“be worse off”是一个常用的英语系表结构短语,核心含义是“(情况)更糟;更贫困;更不如意”,强调与过去状态、他人情况或预期相比,处境变得更差。
表示“处于更糟糕的境地”,可用于描述经济状况、生活状态、健康情况等多个维度的“恶化”或“劣势”。
该短语通常与比较对象(用`than`引出)或原因(用`for`引出“因缺少/缺乏某物而更糟”)连用,也可单独使用(上下文隐含比较)。
结构:`be worse off than + 比较对象(人/物/状态)`
例:
After quitting his job, he was worse off than he’d ever been.(辞职后,他的状况比以往任何时候都差。)
I’m worse off than my roommate—she has a part-time job, but I don’t.(我比室友更穷——她有兼职,我没有。)
结构:`be worse off for + 名词(缺少的事物)`
例:
We’d be worse off for water if we don’t save it.(如果不节约用水,我们会因缺水而更糟。)
She’s worse off for sleep after staying up all night.(熬夜后,她因缺觉而状态很差。)
例:
If we don’t fix the heater, we’ll be worse off in winter.(如果不修好暖气,冬天我们会更惨。)
The team is worse off without their star player.(没有明星球员,球队的情况更糟。)
`be better off`(情况更好;更富有),与`be worse off`形成对比:
I’d be better off taking the bus than driving—parking is too expensive.(我坐公交比开车好——停车太贵。)
She’s better off now that she’s moved to a safer neighborhood.(她搬到更安全的社区后,情况好多了。)
可作前置定语,修饰名词,意为“更贫困的;更弱势的”:
The government is trying to help worse-off families.(政府正试图帮助更贫困的家庭。)
“be worse off”本质是“状态更差”的表达,核心是“对比”——要么和过去比,要么和他人比,要么和预期比。使用时需明确“更糟的维度”(经济、生活、健康等),让表达更精准。
简单测试:用“be worse off”翻译下面句子“如果我们不按时交房租,会比现在更糟。”
答案:If we don’t pay the rent on time, we’ll be worse off than we are now.