该短语通常后接名词、代词或名词性短语(如目标、标准、期望、要求等),构成“fall short of + 宾语”的结构。以下是常见场景及例句:
指实际结果未满足预先设定的目标(如销量、分数、业绩等)。
Our sales fell short of the quarterly target by 10%.(我们的季度销售额比目标少了10%。)
The athlete fell short of breaking the world record by 0.1 seconds.(这位运动员差0.1秒打破世界纪录。)
指实际表现未达到他人或自身的期待,或不符合某种标准、规范。
The movie fell short of my expectations—it was too slow.(这部电影没达到我的预期——节奏太慢了。)
The new product fell short of safety standards and was recalled.(新产品不符合安全标准,被召回了。)
引申为“缺少”必要的素质、能力或资源。
He falls short of the patience needed for this job.(他缺乏这份工作所需的耐心。)
The team fell short of experience in handling such crises.(这个团队在应对此类危机时缺乏经验。)
该短语无被动语态,通常以“主语 + fall short of + 宾语”的主动形式出现;
过去式/过去分词形式为 fell short of(如例句中的用法);
可与程度副词搭配(如 seriously/badly fall short of,意为“严重达不到”):
The plan seriously fell short of what we had hoped for.(这个计划严重偏离了我们的预期。)
come short of:与fall short of同义,但更口语化,使用频率较低;
fail to meet:更正式,强调“未能满足”(如fail to meet the deadline/requirements),可替换fall short of。
总结:fall short of 是描述“差距”的高频短语,适用于工作、学习、生活等多种场景,核心是“实际 < 预期/标准”。通过具体例句理解其搭配,就能灵活运用啦!