2．限定不可数名词的概数: a little, little, much, a bit of,

a good/great deal of, a large/great amount of, amounts of

i like the country, but i have little opportunity of seeing it.

我喜爱这个国家，但少有机会观光。

a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.缺乏知识是一件危险的事。

the english do not drink much wine.英国人饮酒不多。

let’s have a bit of music.让咱们来点音乐。

he has given me a great deal of help.他已给我不少帮助。

a large amount of damage was done in a very short time.短期内造成了巨大损失。

he must often memorize large amounts of material.他一定经常记住了不少素材。

3．限定可数或不可数名词的概数: some, any, a lot of, lots of,

lots and lots of, plenty of, a great/large/vast/quantity of,

quantities of, enough, no end of ( 不少 )

now you can give me some advice.现在你可以给我提点建议。

ask some boys to help you.请些男孩来帮你。

if there is any trouble, let me know.如果有什么困难要让我知道。

what a lot of time you take to dress!你在穿戴上花的时间过多。

there are lots of things i can do.有许多事我能做。

when i was in london i saw lots and lots of her.我在伦敦常见到她。

she has plenty of imagination.她的想像力挺丰富。

i have plenty of humorous tales.我有不少幽默故事。

he collected a quantity of curious information.他收集了很多稀奇古怪的消息。

we’ve had quantities of rain this summer.今年夏天雨水充足。

quantities of food were on the table.桌上有很多食物。

i had not enough confidence to go head.我没有太大的信心继续下去了。

we have enough seats for everyone.我们可为大家提供足够的座位。

i’ve warned you no end of times not to touch that machine.

我多次警告你不要碰那台机器。

we had no end of fun at the party.我们在宴会上很开心。

（二）．按概数的构成分类

1．以容器量化的方式表达概数: a bag of, two baskets of,

a mouthful of, a plate of, a pot of, a mug of, a pack of ( 一包 )，

a pail of( 一桶 )，a bowl of, a basin of, three cups of

we bought three bags of groceries.我们买了三袋食品。

they ate a basket of plums.他们吃了一篮李子。

if there’s only a mouthful of food left in the bowl,

i will give it to you.如果有我一口饭，我都让给你。

on the table was a plate of beef and vegetables.

桌上有一盘牛肉和青菜。

father is a heavy smoker. he smoked a pack of cigarettes a day.

爸爸烟瘾大，一天一包烟。

two pots of jam were used in cooking.做饭用了两瓶果酱。

i have a mug of milk and some bread for my breakfast.

我喝一大杯牛奶吃一点面包作为早餐。

2．用介词结构表达概数: in large quantities, in great numbers,

in large amounts, , in pairs, in groups, in pieces, in dozens,

in scores, in one’s thousands, in one’s thirties, in bulk,

in multitude, in plenty, in the 1990’s, in quantity, in pack,

by ones and twos, by twos and threes , over..., around…, about…,

below…, more than…, without numbers

pack them in dozens.论打包装。

he is a young man in his thirties.他是一位30多岁的年轻人。

people came in scores.大家结队而来。

activities are coming forward in great numbers.活动积极分子纷纷涌向前来。

they wandered off in pairs and chatted about their own affairs.

他们成双成对结伴而行，聊着家常小事。

things are usually cheaper if they are bought in bulk.

批量采购会便宜一些。

resources in plenty can be found in this territory.

本地能找到丰富的资源。

the farms have water in plenty to last through the dry season.

农场水源充足，可供旱季使用。

heroic fighters emerged in multitude.

英勇的战士大量涌现。

it is often less expensive to buy goods in quantity.

批量购物要便宜不少。

some people are standing about in small groups under the tree.

人们站在树下，三五成群。

people began to leave the meeting by ones and twos.

大家三三两两地离开会场。

wolves hunt in packs.狼成群捕食。

3．借比喻或引申表达概数: a mountain of, an ocean of, oceans of,

bags of( 很多 ), a dose of（ 大量 ），a stream of,

a suggestion of ( 一点点 ), a suspicion of（ 少许 ）

he has a mountain of dirty clothes to wash.

他有一大堆脏衣服要洗。

a mountain of letters arrived just after the report.

报告之后信件纷至沓来。

oceans of time and money were/ an ocean of time

and money was spent on the project.大量时间和大批资金都投入到这项工程。

no need to be hurried. we have bags of time.

不必着急，我们有充足的时间。

there were bags of opportunities, but they lost them all.

机会众多，但他们都错过了。

in the accident, the workers received a heavy dose of radiation.

