He little cares about（or Little does he care about）what people say．
He is little richer than（=almost as poor as）before．（修饰比较级）
He is little better than（=almost as bad as）a murderer．
John's escape is little short of（=almost）a miracle．
He won little less than（=almost as much as）a million dollars．
F．A little
499 A little表示“有一点”（肯定），而little表示“很少”（否定）。A little可用作限制形容词，修饰名词。
“Have you much food to spare?” “No，I have little（=not much）.”
“Have you any food to spare?” “Yes，I have a little（=some little，some）food．”
John can't do the job，as he has little experience，but Richard can，as he has a little experience．
也可用作代词或名词。
We were offered tea，and we drank a little．
A little is better than nothing．
He knows a little of everything．
He ate a little of each dish，but the little satisfied him．
From what little（=the little）I saw，he seemed honest．
He has done not a little（=much）for the community．
He has seen not a little of（=much of）the world．
We started in（or after）a little（=after a short while）.
还可用作副词。
He has helped me a little．（修饰动词）
My foot can now move a little after the sprain．
He has helped me not a little（=much）.
Wait a little（or for a little）（=for a short while）．
He was a little astonished，and even a little shocked．（修饰分词）
He stood there，not a little charmed（=very much charmed）with the scenery．
He was a little nervous．（修饰形容词）
He is a little better today．
That is a little too small．（修饰副词）
He arrived just a little before noon．（修饰介词短语）
G．More
500 More表示“更多的”，可以和各类名词一起使用。
We need more（=a greater number of）trucks and workers（比现有的更多一些，或比别人的更多一些）.（修饰普通名词）
We must get more（=a greater quantity of）oil and coal．（修饰物质名词）
We must attack the problem with more（=a greater degree of）skill and courage．（修饰抽象名词）
More可用作限制形容词，修饰名词。
Do you want any more coal?（修饰不可数名词）
I want no more（or some more，a little more，much more，a great deal more）coal．
Do you want any more workers?（修饰可数名词）
I want no more（or some more，a few more，many more，a great number more，thirty more）workers．
He earned more and more money and lost more and more friends．
也可用作补语。
His assistants are more than nine（=ten，eleven or more）.
It is more than I can tell（or imagine，describe）．（=It is difficult for me to tell，imagine or describe．）
It is neither more nor less than（=exactly）a big lie．
He is no more（=has died）.
What is more（=Furthermore），we must have good workers besides enough capital．
还可用作代词或名词。
He paid more or less than（=about）ten thousand dollars．
He paid ten thousand dollars，more or less（=or so）.
He spent neither more nor less than（=exactly）a thousand．
He has more than（=over）a million．
He has more than enough（=too much）.
He has no more than（=only）one wife．
还可用作副词，表示“更（多）”。
I must work more—and sleep more，too．（修饰动词）
Don't make the same mistakes any more.（=Make the same mistake no more．）
Try it once（or twice，three times，much，a little）more．
He is more diligent than I．（修饰形容词）
He seems more dead than alive（=rather dead than alive）.
He is more frightened than hurt．
He is more in love than he seems．（修饰介词短语）
H．Less，Lesser
501 Less表示“较少的”，lesser表示“较小的”。
He drinks less（=a smaller quantity of）liquor，smokes fewer（或less—口语体）（=a smaller number of）cigarettes，and spends less money．So he has less（=a smaller degree of）trouble than anyone else．（用在物质、普通、抽象名词前）
I chose the lesser（=smaller）evil of the two．
Less可用作限制形容词，修饰名词。
You have done it with less effort than he．
I wish I could spend less money this year．
也可用作代词或名词。
I can't take less than this amount．
I can't take a penny less．
He has little less than（=nearly）a thousand acres of land．
He will return in no less than（=as much as）an hour．
还可用作副词。
This is less easy than（=not so easy as）that．（修饰形容词）
He studied less carefully than his classmates．（修饰副词）
I．Most
502 Most可表示“最多的”“大多数（部分）”“非常”或“最”。
This city has the most（=the greatest number of）people in all the world．（修饰普通名词）
This area produces the most（=the greatest quantity of）iron in the world．（修饰物质名词）
He has the most（=the greatest degree or amount of）ability among us．（修饰抽象名词）
Most（=the greater part of）（不用The most）countrywomen are in good health．（修饰可数名词）
Most of my time has been wasted．（和不可数名词一起用）
I am most（=very，extremely）grateful to you．（和形容词一起用）
She looked most pale last night（=more pale last night than at any other time）.
She looked the most beautiful at the party（=more beautiful than the others at the party）.
可以用作限制形容词，修饰名词。
He has the most patience of all．
Which of them committed the most mistakes?
He gets the lowest salary but has the most work to do．
I know most politicians in this country．
Most people in this city are busy．
也可用作代词或名词。
Of the three brothers，the youngest eats most．
I must make the most of（=use the best advantage充分利用）the opportunity（or my time，my life，my small income，this hut）.
