① I'm not a bit tired, so I needn't have a rest.
② Tom's mother couldn't sleep well recently. She was not a little worried about Tom's health.
兩個詞組在加了not后,意思好像大不相同,請問這是怎么回事?
a bit 和 a little 在意思上非常相似,都表示“一點點,有點兒”之意。它們用作副詞,表達(dá)“程度”時,修飾動詞、形容詞、副詞、介詞短語或比較級,意思相同,可以互換。例如:
He is a bit like his father.
He is a little like his father.
他有點像他的父親。
The speaker spoke a bit louder in order to make himself heard more clearly.
The speaker spoke a little louder in order to make himself heard more clearly.
講話人把嗓門提高了一點兒,以便讓別人聽得更清楚。
但是,在下列情況下,它們是有區(qū)別的:
1. 當(dāng)它們用作定語,表達(dá)“數(shù)量”時,a bit后要加of,a little 則不用。例如:
She ate a bit of bread for lunch.
She ate a little bread for lunch.
她午飯就吃了一點點面包。
2. 但是,一旦否定,not a bit 和 not a little的意思就大不一樣了,甚至相反。
not a bit 意思是“一點也不”,相當(dāng)于not at all, not in the least之意。例如:
He is not a bit like his father.他一點也不像他父親。
Are you hungry? --- No, not a bit. 你餓了嗎? 不,一點也不餓。
She is not a bit happy.她很不開心。
not a little意思是“非常,很”,相當(dāng)于 very (much), a lot 之意。例如:
He is not a little like his father.他很像他的父親。
I am not a little surprised at the news. 我對這個消息深感驚訝。
The boy was not a little worried because he hadn't heard from her parents for a long time. 那個男孩很擔(dān)心,因為好久沒收到父母的來信了。
【注意】有時bit之前,還可以加little,進(jìn)一步修飾程度之低,如:
I'm a little bit tired. Let's take a short rest. 我稍有點累了。讓我們休息一會兒。