副词often的位置、用法与搭配

发布时间:2022-04-22T22:26:10 英语语法

副词often的位置、用法与搭配

一、often的位置

(1) 表示“经常”,通常放在行为动词之前,特殊动词(助动词、情态动词以及动词 be)之后。如:

He was often late for class. 他上课经常迟到。

We often go skating together. 我们常常一道去溜冰。

You must often come to see us. 你要常来看我们。

(2) 如果句子较短或为了强调,often可以放在句末。如:

You won’t see her often. 你不会常常看到她的。

如果句子较长或为了强调,often也可以放句首。如:

Often I miss breakfast and have an early lunch instead. 我常常不吃早餐,而吃一顿早午餐。

有时位于句首或句末是因为本身带有修饰语(如quite, very, so等)。如:

Quite often the phone rings when I’m in the bath. 电话经常在我洗澡时响。

When I was young, I used to play tennis very often. 我年轻时经常打网球。

(3) 有时often不是用于说明句子中的动词,而是用于说明整个句子的,此时也通用于句首。如:

Often, in the evening, we’d hear the sirens. 常常我们会在傍晚听到警报声。

Often, when he should have been doing something useful, he wasted his time drawing little pictures. 常常当他应当干些正经事时,他却浪费时间画小画。

(4) often置于句首时,有时其后可接倒装语序(但这并不是必需的)。如:

Often had she intended to speak of this. 她常想说及此事。

Often did we warn them not to do so. 我们曾多次警告过他们,不要这样做。

二、often时态

often通常与一般现在时或一般过去时连用,此外它还有以下用法值得注意:

(1) 与现在完成时连用,强调动词的一惯性和经常性。如:

You have often been told not to do that. 多次告诫过你别干那事。

I have often heard of him working hard. 我常听人说他刻苦用功。

(2) 与情态动词 will 连用,表示一种惯常的行为。如:

In fine weather, he will often sit in the sun for hours. 天气晴朗时,他常在阳光下坐好几个小时。

When you look at clouds they will often remind you of animals. 你观察云彩的时候,往往会联想起动物。

(3) 与情态动词 would 连用,表示过去惯常的行为。如:

When we were students we would often stay up all night. 我们当学生时,经常通宵不睡。

As he grew older, he would often talk about his war experiences. 他年岁大了,常常讲他的战争经历。

三、与否定词搭配

在否定句中,often可位于否定词not之前或之后。如:

They don’t often hold such parties. 他们不常开这样的晚会。

Statistics and surveys often don’t prove very much at all. 数据和调查常常证明不了什么。

四、用于习语as often as

用于习语 as often as,有两个意思是,一是表示“与……一样次数多”。如:

He came as often as he could. 他尽可能常来。

二是起连词作用,相当于whenever,意为“每当”。如:

As often as I tried to ring him, the line was engaged. 每次我给他打电话都占线。

注意习语 as often as not(通常,常常),也可说成 more often than not。如:

When it’s foggy, the trains are late as often as not. 雾大时,火车往往晚点。