PETS－2语法讲解(143)

　　I can't praise the quality of your advice too highly.
　　对话
　　John: Did you get the result you were hoping for?
　　Vera: Yes we did, and largely thanks to you.
　　John: What do you mean?
　　Vera: Well it was largely your guidance that made it possible.
　　John: Well I'm sure that wasn't the most important thing.
　　Vera: Yes it was, and I can't praise the quality of your advice too highly.
　　约翰：你们得到想要的结果了没？
　　薇拉：得到了，真是多亏你啦。
　　约翰：为什么这么说？
　　薇拉：嗯，我们成功，主要是因为有你的指引。
　　约翰：啊，这应该不是最主要的原因。
　　薇拉：那的确是最主要的原因，你的意见真的非常宝贵。
　　约翰问薇拉成功了没有，薇拉说：Yes we did, and largely thanks to you。Thanks to somebody/something是‘拜某人/某事物所赐’的意思，有时作反话，指‘被某人/某事物所累’。这话一般会附在一子句(clause)前后，如何拜赐或受累即由该子句说明，例如：(1) Thanks to John's advice, we have succeeded（多亏约翰的意见，我们成功了）。(2) We lost the battle, thanks to his misinformation（我们被他的错误情报连累，打了败仗）。No thanks to somebody/something则是说‘非某人/某事物的功劳’。I can't praise the quality of your advice too highly一语，切勿直译做‘我不能太过称许你的意见’。Can't.....too有‘怎样都不能算是太过’的意思，换言之，‘我怎样称许你的意见，都不能算过份’。以下例句，读者不妨仔细揣摩，以免他日误解类似句子：(1) You cannot be too/over careful when handling electrical appliances（处理电器，必须非常小心）。(2) I cannot thank you enough（我对你感激不尽）。(3) The importance of his contributions cannot be exaggerated/overemphasized（他的贡献非常重要）。然则‘不应太过小心’或‘不应夸张他的贡献’，英文该怎么说？你可以用must not代替cannot：You must not be too careful、The importance of his contributions must not be exaggerated。