smaller 是形容词 small 的比较级形式,基本含义为“更小的、较小的”,也可表示“(服装等)小号的”“小规模的”等引申义。其英式发音为 /ˈsmɔːlə/,美式发音为 /ˈsmɔlər/,发音时需注意词尾 -er 读为轻辅音 /ə(r)/。作为比较级,它用于两者间的大小对比,可修饰具体物体、抽象概念或数量等,使用时需明确比较对象。
以下是 10 个实用例句,涵盖不同场景:
They decided to move to a smaller house in the suburbs.(他们决定搬到郊区一栋更小的房子里。)
The company was split into several smaller departments.(公司被拆分成几个更小的部门。)
A centimetre can be infinitely divided into smaller units.(一厘米可以无限分割成更小的单位。)
The DNA molecule is compounded from many smaller molecules.(DNA 分子由许多更小的分子构成。)
The systems are getting smaller and using lower voltages.(这些系统正变得更小,且使用更低的电压。)
There must be some misunderstanding—I thought I ordered the smaller model.(一定是误会了——我以为我订的是更小的型号。)
Farms in France are much smaller than those in the United States.(法国的农场比美国的小得多。)
It's better to start with smaller, achievable goals.(最好从更小、可实现的目标开始。)
The smaller lake ranges from five to fourteen feet in depth.(这个较小的湖深度在 5 到 14 英尺之间。)
When two objects collide in space, they break into smaller pieces.(当两个物体在太空中相撞时,会分裂成更小的碎片。)
常见短语搭配如下:
smaller and smaller:越来越小,如 "The circle became smaller and smaller as we zoomed out."(我们放大时,这个圆变得越来越小。)
smaller than:比……小,如 "This apple is smaller than that one."(这个苹果比那个小。)
smaller size:更小尺寸,如 "Do you have this shirt in a smaller size?"(这件衬衫有更小的尺寸吗?)
smaller scale:更小规模,如 "The project was first tested on a smaller scale."(该项目先在更小的规模上进行了测试。)
break into smaller pieces:分解成更小碎片,如 "The vase fell and broke into smaller pieces."(花瓶掉下来摔成了更小的碎片。)
在使用时,要注意与 less 和 fewer 的区别:smaller 侧重大小、尺寸或规模的比较;less 用于不可数名词,表示“更少的”;fewer 用于可数名词复数。比如 "a smaller number"(更小的数字)不能说成 "less number" 或 "fewer number"。理解这些细微差别,能让表达更准确自