比较级和最高级常见词

1) 经常用来修饰形容词或副词的比较级形式，以示加强语气。常见的词或短语有：much （very much，too much ），even，still，far，rather，any， no，not，by far， a lot，a little，a bit，a great deal 等。

He is getting (too) much fatter these days

（加强语气时，可以使用too much 或 very much。）

It was cold yesterday, but it’s even colder today.

There was a number of people out this afternoon, far more than last Sunday.

His work is better by far than that of any other printer in the city.

She was by far the better actress in the West.

2）经常用来修饰形容词或副词的最高级，用来加强语气。常见的词或短语。如：much the ,the very , the ,by far,by far the ,not quite the, nearly, almost, 等。

【注】：very不能修饰比较级，却可修饰最高级，但它与一般的修饰最高级的副词有所不同，即它要放在最高级前的定冠词之后，而不是之前。(另外，second, third, next等也要放在定冠词之后)

This is much the / by far the most difficult of the five questions.

（much经常置于定冠词之前。）

The last novel of his is by far the best he has written.

The Pacific is the largest ocean in the world by far. （by far可以置于定冠词之前，也可以置于最高级之后。）

This cake ought to be good, because I used the very best butter.

【辨析】far，by far

1.作程度副词时，far和by far近义;far表示“很”、“极”、“大大地”(much)或“太/过于”(too much)的意思，byfar是“最为…/更为…”的意思。二者使用时有下列两点需要注意：

(一)far经常用在形容词比较级之前，而by far一般多用在最高级之前，例： It is far colder today than yesterday.

今天的天气比昨天冷得多。

Among these five gadgets,this one is by far the most useful.

在这五个新玩意儿中，这个最为有用。

This is by far the better method.

这方法比另一个更完善得多。

(二)使用by far时，随后的形容词最高级及比较级都附有定冠词the，而far 之后的比较级形容词则没有the.例：

She is by far the best of the students in class. 她是班里最好的学生。

She is far better than the other students. 她比其他学生更优秀。