① to the contrary意為“相反”,相當于形容詞,放在所修飾的名詞后面,有時也相當于副詞,起狀語作用。
Did you hear any opinion to the contrary?你有沒有聽到相反的意見?
② on the contrary意為“恰恰相反”,表達前后句子的“針鋒相對”。
He did not say he liked it. On the contrary,he was very much against it. 他并沒有說他喜歡它。相反,他是很反對的。
We thought it would be bad weather,but on the contrary we had fine sunshine. 我們原以為天氣會很糟,但結果正相反,那天陽光燦爛。
③ contrary to是形容詞短語,意思是“與……相反,與……不同”(in opposition to,against),在句子中作表語、狀語。
What you have done is contrary to the doctor's orders. 你做的與醫(yī)囑正好相反。
Contrary to our expectations,he was eliminated in the first round. 我們萬萬想不到,他在第一輪就被淘汰了。