half一词大家都很熟悉,它的意思是“一半,二分之一”。not half那就是“不是一半”,但“不是一半”这个意思会出现两种可能性:第一,可能不到一半;第二,可能不止一半。不到一半,强调的一点是“一点也不”,相当于英语not at all;不止一半,强调的意思是“十分,相当”,大致相当于英语very,to a considerable degree。既然not half具有两种截然相反的意思,那么,使用时容易引起混淆。本文想就如何区分这个词的两种意思略谈几点。 The word half is familiar to everyone. It means “half, half.” Not half is “not half,” but there are two possibilities for “not half”. First, it may be less than half; second, it may be more than half. Less than half, the emphasis is “not at all”, which is equivalent to not at English at all; more than half, the emphasis is “very, quite”, which is roughly equivalent to English very, to a considerable degree. Since not half has two opposite meanings, it is confusing to use. This article would like to discuss a few points on how to distinguish the two meanings of the word.