more...than

大家知道, more... than 最常出现在有比较状语从句的句子里。

1. Thick grease offers more resistance to motion than thin oils. (more 修饰名词) 稠的油脂对运动的阻力比稀的油要大。

2. Heavy water is more effective in slowing down neutrons than graphite. (more 修饰形容词, 帮助 effective 构成比较级) 重水使中子减速的效果比石墨好。

3. More of them are at home than (are) abroad. (more 作名词短语的中心词) 他们之中留在国内的比出国的多。

4. The time passed more quickly than (it passed) last year. (more 修饰副词, 帮助 quickly 构成比较级) 今年的时间过得比去年快。

但是 more...than 还有另一种用法, 就是比较两种说法的正确程度, 在作者看来, 前一种说法(即 more 项) 比后一种说法(即 than 项) 更正确一些。汉语可译作“与其说……不如说”“与其说……毋宁说”“不大像……倒像”。例如:

1. He is more good than bad. = It is more accurate to say that he is good than that he is bad. (CGEL) 与其说他很坏,不如说他很好。

2. 'We were worried about you, Bishop,' the priest said, checking his watch and looking more perturbed than worried. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) “我们正为您担心呢，主教大人。”那个教士看了一下手表，说道。他那副表情与其说是担忧，倒不如说是忐忑不安。（《达·芬奇密码》）

在这种句型里，more + 形容词或副词并不构成形容词或副词的比较级。这个结构有一个很突出的特点，就是不能以形容词或副词比较级的后缀形式出现。例如，I was more angry than frightened.（我与其说是害怕，不如说是生气。），就不能说成 I was angrier than frightened。所以，R. 夸克等人把这种结构叫做准并列结构。

在这种句型里, more... than 不仅可以跟形容词并用, 也可以跟名词、代词、动词、介词短语等并用。例如:

1. It is more a poem than a picture. (连接名词) 与其说这是一幅画,不如说是一首诗。

2. The present crisis in capitalist countries is much more a political than an economic crisis. （连接名词短语）资本主义国家目前的危机与其说是经济危机，还不如说是政治危机。

3. A river that carries so much silt per cubic metre (590 kilograms—over half a ton!) is more like liquid land than water. (连接介词短语) 每立方米的水挟带了那么多泥沙(590公斤——半吨多!)的河流,与其说是河水,倒不如说是很像液状陆地。

4. He is more diligent than clever. 与其说他聪明,还不如说他勤奋。

5. To some, this may sound more like medieval magic than modern science. 在一些人听来，这与其说是现代科学，还不如说像中世纪的魔术。

6. That Potter lives is due more to my errors, than to his triumphs. (J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) 他能活到现在，与其说是他的胜利，不如说是我的过失。(《哈利·波特与死亡圣徒》)

[试译]由此看来，这两门科学是相互依存而又相互影响的。因而理论科学家和应用科学家之间的所谓区分，与其说是实际的，不如说是表面的。

下面再补充几个类似的例子：

1. The gas-filled tungsten filament lamp is more of a furnace than (of) a lamp. Since it uses ninety per cent of the power to produce unwanted heat and uses only ten percent to make light. 这种充气钨丝灯与其说是电灯，不如说是电炉。因为它耗去 $90\%$ 的电能用以产生无用的热量，而只用 $10\%$ 的电能来发光。（我们能说充气的钨丝灯不是灯吗？）

The modern wide-bodied jetliner is very big. Inside, it looks more like a great theatre than (like) a plane. 现代宽体喷气式客机是很大的。它的内部与其说像一架飞机，不如说像一座大剧场。（我们能说现代宽体喷气式客机不是飞机吗？）

3. He is more lucky than clever. (CEU) 与其说他聪明,不如说他幸运。

然而,遗憾的是,不结合上下文把 more A than B 一律译成“是 A 不是 B”的例子却是屡见不鲜的。例如:

(1) In spite of their importance in explaining what makes a ‘correct English sentence’, there is no need to dwell further here on selection restrictions, as they are more a matter of meaning than of syntax. (GCE, p. 372)

[原译]尽管在选择上的限制在说明怎样构成“正确的英语句子”时是重要的,但我们没有必要在这里作进一步的论述,因为这是一个语义上的问题而不是句法问题。[《当代英语语法》(中)p.42]

既然造句时选择的限制对于造出“正确的英语句子”非常重要,那怎么还能说它跟句法毫无关系呢?

[试译]尽管词语使用上的限制对于说明如何造出“正确的英语句子”是很重要的，但是在这里没有必要作进一步的讨论，因为这个问题与其说是句法问题，不如说是语义问题。

(2) That little girl is more shy than timid.

[原译]那个女孩是害羞而不是胆怯。(《高级英语语法》, p.618)

(3) His mother is more kind than intelligent.

[原译]她母亲是慈祥而不是聪颖。(同上,p.619)

如前所述，more A than B 常常用于表达两种说法的正确程度，而不是肯定一项否定另一项。因此，它绝不等同于 rather than。因此，例(2)、(3)的译文是违背原意的。建议分别译为：“那个女孩与其说是胆怯，不如说是害羞。”“他母亲与其说是聪颖，不如说是慈祥。”

much more 只能用在肯定句之后：

1. He is kind to me, much more to my elder brother. 他对我很好,更不用说对我哥哥了(对我哥哥更是如此)。

2. It's difficult to understand him, much more his wife. 他的话很难懂，他妻子的话就更难懂了。

而 She scarcely bothered to look at us. 是一个否定句(见 hardly, seldom, scarcely)，故不能用 much more，而必须换用 much less。后者可以用在否定句之后：

1. I never think of it, much less say it. 我连想都没想到这件事，更不用说讲它了。

2. I never even spoke to the man, much less insulted him. (DAI) 我同这个人从未讲过话，更不用说侮辱他了。