原来一直觉得 both 的否定式表示部分否定,意思是“并不是两者都不”,但近期在一个资料上看到说 not both 的说法是不对的。整蒙了,不可以说 not both 吗?
both 能否用于否定句的问题,正如刘老师和曹老师给出的例句,both 用于否定句是可能的,而且很多语法著作也都有类似的例句。但正如黎老师引用《牛津英语使用方法指南》说的“一般不说 both ... not”,这可能暗示现代英语已有这个“一般不说”的倾向,我查了一下《剑桥英语语法》(The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language),该书在第375页有如此一段说明:
All permits modification while the “exactly two” meaning of both excludes it:
Almost all / *Almost both the candidates were interviewed.
Similarly with not:
Not all / *Not both students take that view.
Not all conveys “less than all”, which potentially covers a considerable range; “less than both”, by contrast, could only be “just one” or “neither”.
《剑桥英语语法》比《牛津英语使用方法指南》的态度更明确,没用“一般不说”如此的委婉说法,而是直接在下面这个句子前面打了星号(表示不可同意):
* Not both students take that view.