"on the whole" 是一个总结性短语,意为 “总的来说”“大体上”“整体而言”,用于对某件事或某种情况进行整体概括,强调从全局或综合角度看的结果(而非个别细节)。
它通常作为插入语使用,位置灵活(句首、句中、句尾均可),但需用逗号与句子主干隔开(句尾时有时可省略逗号)。核心功能是总结前文细节,给出整体评价。
On the whole, the new policy has improved working conditions.
(总的来说,新政策改善了工作条件。)
On the whole, I think the concert was worth the money.
(整体而言,我觉得这场音乐会值回票价。)
The book, on the whole, is well-written, though some chapters are too long.
(这本书大体上写得不错,尽管有些章节太长。)
Our team, on the whole, performed better than last season.
(我们队整体上比上赛季表现好。)
The trip had some minor problems, but it was enjoyable on the whole.
(这次旅行有一些小问题,但总的来说很愉快。)
The experiment didn’t go perfectly, but on the whole, we learned a lot.
(实验没完全成功,但大体上我们学到了很多。)
与类似短语的区别:
"on the whole" 更强调综合所有因素后的整体判断(如考虑优缺点、细节后的总结);
"in general" 更侧重“普遍情况”(如规律、通常状态);
"all in all" 更口语化,强调“总的结果”(如最终结论)。
注意:"on the whole" 是固定短语,不能拆分(如不能说 "on whole" 或 "on a whole")。
总之,"on the whole" 是英语中常用的总结工具,帮助你从“细节”过渡到“整体评价”,让表达更清晰、逻辑更完整~