old的比较级/最高级有两个: older/ oldest和 elder/ eldest, far的比较级/最高级也有两个:
farther/ farthest和 further/ furthest。那么两个形式间有什么区别呢今天我们就来分析一下(因为最
高级的情况与比较级相同,我们就拿比较级来做例子)
首先来看一道选择题,你能正确区分 older和 elder, farther和 further的用法吗?
- Who is____, Jim or Jack?
- Jim. By the way, I heard that Jim's father wants to send him to the US for____
education.
A. older, farther B. older, further
C. elder, farther D. elder, further
此题应选 B,主要考察 older/ elder和 farther/ further的区别。
1. older与 elder:
1)用于家人之间表示长幼关系,通常用 elder(在美国英语中也用 older)。例:
one's elder[ older] brother哥哥 the elder[ older] daughter大女儿
2) elder有时用作转义,指职位、身份较高的人。例:
You are all elder statesmen. 你们都是政治元老/资深政客。
3) older专指年龄的大小而言,既可用于一个家庭成员之间,又可用于非同一家庭成员之间。例:
My elder brother is twelve years older than I. 我的哥哥比我大十二岁。
Mr.Chen is older than me. 陈先生比我年长。
4) older只能用作形容词, elder既可作形容词,又可作名词。例:
Tom, you should be humble enough. They are all our elders. 汤姆,你要谦虚些,他们都是我
们的长辈。
5)最后记住, older常与 than连用,但是 elder决不能和 than连用。
正: He is older than me.
误: He is elder than me.
2. farther与 further:
1)两者均可用来指实际的距离,既空间上的距离。例:
We cannot go any farther/ further without a rest. 不休息一下的话就走不动了。
The service desk is at the farther/ further end of the hall. 咨询处在大厅稍往里的地方。
2) further还可用于比喻意义上的距离或深度,如时间、程度和数量等,表示“更多,更进一步”,
是 additional的另一种说法。例:
We intend to stay for a further two months. 我们打算再停留两个月。
The problem will be further discussed at the class meeting. 这个问题在班会上还将进一步
讨论。
I may be able to give you some further information about it. 关于这个问题,我还可以给你
一些信息。