| 释义 |
rath·er AHD[răY“ər, rä"Yər] D.J.[ˈræðə, ˈrɑːðə]K.K.[ˈræðɚ, ˈrɑðɚ]adv.（副词）- More readily; preferably:宁可：更愿意地；较合意地：I'd rather go to the movies.我宁愿去看电影
- With more reason, logic, wisdom, or other justification.较合理地：有更多原因、学识、逻辑或其他证明地
- More exactly; more accurately:更确切地；更精确地：He's my friend, or rather he was my friend.他是我的朋友，不过更确切地说，他曾经是我的朋友
- To a certain extent; somewhat:相当地：达到一定程度地：rather cold.相当寒冷
- On the contrary.相反地
- [ră"Yûrʹ, räʹ-] Chiefly British Most certainly. Used as an emphatic affirmative reply.[ră"Yûrʹ, räʹ-] 【多用于英国】 当然：最肯定地。做为对肯定性回答的加强语气
- Middle English 中古英语
- from Old English hrathor [comparative of] hræthe [quickly, soon] 源自 古英语 hrathor hræthe的比较级 [快地，很快地]
- from hræth [quick] 源自 hræth [快的]
- In expressions of preferencerather is commonly preceded by would or in formal style should : 在表达选择的意思时rather 一词往往跟在 would 或更正式的形式 should 之后： We would rather rent the house than buy it outright.我们宁可租这幢房子，也不愿直接买下它。I should rather my daughter attended a public school. 我希望我的女儿能上公立学校。
- The use ofhad in these constructions may now be more infrequent than it once was but is still encountered in reputable writing: 在上述结构中使用had 现在没有过去常用， 但即使在十分著名的文章中，还能发现这种用法： I had rather be dead than be a slave. 我宁可死去，也不愿意当奴隶。
- This use ofhad was once widely criticized as a mistake, the result of a misanalysis of the contraction in sentences such asI'd rather stay. But it is in fact a survival of the subjunctive formhad that appears in constructions like had better and had best, as in 这种对had 的使用曾经招致广泛的批评， 人们认为这是由于对I'd rather stay 这句话简略形式的误解所致。 但实际上这是对例如在had better 或 had best 中 had 虚拟用法的延用，我们能说： We had better leave her alone. (Notice that in these constructions would and should cannot be used.) 我们最好由她去（注意在这种句子中不可使用 would 或 should )。
- This use ofhad shows an unbroken line of usage running back to Middle English, and traditional criticisms of these constructions are unfounded. ·Before an unmodified noun onlyrather a is used: It was rather a disaster. When the noun is preceded by an adjective, however, bothrather a and a rather are found: It was rather a boring party. It was a rather boring party. Whena rather is used in this construction, rather can be construed as qualifying only the adjective, whereas withrather a it can be construed as qualifying either the adjective or the entire noun phrase. Thusa rather long ordeal can mean only "an ordeal that is rather long,” whereasrather a long ordeal can also mean roughly "a long process that is something of an ordeal.” Rather a is the only possible choice when the adjective itself does not permit modification: The horse was rather a long shot (not The horse was a rather long shot ). See Usage Note at better 1should Had 的这种使用方法可以一直追溯到中古英语， 但历史上并没有对此方法批评的记载。在一个没有修饰词的名词前，一般只使用rather a ： 真是一场灾难。 但当名词前有形容词时，rather a 和 a rather 就都能使用了： It was rather a boring party 。It was a rather a boring party 。 在这种搭配中，如果使用a rather ， rather 只是用来修饰这个形容词； 如果使用rather a， 那么同时修饰形容词和名词，即可认为修饰形容词也可以为修饰名词词组。 因此a rather long ordeal 的意思仅指布道很长， 而rather a long ordeal 则可概略地指一个“像布道似的漫长过程。” 如果形容词本身没有引申义，那么就只能使用rather a ： The horse was rather a long shot （而不是 The horse was a rather long shot ) 参见 better1should
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