“do the reverse of”是一个常用英语短语,核心含义是“做与……相反的事”“采取与……反向的行动”,强调行为、选择或结果与某个参照(如他人的建议、预期、常规做法等)完全相反。
reverse:此处作名词,指“相反的情况/行为;反向操作”(the opposite of what has been mentioned or what is usual)。
do the reverse of:字面直译为“做……的反向操作”,引申为“与……背道而驰”“反其道而行之”。
该短语的关键是“of”后接“参照对象”(即“与什么相反”),参照对象可以是:
1、 名词/代词(具体的事物、行为);
2、 what引导的名词性从句(具体的内容、建议等);
3、 the + 形容词(如“the expected”“the usual”,指代“预期的事”“常规做法”)。
通过具体场景理解用法:
When all his friends were saving money for a house, he did the reverse of that—he spent all his savings on a trip around the world.
(当他所有朋友都在存钱买房时,他反其道而行之——把所有积蓄都花在了环游世界上。)
→ 参照对象是“saving money for a house”(存钱买房),用“that”指代。
The teacher told us to hand in the homework tomorrow, but some students did the reverse of what she said—they submitted it today.
(老师让我们明天交作业,但有些学生反着来——今天就交了。)
→ 参照对象是“what she said”(她所说的内容),即“明天交作业”。
Most people choose to work in big cities, but she did the reverse of the usual—she moved to a small village to teach.
(大多数人选择去大城市工作,但她打破常规——搬到小村庄教书。)
→ 参照对象是“the usual”(常规做法),即“去大城市工作”。
do the opposite of:与“do the reverse of”几乎同义,都表示“做相反的事”。
细微差别:“reverse”更强调“反转、反向操作”(如从“买”到“卖”的动作反转);“opposite”更强调“对立、相反的状态”(如“黑”与“白”的对立)。
例:He did the opposite of what I suggested.(他没按我的建议做,反而相反。)
“do the reverse of”是描述“行为反向”的实用短语,核心是明确“参照对象”(即“与什么相反”),常见于日常对话、议论文或叙事文中,用来突出行为的反差。