Expressing "let alone" with "geng buyong shuo"
Revision as of 07:21, 3 November 2011 by Jonathan.pope (talk | contribs) (Created page with "更不要说 (gèngbùyàoshuō) "not to mention", "or let alone". This can be used with the 连...都 construction, meaning something like: "you're stupid enough that you can't ...")
更不要说 (gèngbùyàoshuō) "not to mention", "or let alone". This can be used with the 连...都 construction, meaning something like: "you're stupid enough that you can't even do X, let alone Y"
For example:
- 他 都 不 会 煮 鸡蛋， 更不用说 做 一 大 桌子 的 饭 了。
- 他 连 自己 国家 的 首都 都 不 知道， 更不用说 其他 国家 的 了。
- 他 从来 没有 背 过 一 首 诗， 更不用说 一 本 书。
更别说/更不要说 means exactly the same.
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.
