核心问题
It's a rather sad story. 我们作英语教师的是否应让学生把句中 a rather 改为 rather a?
词典解答
a rather sad story 与 rather a sad story 都是正确的说法。各种辞书列举的例句以 rather a + 形容词为多,但是也能找到 a rather + 形容词的例句:
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I've got a rather bad cold. 我得了相当严重的感冒。
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He died after a rather short illness. 他病了不久就死了。
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He was a rather tall young man. (RB) 他是一个相当高的年轻人。
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I think that would be a rather nice excuse. (Wilde) 我认为这是一个相当不错的借口。
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It is a rather big table. (GCE) 那是一张相当大的桌子。
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a rather difficult task 一个相当艰难的任务
练习题
请做下面的英语试题：
He had ____ on the subject.
A. a rather strong opinion B. rather strong opinion
C. rather the strong opinion D. the rather strong opinion(全国研考,91-10)
[参见 a(an) , quite a(an)]