[化学論文のための英語講座] 第62回：「almost」と「same」の使い方

(English version is here.)

英語が母国語でない著者らが使う「almost」と「same」には、間違いが目立ちます。まずは「almost」について考えてみましょう。

「almost」と「most」は発音が近いので間違えやすいですが、意味は違います。「almost」はよく「殆ど」と訳されていますが、使い方の特徴を覚えるとわかりやすいです。「almost」には「限りなく近い」という感覚があります。もう一つの重要な点は「almost」と「almost all」では意味が違い、「most」と「almost all」には「殆どの」という意味があります。また、mostは形容詞としても使えますが、almostは副詞なので名詞は修飾しませんがalmost all は名詞を修飾することができます。例文を見てみましょう。

1. Most people like fair weather.
2. Almost all people like fair weather.
和訳：殆どの人は晴天が好きです。（前者と後者は同じ意味になります）

例文2で「all」を除くと、副詞が名詞を修飾しているため文法的に間違いになります。

3. Almost people like fair weather.
解説：この文章の「Almost people」の部分を敢えて日本語に訳すと「人間に近い」になります。

4. Most reactions were complete within ten minutes.
5. Almost all reactions were complete within ten minutes.
和訳：ほとんどの反応は10分以内に完了した。（前者と後者は同じ意味になります）

例文5で「all」を除くと、副詞が名詞を修飾しているため文法的に間違いになります。

6. Almost reactions were complete within ten minutes.
解説：この文章の「Almost reactions」を敢えて日本語に訳すと「やりかけた反応」だと考えられます。

次に「same」について考えてみましょう。西ヨーロッパの言語で最も難しいところの一つは冠詞の使い分けです。冠詞の有無や定冠詞か非定冠詞のどちらが適切なのかが複雑と思われますが「same」の場合は非常に簡単です。「same」は例外なく「the」がつきます。話すときは「the」を抜くことありますが書くときは「the same」を一語として考えるべきです。「same」と「identical」は全く同じ意味を持っていますが「identical」では冠詞についての規則は普通の形容詞と同じです。さらに両方とも一緒に用いる前置詞は決まっています。「same」はいつも「as」がつき、「identical」は変わらず「to」がつきます。以下の例文を見てみましょう。

7. The procedures are the same.
8. The procedures are identical.
和訳：手順は同じです。（前者と後者は同じ意味になります）

9. Spectra were the same as those reported previously.
10. Spectra were identical to those reported previously.
和訳：スペクトルは以前に報告されたものと同一でした。（前者と後者は同じ意味になります）

なお7, 8の例文に「almost」を加えることができます。
11. The procedures are almost the same.
12. The procedures are almost identical.
和訳：手順はほとんど同じです。（前者と後者は同じ意味になります）

「almost」と「same」「identical」を使う時には冠詞や前置詞との組合せに気をつけましょう。

次回は「リン：悪魔の原子か」です。

Almost the Same

Let us look at the following example.

The mistaken use of almost and same by non-native English-speaking authors can be eye catching. Let us begin by considering almost.

Almost and most have similar pronunciation and are thus easily confused, however the meanings are different. Almost has the feeling of being very close to the whole or limit. Another point to remember is almost and almost all have different meanings, but most and almost all are very similar. Also, most is an adjective, almost is an adverb and cannot modify a noun, and almost all can modify a noun. Let us look at some examples.

1. Most people like fair weather.
2. Almost all people like fair weather.
Explanation: The former and the latter have very similar meaning.

If all is omitted in example 2, an adverb modifies a noun and is thus grammatically incorrect.

3. Almost people like fair weather.
Explanation: In this sentence, the expression almost people gives an image of nearly human.

4. Most reactions were complete within ten minutes.
5. Almost all reactions were complete within ten minutes.
Explanation: The former and the latter have very similar meaning.

If all is deleted from example 5, an adverb modifies a noun and is thus grammatically incorrect.

6. Almost reactions were complete within ten minutes.
Explanation: In this sentence, the expression almost reactions gives an image of incomplete reactions.

Next, let us consider same. One of the more difficult aspects of Western European languages is the use of articles. The presence or absence, and whether a definite or indefinite article is appropriate can be thought difficult, but in the case of same it is very simple. Same, without exception requires the. Although in spoken language same may be at times heard without the, when writing, the same should be thought of as a single word. The same and identical are exactly equivalent in meaning, but identical follows the usual article rules just as other adjectives. Furthermore, the preposition used with each is fixed. The same always appears with as and identical always appears with to. Let us look at the following examples.

7. The procedures are the same.
8. The procedures are identical.
Explanation: The former and the latter are equivalent in meaning.

9. Spectra were the same as those reported previously.
10. Spectra were identical to those reported previously.
Explanation: The former and the latter are equivalent in meaning.

Furthermore, almost can be added to examples 7 and 8.
11. The procedures are almost the same.
12. The procedures are almost identical.
Explanation: The former and the latter are equivalent in meaning.

Explanation: The former and the latter are equivalent in meaning.

At next time, we will post Phosphorus, the Devil's element.