两种不同的副词形式有何异同?

有一读者问: 英语有些副词有两种不同的形式,如slow 与 slowly, loud 与loudly。请问它们之间有何异同?

概括地说,这类副词可分为下列三种情况:

1. 二者的意思完全不同,如:

  • late 晚
  • lately 近来
  • near 近于
  • nearly 几乎
  • pretty 相当
  • prettily 漂亮地

2. 二者部分同义,部分异义,如:

  • direct 直接地
  • directly 直接地,立刻
  • fair 公正地
  • fairly 公正地,相当
  • short简短地,,唐突地
  • shortly 简短地,唐突地,不久

3. 二者同义,但用法不尽相同,如:

1.show与slowly: slow常用于口语中,并常置于go, drive, walk等动词之后,如:

(1)Go slow . (slow 常用在祈使句中)

(2)I walked slow enough.

但在how引导的感叹句中,slow 则须置于how 之后,如:

(3)How slow the time passes!

slowly 在口、笔语中皆可用,但其位置比较灵活,如:

(4)The youth awakened slowly .

(5)Slowly the youth awakened.

(6)The youth slowly awakened.

2.quick与quickly: quick也常用于口语中,并常置于动词或动词宾语之后,如:

(7)Come quick !

(8)Tell us quick .

(9)The train will get there quicker than the bus. (表时间长度应用quicker)

quickly 可用的场合较quick 多。它可用在口语和笔语中,其位置也不固定,如:

(10)He did it quickly .

(11)If you speak quickly , I don't understand.

(12)He quickly opened the door and ran out.

3.loud 与loudly: loud也常用于口语中,并常置于speak, shout, talk等动词或其宾语之后,如:

(13)Don't speak so loud .

(14)He plays his recordplayer unbearably loud .

(15)I said it loud and clear. (loud and clear 应看作是一固定说法)

loudly 可用于口语中和笔语中,多含喧闹之意,如:

(16)They shouted loudly at each other.

(17)He is snoring loudly . (snore 之后常用 loudly)

(18)He swore loudly when he hurt his finger.

作“(衣服等)俗艳”解时,应用loudly, 如:

(19)He is loudly dressed.

4.high与highly: high多表具体的高度(to aim high等则除外),常置于动词或其他宾语之后,如:

(20)He held his head high .

(21)The eagle soared high into the sky.

highly 常用以表抽象的高度,其位置比较灵活,如:

(22)He thinks highly of you.

(23)He was highly delighted at the news.

由于篇幅有限,仅举上述几个副词的两种形式为例。其他常见的还有 awful(ly), bad(ly),cheap(ly), clean(ly), clear(ly), close(ly), dead(ly), deep(ly), easy(easily), fine(ly), firm(ly), flat(ly), free(ly), hard(ly), mighty(mightily), most(ly), ready(readily), real(ly),right(ly), sharp(ly), sound(ly), sure(ly), tight(ly), wide(ly), wrong(ly)等,这里就不能细说了。但我们相信,读者只要平时多加注意,再借助一些好的词典和辞书,一定能独立加以辨别的。