■ less and less

与more and more的意思相反，表示“越来越小”“越来越少”。如：

He comes here less and less. 他来这里的次数越来越少了。

I find I’m eating less and less meat. 我发现我肉吃得越来越少了。

He became less and less interested. 他越来越不感兴趣。

Holiday nights are getting less and less expensive. 假日机票越来越便宜了。

■ less than

与more than意思相反，主要用法有：

1. 用于两者比较，意为“比……少(小)”。如：

I earn less than he does. 我比他钱挣得少。

She eats less than a bird. 她的食量比小鸟还少。

2. 指数量上“少于”“不足”。如：

It costs less than￡5. 这值不了5英镑。

I’ll see you in less than three weeks. 要不了3周我就能再见到你了。

2. 表示轻微的否定，意为“不很”“并不是太”（主要见于美国英语中）。如：

The job was less than perfect. 这工作不十分理想。

The boys were less than happy about having a party. 开晚会男孩子并不很高兴。

■ less...than

1. 表示“不像(如)……”。如：

He is less honest than his brother. 他不如他哥哥聪明。

This film is less interesting than that one. 这部电影不如那部电影有趣。

2. 表示“比……少”“不如……多”。如：

We drink less coffee than tea. 我们喝咖啡不如喝茶多。

We have less rainfall here than in Shanghai. 我们这儿的降雨量比上海少。

3. 表示“与其……不如……”。如：

I regard him less as my teacher than as my friend. 与其说我把他当作老师，不如说我是把他当作朋友。

■ no less than

1. 表示“多达”“有……之多”，用于强调数量之多。如：

No less than a thousand people came. 来的人竟然有上千人之多。

He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery. 他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。

2. 表示“简直”“与……没差别”。如：

It is no less than robbery to ask for so much. 要求多么多，简直跟抢劫没两样。

Sports wears, no less than suits, are very much saleable. 运动服和西服套一样，非常畅销。

3. 表示“原来就是”“正是”。如(www.yygrammar.com)：

He was no less than the mayor. 他原来就是市长。

Good heavens! It’s no less a person than the president! 天哪！原来真是总统啊！一点儿不假。

■ no less...than

主要用于强调同等性，意为“与……一样”“不比……差”。如：

She is no less wise than you. 他跟你一样聪明(他并不比你笨)。

He is no less determined than you. 他的决心不亚于你。

A dolphin is no less a clever animal than a dog is. 海豚与狗同样都是聪明的动物。