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談到否定，大家在寫作時往往只會想到用not，但是其實英語中用來表示否定的辦法非常多。今天芥末君就教給大家一些外刊中常用的地道表達，大家仔細體會，以後可以在自己的作文裡靈活使用。
1
far from sth, nowhere near sth
這兩個詞都可以替換 not at all，強調「遠非，遠不」。比如我們在評價某些解決方案時，可以說 These are decent measures， but nowhere near/ far from enough. 這些措施還不錯，但還遠遠不夠。
2
hard, scarcely, rarely, seldom等帶有否定意義的副詞
我們可以用hard, scarcely, rarely, seldom等否定副詞來表示「幾乎不」，比全然否定的not更加嚴謹。
試比較：
A. Without drinking a cup of coffee, many students could notstay awake in his class.
B. Without drinking a cup of coffee, many students couldhardly stay awake in his class.
相對而言，B句更加嚴謹、地道，畢竟學生不會在課堂上完全睡著。
再比如：我不太懂你說什麼。
A. I can not understand you.
B. I can barely understand you.
我幾乎不認識她。
A. I did not know her.
B I scarcely knew her.
3
fail to do sth
這是一個超高頻的小詞。只要對一個動詞加以否定，我們都可以用 fail to do sth，但這個用法帶有一點「該做而沒有做」或「該發生而沒有發生」的意思，有時候還可能保持「想做某事但沒有做成」的意思。試看下面的來自《經濟學人》的例句：
Otherwise, rich societies may fail to cope with the needs of ageing and growing populations.
否則，富裕社會可能無法應對老齡化和人口增長帶來的醫療需求。
A movie theme park, intended as a landmark, closed after failing to draw crowds.
由於吸引不到遊客，曾被寄希望成為地標的一座電影主題公園關門大吉。
When education fails to keep pace with technology, the result is inequality.
當教育跟不技術進步時，就會造成不平等。
4
have yet to do sth
have yet to do sth可以表示「該做但尚未做，但是稍後會做」，也是外刊高頻表達。
Investigators have yet to find or arrest anyone in connection with those explosions.
調查人員尚未發現或拘捕任何同這些爆炸案有牽連的人。
The full effect has vet to be felt.
全部效果尚未感覺到。
A just society has yet to be established.
一個公正的社會尚有待建立起來。
5
lack, absence等帶有否定意義的詞
英語中很多詞本身就具有否定意義，比如lack, absence等。換句話說，與no或not等否定詞連用的詞組可以使用意義相同或相近的含否定意義的詞來代替，使句式更加簡潔。
比如：她沒有信心。
A. She does not have confidence.
B. She lacks confidence.
再比如：
A. When kids do not have discipline at their schools, it means they do not have discipline in the home.
B. Absence of discipline at their schools reflects absence of discipline in the home.
6
ill-, un-, in-, under-等否定前綴構成的詞
在作文中多用合成詞會讓你的文章更有英語味兒。同樣的，我們可用帶有否定前綴的詞表示否定，讓你的文章更地道。
比如：這個國家無法處理精神疾病
A. The country cannot treat mental conditions.
B. The country fail to treat mental conditions.
C. The country is ill-equipped to treat mental conditions.
類似的詞語還有很多，比如ill-advised, ill-informed, underdeveloped, insufferable, unbearable等等，大家注意在平時的閱讀中多積累。
7
其他否定詞如no, nothing, never, nowhere, nobody, no one, none, no longer等。
我們可以用no, nothing等否定詞替換not，這是最常見的用法。
試看以下例子:
不得攜狗入內。
A. Dogs are not allow.
B. No dogs are allowed.
她前看不到有希望。
A. She could not see any hope.
B. She could see no hope ahead.
你對此毫無辦法。
A. You cannot do anything about it.
B. There's nothing you can do about it.
這樣的事從來沒有發生過。
A. It hasn't happened at any time yet.
B. It's never happened yet.
我再也容忍不了。
A. I cannot stand it.
B. I can no longer stand it.
8
few, little
few, little也是表示否定意義的詞。
比如：幾乎沒有誰能選擇自己的死法，不過他們可以選擇如何處理自己的身後事。
Few choose how they die, but they can choose what happens next.
few和little本身帶有否定含義，指「很少，幾乎沒有」。
我們可以用 do little to do sth來替換 do not do sth，比如《經濟學人》一篇關於環境保護文章裡有這樣一句話:
Environmental groups said the plan was half-baked and would do little to tackle emissions of greenhouse gases.
環保組織稱該計劃考慮不周，對解決溫室氣體排放貢獻不大。
9
struggle to do sth
struggle to do sth也是外刊中超高頻的詞彙，本義是「掙扎著做某事」，往往指「難以做某事」，暗含一絲否定意味。
比如《經濟學人》一篇關於校園暴力的文章提到：But educators struggle to spot bullying，let alone to stop it. 然而，教育工作者們很難發現霸凌行為，更不要提去阻止它了。
再比如《經濟學人》一篇關於老齡化的文章提到：Where it makes up share of total pension income, as in Italy, Portugal and Greece, a shrinking workforce will increasingly struggle to finance a bulging group of pensioners. 在義大利、葡萄牙和希臘這樣的國家，公共經費佔到了養老金總收入中很大一部分，不斷菱縮的勞動力將越來越難以支撐日益膨脹的退休群體。
10
by no means
by no means表示「絕不，一點也不」，與我們學過的far from類似，相當於not at all，比如 She is by no means/far from an inexperienced teacher. 她絕不是個毫無經驗的教師。