発展 · Unit 47
比較 — 倍数詞 as 原級 as / 倍数詞 比較級 than
倍数詞(twice・three times・half など)のあとに as + 原級 + as や比較級 + than をつけると「〜倍…」を表します。2つの表現は同じ意味で、倍数詞は常に原級・比較級の前の位置に置きます。
概念の説明
倍数詞(twice・three times・half など)のあとに as + 原級 + as や比較級 + than をつけると「〜倍…」を表します。2つの表現は同じ意味で、倍数詞は常に原級・比較級の前の位置に置きます。
A. 倍数詞 — twice, three times, half
倍数詞は何倍かを表す表現で、twice(2倍)、three times(3倍)、four times(4倍)、half(半分)、a third(3分の1)などがあります。必ず as や比較級の前に置かれ、文中では副詞句のように働きます。
| 倍数詞 | 意味 |
|---|---|
| twice | 2倍 |
| three times | 3倍 |
| four times | 4倍 |
| five times | 5倍 |
| half | 半分 |
| a third | 3分の1 |
- Her salary is twice mine. (彼女の給料は私の給料の2倍です。)
- The new house is three times the size of our old one. (新しい家は前の家の3倍の大きさです。)
- I paid half the original price. (私は定価の半分を払いました。)
B. 倍数詞 + as + 原級 + as — 原級型の倍数比較
倍数詞 + as + 原級 + as は「〜の何倍…」を表す代表的な倍数比較構文で、原級がそのまま維持されるのが形の核心です。倍数詞 + as + 原級 + as = 倍数詞 + 比較級 + than 2つの方式は意味が同じです。
| 形 | 例 |
|---|---|
| twice + as + 原級 + as | This is twice as big as that. |
| three times + as + 原級 + as | She works three times as hard as me. |
| half + as + 原級 + as | My room is half as large as yours. |
- This box is twice as heavy as the other one. (この箱は別のものの2倍重いです。)
- Anna reads three times as many books as I do. (アンナは私の3倍たくさんの本を読みます。)
- His new apartment is half as expensive as the old one. (彼の新しいアパートは前のアパートの半分の値段です。)
- The lake is four times as deep as the river. (その湖は川の4倍の深さです。)
C. 倍数詞 + 比較級 + than — 比較級型の倍数比較
倍数詞 + 比較級 + than は、同じ意味を比較級の文で表す方式で、倍数詞が比較級の前に置かれ、そのあとに than + 対象が続きます。2つの方式は完全に同じ状況を表すので、文脈に合わせて選んで使えばよいです。
| 原級型 | 比較級型 (同じ意味) |
|---|---|
| This is twice as big as that. | This is twice bigger than that. |
| She works three times as hard as me. | She works three times harder than me. |
| The lake is four times as deep as the river. | The lake is four times deeper than the river. |
- This car is twice as fast as mine. = This car is twice faster than mine. (この車は私の車の2倍速いです。)
- He earns three times as much as I do. = He earns three times more than I do. (彼は私の3倍稼ぎます。)
- Our new office is twice as large as the old one. = Our new office is twice larger than the old one. (新しいオフィスは前の2倍の広さです。)
- The exam was three times as difficult as last year's. = The exam was three times more difficult than last year's. (試験は去年より3倍難しかったです。)
重要ポイント
- 1倍数詞(twice・three times・half など)は必ず as や比較級の前に置き、後ろに置くと不自然になります。(例: twice as big as, three times harder than)
- 2倍数詞 + as + 原級 + as と倍数詞 + 比較級 + than は同じ意味で自由に言い換えられます。(例: twice as big as = twice bigger than)
- 3twice は慣用上、twice + 比較級 + than の形より twice as + 原級 + as がはるかによく使われます。(例: This is twice as big as that.)
- 4half・a third のように1より小さい倍数詞も同じ構造で使われ、「半分だけ・3分の1だけ」を意味します。(例: My room is half as large as yours.)
- 5日本語の「〜の2倍・3倍…」は、英語では倍数詞 + as + 原級 + as に置き換えるのが最も自然です。(例: 2倍大きい → twice as big as)
例文
This bag is twice as big as that one.
このカバンはあのカバンの2倍の大きさです。
She earns three times more than him.
彼女は彼の3倍稼ぎます。
My room is half as large as yours.
私の部屋はあなたの部屋の半分の大きさです。
This car is twice as expensive as mine.
この車は私の車の2倍高いです。
He works four times harder than me.
彼は私より4倍熱心に働きます。
このユニットには例文がもっとあります。登録すると全文を音声つきで確認できます。
こんな間違いに注意
This is twice as big as that.
This is twice as big as that.
She works three times as hard as me.
This is twice bigger than that.
My room is half as large as yours.