程度の副詞
程度の副詞は、行動、形容詞や他の副詞の強度や程度を表し、下に記述するような例外もありますが、一般には、それらが修飾する形容詞、副詞や動詞の前に置かれます。
| 程度の副詞 | 修飾するもの | 例 |
|---|---|---|
| extremely | 形容詞 | The water was extremely cold. |
| quite | 形容詞 | The movie is quite interesting. |
| just | 動詞 | He was just leaving. |
| almost | 動詞 | She has almost finished. |
| very | 副詞 | She is running very fast. |
| too | 副詞 | You are walking too slowly. |
| enough | 副詞 | You are running fast enough. |
"Enough"の使い方
Enough は、副詞と限定詞の両方に使うことができます。
副詞としてのEnough
「必要な程度に」を意味する副詞としてのEnoughは、他の副詞のように、それが修飾する形容詞や副詞の前ではなく、後に置かれ、肯定文と否定文のどちらにも使えます。
例
- Is your coffee hot enough?
- This box isn't big enough.
- He didn't work hard enough.
- I got here early enough.
Enoughの後には、しばしは "to" + 不定詞が続きます。
例
- He didn't work hard enough to pass the exam.
- Is your coffee hot enough to drink?
- She's not old enough to get married.
- I got here early enough to sign up.
Enough の後には、 "for someone" や"for something"が続く場合もあります。
例
- The dress was big enough for me.
- She's not experienced enough for this job.
- Is the coffee hot enough for you?
- He didn't work hard enough for a promotion.
限定詞としてのEnough
「必要なだけ多くの」を意味する限定詞としてのEnoughは、それが修飾する名詞の前に置かれ、複数形の可算名詞や不可算名詞と一緒に使われます。
例
- We have enough bread.
- You have enough children.
- They don't have enough food.
- I don't have enough apples.
"Too"の使い方
"Too" は、常に副詞ですが、二つの特別な意味を持ち、それぞれ独自の使用パターンがあります。
「もまた」を意味するToo
「もまた」を意味する副詞としてのToo は、それが修飾する句の終わりに来ます。
例
- I would like to go swimming too, if you will let me come.
- Can I go to the zoo too?
- Is this gift for me too?
- I'm not going to clean your room too!
「過度に」を意味するToo
「過度に」を意味する副詞としてのTooは、それが修飾する形容詞や副詞の前に来、肯定文と否定文の両方に使うことができます。
例
- This coffee is too hot.
- He works too hard.
- Isn't she too young?
- I am not too short!
Tooの後には、しばしば "to" + 不定詞が続きます。
例
- The coffee was too hot to drink.
- You're too young to have grandchildren!
- I am not too tired to go out tonight.
- Don't you work too hard to have any free time?
Tooの後に、 "for someone" や "for something"が続くこともあります。
例
- The coffee was too hot for me.
- The dress was too small for her.
- He's not too old for this job.
- Sally's not too slow for our team.
"Very"の使い方
Very は、副詞や形容詞の前に来て、それを強調します。
例
- The girl was very beautiful.
- The house is very expensive.
- He worked very quickly.
- She runs very fast.
形容詞や副詞の否定的な形を作りたい場合は、動詞に"not"をつけたり、反対の意味を持つ形容詞や副詞をつけたり、原型の形容詞や副詞に "not very" を使うことができます。その句の意味は同じではなく、 "not very"を使った句はそれほど単刀直入ではないので、他の句より上品です。
例
| 原型の句 | "Not"を使った反対の意味 | "Not very"を使った反対の意味 | 反対語を使った反対の意味 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The girl was beautiful. | The girl was not beautiful. | The girl was not very beautiful. | The girl was ugly. |
| He worked quickly. | He did not work quickly. | He did not work very quickly. | He worked slowly. |
"Very" と "too"の意味の違い
"Too" と "very"には、大きな意味の違いがあります。 "Very" が事実を表すのに対し、"too"は問題があることを示唆します。
例
- He speaks very quickly.
- He speaks too quickly for me to understand.
- It is very hot outside.
- It is too hot outside to go for a walk.
"Very"のように使われる他の副詞
一般的な副詞の中には、形容詞や副詞の程度を高めるために"very" と同じように使われるものもあります。
| 非常に強い感情を表現 | 強い感情を表現 | やや疑わしい感情を表現 |
|---|---|---|
| extremely, terribly, amazingly, wonderfully, insanely | especially, particularly, uncommonly, unusually, remarkably, quite | pretty, rather, fairly, not especially, not particularly |
| The movie was amazingly interesting. | The movie was particularly interesting. | The movie was fairly interesting. |
| She sang wonderfully well. | She sang unusually well. | She sang pretty well. |
| The lecture was terribly boring. | The lecture was quite boring. | The lecture was rather boring. |
否定的な副詞を使う場合の倒置
通常、主語は動詞の前に来ますが、否定的な副詞がその節の最初に置かれた時、その位置が逆転し、動詞が主語の前に来ます。この倒置は文書でのみ使われ、話し言葉では使われません。
| 副詞 | 標準的な言葉の順序 | 倒置 |
|---|---|---|
| Never | I have never seen such courage. | Never have I seen such courage. |
| Rarely | She rarely left the house. | Rarely did she leave the house. |
| Not only | She did not only the cooking but the cleaning as well. | Not only did she do the cooking, but the cleaning as well. |
| Scarcely | I scarcely closed the door before he started talking. | Scarcely did I close the door before he started talking. |
| Seldom | We seldom cross the river after sunset. | Seldom do we cross the river sunset. |