
境况富裕;更舒适
Families will be better off under the new law.
新法律会使家庭经济宽裕一些。
He will be better off, said they, with us than with you.
“他跟我们在一起会比跟你在一起好很多。”他们说。
Would they be better off in the office?
放在办公室里会不会更好呢?
In the long run, you will be better off.
从长远来看,你必将受益匪浅。
We’d be better off without them as neighbors.
要是没有这些邻居,我们就生活得更安逸。
"be better off"是英语中常见的经济类短语,主要包含以下三层含义:
经济状况改善 指个人或群体在财务、生活品质等方面处于更优越的状态。例如:"After receiving the promotion, she was clearly better off financially"(升职后她的经济状况明显改善)。这种用法常见于社会经济学领域的讨论,强调物质条件的提升。
比较选择的优化 用于对比两种决策的优劣,后接动名词或条件从句。典型结构为"be better off doing sth",如:"You'd be better off taking the subway during rush hours"(高峰时段乘地铁是更明智的选择)。牛津大学出版的《英语动词模式词典》将其归类为建议性表达。
虚拟语境中的假设 在虚拟语气中表达与现实相反的假设,常与if从句配合使用。例如:"If they had invested earlier, they would be better off now"(如果早投资现在境况会更好)。这种用法在《经济学人》商业案例分析中出现频率较高,多用于反事实推理。
该短语的语义演变可追溯至16世纪英国庄园经济,最初描述佃农通过改进耕作方式获得更高收成的状态,现代用法保留了"通过优化决策获得改善"的核心概念。柯林斯英语大辞典特别指出,其比较级形式"better off"比原级"well off"更常见于日常交流。
"be better off" 是一个常用英语短语,主要表达"处于更有利/更优渥的境况"或"做某事更明智"的含义,具体解释如下:
例:After getting promoted, they were better off financially.(升职后他们的经济状况好转了)
例:You'd be better off taking the train to avoid traffic.(你乘火车避开拥堵会更明智)
接动词-ing形式
be better off + doing sth
例:We're better off leaving early.(我们早点出发更好)
接介词短语
be better off without sth/sb
例:The team is better off without his negative attitude.(团队没有他的消极态度会更好)
时态变化
better off vs. well off
例:They're quite well off.(他们很富裕)
反义表达
worse off(境况更差)
例:Many families are worse off after the tax increase.(加税后许多家庭境况更糟)
通过上下文可判断具体指向经济状况还是广义的利弊选择。该短语在口语和书面语中均常见,使用时需注意比较对象的隐含或明示。
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