工人在事故中受到严重幅射。

streams of cars were passing by.一串串汽车急驰而过。

there was a suggestion of boredom in his tone.在他声音里有一丝疲乏。

she added a suspicion of garlic to the stew.他在?肉里加了一点蒜。

there was a suspicion of tears in her eyes.他的眼中有一丝泪痕。

三．谈谈介词的否定意义

介词在英语中属于“小词”，事实上介词在英语中发挥的效力可不小。

介词在英语中起着＂螺丝钉”的作用，它随处可见，且功能强大。

其功能之一就是，它可以和介词宾语一起构成许多否定意义的成语或词组。

介词否定表达简捷明意义深刻，其译文多采用译。

1.above

the text is above me.（无法理解）

she thinks she is above criticism. (不容批评)

the child is above all nervousness. (一点也不紧张)

his conduct has always been above suspicion. (无可怀疑)

i think a gentleman like him is above doing such a thing. (不屑于)

don’t depend on me. it’s above my bend. (力不所及)

he is above the weather now. (无病的)

2.against

almost everything was against him. (不利于)

he’s always doing his best, against all odds. (不计成败)

3.at

the point is to win at any cost. (不惜一切代价)

at any rate, we’ve done something for you now. (不管怎样)

on the spot he was completely at sea. (不知所措)

4.behind

the train is running behind time. (不准时)

your ideas are all behind the times. (跟不上时代)

5.between

the secret is between ourselves. (不得外传)

6.before

before long he realized that he was wrong. (不久)

i slipped out before the lecture began. (不等)

the guerrillas (游击队员) would fight to death before they

surrendered. (决不)

7.beneath

lying is beneath him. (不合身分)

such a fellow as that is beneath my notice. (不值一理)

8.beside

what you said is quite beside the point. (不关正题)

9.beyond

the news is beyond belief. (难以置信)

the stars are beyond number. (数不清)

the scene was beyond description. (无法形容)

good advice is beyond price. (无价)

the facts are beyond dispute. (毋庸置疑)

my happiness was beyond words. (难以言表)

doing such a thing is quite beyond my power. (无能为力)

与beyond 构成的短语还有：beyond all doubt毫无疑问；

beyond all praise赞美不完；

beyond comparison无与伦比；beyond control无法控制；

beyond count不计其数；beyond example没有先例；

beyond expression无法表达；beyond hope无望；beyond question无可争辩。

10.but

he was anything but pleased when he heard this. (才不)

11.by

what he said took me completely by surprise. (无思想准备)

12.for

for all i care, you can throw it away. (我才不在乎哩)

but for your help i would not have finished the job. (要不是)

he passed the test for a certainty. (无疑)

13.from

the child can’t walk, far from running. (更不用谈)

so far from taking my advice, he went and did just what i warned

him against. (不仅没有)

she kept herself from laughing. (使之不)

i knew he did it from his teeth. (毫无诚意)

１4.in

i don’t know what john intends to do; i’m in the dark

about his plans. (不知道)

the people lifted the big stone in a breeze. (毫不费力)

nothing can stop us .we all decide to start our journey

in all weathers. (风雨无阻）

类似的短语还有in the clear不受妨碍; in the cloud心不在焉；

in the egg未成熟；in the log未经加工；in the rough未完成。

15.in spite of

at the sight he laughed in spite of himself. (不由自主地)

the girl still wanted to marry the poor young man in

spite of her parents’ teeth. (不顾父母的反对)

16.off

keep off the grass. (不*近)

i’m right off love stories for some reason. (不感兴趣)

he is off smoking now. (不再)

she was off duty yesterday. (不值班)

相似的词组还有off chance不会有机会；off color精神不好；

off guard不警惕；off hand无准备；off one’s feet不能

控制自己；off sb’s hand不再由某人负责；off one’s mind

不再挂念; off time不合时宜；off work没上工；off time不合时宜。

１7.on

i’m sorry. you’re down on your luck. (运气不佳)

i knew you were on the cross about it. (不老实)

18.out of

out of sight, out of mind. (眼不见，心不烦)

it is quite out of fashion. (不时髦)

the book is out of print. (不再印发)

the man is quite out of humor. (不幽默)

rest was now out of the question. (不可能)

还有相同的搭配ut of all reason无理；out of condition健康状况不好；

out of control失控；out of count不计其数；out of date不合时日；

out of line不成直线；out of luck运气不好；out of place不合时；

out of question毫无疑问；out of time不合时宜。

9.past

the old man is past work. (无力工作)

those trousers are past mending. (无法修补)

the situation is past hope. (没有希望)

his poetry is past comprehension. (难以理解)

it’s past question. (毫无疑问)

20.to

to a man john’s friends stood by him in his trouble. (毫不例外)

he carried out his orders to the letter. (不折不扣)

the old man had a good memory. he remembered

the past things to a hair. (细毫不差)

to a miracle he recited these poems in a breath. (不可思议)

21.under

i know very well you’re under thirty. (不满)

this packet of butter is under weight. (分量不足)

the boy can’t go to school because he is under age. (年龄不够)

22.with

i’m through with him. (不再来往)

he was through with the job, and he wanted to find something