matter

1.复数形式matters往往用作“情形”或“事态”解，并不指“多件事”。例如：He asked me how matters stood（他问我情形怎样），That won't mend matters（那是无补于事的）和That will simplify matters（那将使事态简易了）不可改作He asked me how the matter stood, That won't mend the matter和That will simplify the matter。

2.It is a matter of congratulation（或complaint，regret，indignation等）that...里的a有时省去，of改作for也可以。似乎a matter of最普通，matter of最不普通，matter for比a matter for普通。

3.the matter作“困难”，“麻烦”，“失常的事”等解。例如：what is the matter? 和The matter with us is that we haven't enough time. 但the matter习惯上竟被用作形容词，作“失常的”解。例如：There is something the matter with him.（他有些失常。）和There is nothing the matter with the machine.（这机器没有毛病。）注意the matter后面用with。

the matter既然有形容词性质，所以What is the matter?里的what通常被看作主语，而且习惯说He asked me what was the matter，不说He asked me what the matter was。He asked me what the matter was的意思通常是“他问我那物质是什么”或“他问我那事件是什么”。

4.reading matter，printed matter，postal matter等表达方式里的matter是物质名词，前面不可加a，也没有复数。

5.说“做事”的“事”不可用matter，如不可说I have several matters to do today，该把matters改作things。

6.no matter whether...和no matter if...里的whether和if不可省去。

7.in the matter of（关于）主要是公文英语。

8.matter用作动词作“关系重大”或“有出入”解，主要用在否定句和疑问句里。例如：

• It does not matter（或matters not）whether you will go or not.
• The change mattered little to him.
• Nothing seems to matter to him.
• Does that really matter?

但用在他处也有。例如：

• The essays deal with persons and things that really matter.

9.It does not matter whether you will go or not里的matter是不及物动词，下面两句里的斜体词是状语宾格：

• That he may be wrong matters nothing.
• What can it matter to you?