He is at（the very）most（=not more than）fifty years old．
It is at most a small fault（=not a serious fault）.
That is the most（=all）I can do．
Most（=The great part）of these students are poor in mathematics．［=These students are most of them（or mostly，for the most part）poor in mathematics．］
It rains most of the time in this season．
还可用作副词。
Gambling pleases him most．（修饰动词）
He slept most last night．
Marriage has troubled him most．
It is a most easy（=a very easy）job．（修饰形容词）（绝对）
It is the easiest job（=an easier job than any others）.（相对）
He is a most strict（=a very strict）teacher．
He is the strictest teacher（=a stricter teacher than any others）.
It is most（=very）kind of him to do that．（绝对）
He is the kindest man I know．（相对）
I shall most（=very）certainly help you．（修饰副词）
Most probably，it will rain this evening．
J．Least
503 Least表示“最少的”“最无关紧要的”。
Of them all，he has the least（=the smallest quantity of）money，the least（=the smallest amount of）ambition，and the fewest（=the smallest number of）friends．
可用作限制形容词，修饰名词。
He has the least knowledge of chemistry in class．
The least（=Even the least）error would spoil our secret plan．
He got mad at the least thing．
也可用作补语。
His salary is the least in our office．
也可用作代词或名词。
The least you can do is to say “sorry” to her．（You can do more than say “sorry”．）
He is，to say the least of it（=not to say much），a good husband and father．（He may be more than that．）
He has at（the very）least ten brothers（possibly more）．
You can at least try selling something．
He is not in the least（=not a bit）injured．
It does not matter in the least．（一点都没关系。）
还可用作副词。
He works hardest but is paid least．（修饰动词）
He is the least intelligent of US．（修饰形容词）
They can do it，most of all（=especially）John（=and John can do it most of all）.
They cannot do it，least of all John．（least of all总用在否定句后）
They will wear a necktie，most of all a red one（=and will wear a red one most of all）.
Few will wear a necktie，least of all a red one．
He does not deserve the prize，nor do you，least of all do I．
We must never quarrel any more，least of all in such a public place．
I will not say anything，least of all against anyone．
K．Enough
504 Enough表示“足够的”。
We have capital enough（=as much as is necessary），workers enough（=as many as are necessary）and equipment enough（=as adequate as is necessary）（or enough capital，enough workers and enough equipment）.
可用作限制形容词，修饰名词。
We have enough friends for a big dancing party．
He has enough strength for any competition．
A thousand dollars is a sum enough for your travelling to the north．
He has enough money and to spare（=more money than enough）.（It may be desirable．）
比较：He has too much money．（It is undesirable．）
I have not enough time to say goodbye to all my relatives and friends.
I have not enough confidence to propose to my girlfriend．
We have not enough land to produce enough food for ourselves．
也可用作补语。
Fifty dollars is quite enough for me．
Talking is not enough．
All the world is not enough for him to conquer．
You are enough to（=might）make me mad．
The wind is enough to blow off big trees．
也可用作代词或名词。
He seems to have enough．
Enough is as good as a feast．
He has enough to eat and wear．
（I have had）Enough of your imprudence!
Enough!（=Do it no more! Stop!）
还可用作副词（通常放在所修饰词后面）。
He has not slept enough（=slept to a satisfactory degree）.（修饰动词）
I can never thank you enough．
The eggs have been cooked enough．
The house is old enough（=rather old）.（修饰形容词）
The accident is strange enough．
He is old enough to understand life．
He is fool（=foolish）enough to marry such an old woman．
He is man（=manly）enough to confess his fault．
He is hero（=heroic）enough to give up drinking．
He received from her a kind letter enough（=kind enough letter，letter kind enough）.
She has slept long enough．（修饰副词）
I have told you plainly enough．
Oddly（or Strangely，Curiously）enough（=Strange to say），he has recovered from AIDS．
He will fail，sure enough（=certainly）.
