Expressing "let alone" with "geng buyong shuo"

Revision as of 07:41, 15 June 2012 by Yangrenjun (talk | contribs)

更不用说 (gèng bùyòng shuō) means "or let alone", and is used in the same way as the English, where we might say: "he can't even boil an egg, let alone prepare a banquet"

It can be used like this:

连 + A + 都/也 + Verb, 更不用说 + B + 了

Notice that the order used in this pattern is the opposite to the 别说 structure.

For example:

  • 他 都 不 会 煮 鸡蛋, 更不用说 做 一 大 桌子 的 菜 了。
  • 他 连 自己 国家 的 国旗 都 不 认识, 更不用说 其他 国家 的 了。
  • 他 从来 没有 出 过 远门, 更不用说 出国 了。

Unless the first action is negated with 没有, using 更不用说 generally requires using 了 to emphasize that the speaker is adding his/her own comment.

See also

HSK5