兩種譯法。我們英語組的老師為此常常爭論不休, 各執己見。

答：就孤立的句子而論, 上面的句子是有歧義的, 因為very much 既可以解釋為修飾動詞feel like 的, 也可以解釋為修飾動名詞walking 的。但從上下文來看, 則只能是修飾動名詞walking 的, 後面的句子“Then we can see Aswan without walking too much.”便是一個佐證。因此, 只有原譯2 才是正確的。

much 用法3 (much/a lot of/a great deal)

問：much 用法與a lot of 有何區別?

答：它們在語意上是沒有區別的, 都作“ 很多”“ 大量”解。它們的區別主要是表現在用法上。much 一般用在非肯定句(否定句、疑問句、條件句) 中, 與不可數名詞連用, 而a lot of, lot s of, plenty of 一般用在肯定句中, 除跟不可數名詞連用之外, 還可跟可數名詞連用。請考察下列例句:

1. She hasn’t got much money.
   她沒有很多錢。
2. “Did you have much trouble with the customs?”—“Rather a lot”
   “你在海關遇到很多麻煩嗎?”—“很多。”
3. There wasn’t much to do.
   沒有很多事情要做。
4. I like them a great deal.
   我非常喜歡他們。
5. Mr. Lucas spent a great deal of time in the Far East.
   盧卡斯先生在遠東呆過很長時間。
6. I’ve thought about it a lot, Lanny.
   蘭尼, 關於這件事我想了許多。
7. He works a lot at home.
   他在家做許多活。
8. The room contained a lot(lots) of furniture.
   房間裡有許多傢俱。
9. The room contained a plenty/a lot/lots of students.
   房間裡有許多學生。

但是, 當much 前有修飾語時, 亦可用在肯定句中:

1. We have eaten too much.
   我們吃得太多了。
2. I have so much in common with Clarice.
   我跟克拉麗斯有許多共同的東西。
3. She had endured so much.
   她忍受了許多。
4. I enjoyed the concert very much.
   我非常欣賞這次音樂會。

上面我們只是說much 一般用在非肯定句中, 而沒有說much 絕對不能用在肯定句中。因此, 千萬不要輕意將用在肯定句中的much 一律判為錯誤。實際上, 在正式語體中, much 也常常用在肯定句中:

1. “What do you think of the Prime Minister’s address to the nation?”
   “I liked much of what he said.”
   “你覺得首相向全國人民發表的演說如何?”
   “他講的許多內容我都很喜歡。”
2. Much of the recent trouble has come from outside.
   最近的許多麻煩都來自外部。
3. Much money has been wasted that way.
   大量的金錢就這樣浪費了。
4. Much research has been carried out in order to establish the causes of cancer.
   為了查明癌症的起因, 已進行了大量的研究工作。
5. Much has been said about the cost of medicine.
   關於醫療費用已經說了許多了。
6. The country’s economy has enjoyed much support from foreign investment.
   這個國家的經濟得到國外投資的很大支持。
7. We have much work ahead of us. (《韋氏辭典》, 電子版)
   我們面前有許多工作要做。

(參見many, a lot)

much 用法4 (much/many)

問：“What do you think of the Prime Minister’s address to the nation?”“I liked _________ of what said.”
A. more
B. several
C. much
D. many
我已知道many 與可數名詞連用, much 與不可數名詞連用。上面的試題並無名詞, 到底是選many, 還是選much 呢?

答：what 引導的是名詞性子句, 應當把它作為不可數名詞來對待。many 和much 的用法是託福等各類考試中經常考核的內容, 應給予充分的注意。

1. The general sales tax has been a major source of income for state governments, much of which derive more than half of their budges from it.
2. James Whitecomb Riley, the “Hoosier Poet”, wrote many of his work in standard English, but he wrote his most popular poems in the dialect of his home state, Indiana.

much 用法5 (much/more)

問：On the whole, ambitious students are much likely to succeed in their studies than are those with little ambition. (研究所考試英語試題, 1996)
謝振元教授主編《研究生入學考試複習指南》(1997) (中國人民大學出版社) 對上面的試題做了如下解答:
“‘much’此處用詞不當, 應將‘much’改為‘very’;‘very’只修飾形容詞的原級和現在分詞”;“‘much’用來修飾形容詞的比較級和過去分詞。“本句likely 是形容詞, 應用‘ ve ry’來修飾”。該書1998 年版(p.485) 也是這麼解釋的。
請問上面的解答正確嗎? 另外C(a r e those) 是否也有誤?

答：該書編者的解答可以說是把考生引入了歧途。統觀全句可以很容易看出, 這是一個帶比較副詞子句(than 子句) 的句子, 因此, 應將“are much likely”改為“are more likely”。關於than are those 的結構, 見than 用法1, 2 。

上面的英語試題的意思是:

總的說來, 有抱負的學生比沒有什麼抱負的學生在學業上更有可能獲得成功。

much 用法6 (much/ very)

見very 3, 4,5

much 用法7 (much as/ much though)

見as 用法15,16,17

much 用法8 （much good）

問：I don’t think this battery is much good.
文法書上說much 不可用於修飾形容詞原級, 這裡不是much 修飾形容詞原級嗎?

答：much 只能與少數幾個形容詞原級(good, different) 連用, 並且, 大都用在否定句中。

much 用法9 (much less)

見still less

much 用法10 (n times as much as/n times more than)

問：中國的英語著作一般都認為n times as much as 是指“⋯ ⋯ 的n 倍”, 而n times more than 是指“比⋯⋯ 多n 倍”。英語的實際使用情況究竟如何?

答：讓我們引用A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language 的論述, 就可以弄清這個問題。

“可數的as many (…) as 和不可數的as much (…) as 由一個倍數片語作前置修飾時, 就等於more (…) than :

• Five times as many people came to the demonstration as (did) last time.
  = Five times more people came to the demonstration than (did) last time.
  參加示威遊行的人是上次的5倍。
• I paid three times as much for the meal as they did.
  = I paid three times more for the meal than they did.
  我付的餐費是他們付的3 倍。
• The Gross National Product is four times as much/high as (it was) a decade ago.
  = The Gross National Product is four times more/higher than (it was a decade ago.
  國民生產總值是10 年前的4 倍。”

參見more than(n times more than)

much 用法11 (much more/much less)

見more 用法

much 用法12 (not so much as)

見not

much 用法13 (much though)

見as 用法15,16,17

much 用法14 （much too/ too much）

問：“Let’s have dinner in the hotel dining room.”
“Oh, I’m afraid it may be _______ expensive.”
A. too much
B. much too
C. greatly
D. very great
我認為應當選A, 但答案卻是B。

答：在too much 搭配中, too 作much 的修飾語, 表示超越了much 的程度。

1. You’re asking too much. 你問得太多了。
2. He protested too much to be sincere. 他反對得太過頭了, 不可能是真誠的。

在much too 搭配中, much 作too 的修飾語, 增強too 的程度:

1. I’m too tired to go out.
   我實在累得不能出去了。
2. I’m afraid my husband is much too busy to see visitors.
   很遺憾, 我丈夫實在太忙, 不能會見客人。

在上面試題中, 只說too expensive 也是可以的, 說much too expensive, 則進一步提高了too expensive 的程度。

小練習：請選出正確的答案與改正。 （留言作答）
1. If negotiations for the new trade agreements take ________ critical food shortages will develop in several countries.
A. too much longer
B. much too long
C. the longest
D. the longer
2. If it were to far from the Sun, the Earth would be too much cold to support any living thing.