L．短语
505 像a number of，lots of这样表示不定数量的短语，已在限定形容词一节谈到过。如果把of去掉，它们都可用作代词或名词。
“Has he any friend?” “He has a great number．”
“He has plenty of money.”“Yes，he has plenty．”
“We need plenty of rice．but we have only a small quantity．”
“Is there any milk?” “There is quite a lot．”
Patience? We have a great amount．
I have eaten a good deal．I have had plenty．
He knows a lot．
有少数表示数量的短语甚至可用作副词。
This road is a good deal longer than that．
A lot you care!（=You don't care a bit!）
下面是一些包含否定短语的句子。
Few or no plants grow in the desert．
She finds little or no difficulty in learning Spanish．
She seldom or never sees a dentist．
三、固定数词与量词
A．固定数词
506 固定数词可以用作（1）形容词，（2）名词，（3）代词，偶作（4）副词。
(1)He has four wives，who quarrel among them ten times a day．
A person has two eyes，two ears，but only one mouth，so he should look and listen twice more than speak．
(2)On the thirteenth of this month，six died of pest，and twenty-three suffered from cholera．
In this accident，three were killed and fifteen were seriously wounded．
(3)He has eaten two apples，and I have eaten three，but my youngest brother has eaten five．
Two heads are better than one，but too many hands spoil the broth．
(4)First，press the button；second，open the lid; third，unscrew the top．
In the first place，she is young；in the second，she is rich；in the third，she is pretty．So she can have anything she wants．
Think twice before you act．
1．基数词
507 基数词的各种形式。
0：nought（数学用语），zero（一般说法），cipher（指符号而不是指数目），o（和zero一样，较不正式），nil（球赛说法），love（网球赛说法）
2：two，a couple（of）（=two or a few），a pair of，a brace of，a yoke of—a couple（of）days，three pair（s）of pants（or glasses），two brace of rabbits（or horses），four yoke of oxen，six couple（s）of rabbits
12：a dozen—five dozen eggs，five dozen（s）of eggs，（many）dozens of eggs
13：thirteen（不是threeteen），a baker's dozen（现少用）
15：fifteen（不是fiveteen）
20：a score（of）—two score eggs，scores of eggs，many scores of eggs，three score years and ten（=seventy years）
40：forty（不是fourty），four times ten（少用）
67：sixty-seven（在以-ty结尾的数词后要加连字号 “-”，再加个位数，如twenty-one，forty-nine）（过去有seven and sixty这种形式，现在很少见）
101：one（or a）hundred and one（=a great many）—a hundred and one questions
144：one（or a）hundred（and）forty-four，twelve dozen，a gross（of）（在百位数与十位数之间的and可以省略，特别是在美国）
ten gross（of）buttons，some（or many）grosses of buttons
200：two hundred，a couple of hundred（在hundred后不加-s）
365：three hundred（and）sixty-five
1,001：one（or a）thousand and one，a great many—a thousand and one worries
1,600：one thousand six hundred,sixteen hundred（1,160至1,900之间的整数，我们常说eleven hundred等。）
6,432：six thousand four hundred（and）thirty-two，six four three two
4,865,372：four million，eight hundred（and）sixty-five thousand，three hundred（and）seventy-two
在million，thousand，hundred后都不加-s。hundred后可加and，也可以不加。在-ty结尾的词和后面数词间应插入连字号“-”。为了较快读出，在表示million和thousand的数字后要加逗号。在欧洲国家，有些加句号而不是加逗号。
3,000,000：three million—three million workers，a population of three million
4,000,000,000：four thousand million（英式），four billion（美式）
4,000,000,000,000：four billion（英式）
43,000,000：43 million
5,400,000,000：5.4 billion or 5 4/10 billion（写出billion以避免写过长的数字）
508 带有基数词的各种表达法。
(1)A class of six（=six students），a party of eight（=eight persons）（低于10的数字，最好用数词而不用阿拉伯数字表示）
A family of 24，a population of 3 million
(2)Hundreds（or Thousands，Millions）of people live in this area．（在跟有of引出的短语，前面又没有固定数词时，hundred，thousand等词后要加-s）
Dozens（or Tens of thousands）of birds are flying．
Scores of huts have been built for the fire victims．
I earned some（or many）hundreds（or thousands，millions）.［但：I earned several hundred（or thousand）．］
I spent three hundred（or thousand，million）of（一部分）my income．
Thousands upon thousands of poor people have no houses．
Hundreds and hundreds of guns are roaring．
(3)He received letters by the hundred（or by hundreds）.（=He received hundreds of letters．）
She has suitors by the dozen（or by dozens）.
They were killed by the thousand（or by thousands）.
(4)The guests came in twos（=two by two，two and two）.
I count them in fives．
They came in singles，not in pairs．
(5)2，4，6，etc.，are even numbers（偶数）．
1，3，5，etc.，are odd numbers（奇数）．
(6)500 is a round number（整数）for 493，495，504，507，etc．（整数可以用阿拉伯数字表示，如500，也可以用数词表示，如five hundred）
3,000 is a round number for 3,001，3,008，2,991，2,994，etc．
(7)Three years and seven days are three odd years.
He has $508，or five hundred and odd dollars．
We have stayed here forty-odd days．
He has two hundred dollars odd．
He is a man of forty-something．
It is a three-pounds-plus water-melon．
(8)He has about（or around，some，approximately）three thousand dollars．（不定数或约数最好用数词表示，而不用阿拉伯数字，除非数目过于复杂）
He has more or less than（or approximately，in the neighbourhood of）a hundred fifty acres of land．
There are roughly six thousand foreigners in this city．
He spent three hundred dollars or so（or or thereabout，or something like that）every month．
(9)An estimated（or An average of）1,350 persons pass here every day．
His income is under（or below）450 dollars a month．
You can't buy such a good TV for anything below 299 dollars．
This bridge is close to（or close on）580 metres long．
This mountain is almost（or nearly）（=just a little less than）10,000 feet high．
One must fail upwards of（or over，above）（=more than）a hundred times before one can succeed once．
