Difference between revisions of "Expressing "let alone" with "geng buyong shuo""

Revision as of 03:47, 14 November 2011

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 做一大桌子的饭了。
他连自己国家的国旗都不认识， 更不用说 其他国家的了。
他从来没有背过一首诗， 更不用说 一本书了。

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.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-更不用说 (gèng bùyòng shuō) means "not to mention", "or let alone".
+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:
+<div class="liju">
+连 + A + 都/也 + Verb， 更不用说 + B + 了
+</div>
+Notice that the order used in this pattern is the opposite to the [["Let alone" with "bie shuo"|别说]] structure.
 For example:
@@ Line 7: / Line 14: @@
 * 他 都 不 会 煮 鸡蛋， <em>更不用说</em> 做 一 大 桌子 的 饭 了。
 * 他 连 自己 国家 的 国旗 都 不 认识， <em>更不用说</em> 其他 国家 的 了。
-* 他 从来 没有 背 过 一 首 诗， <em>更不用说</em> 一 本 书。
+* 他 从来 没有 背 过 一 首 诗， <em>更不用说</em> 一 本 书 了。
 </div>
-From the above, we can see that 更不用说 is often used with the 连...都... construction, often used to emphasize someone's lack of ability, something like: "you're stupid enough that you can't even X, let alone Y"
 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.