‘Do you know much about business?’ ‘Nothing at all.’
“你对做生意了解得多吗?”“一窍不通。”
She had eaten virtually nothing at supper.
晚饭她几乎什么也没吃。
There’s nothing wrong with the data.
这些数据没什么差错。
There’s nothing new about this.
这没有什么新鲜的。
A brief search was made but they found nothing untoward.
他们简单地搜查了一番,没发现任何异常。
2nothing butonly 只有;只是
She’d had nothing but bad luck.
她净倒霉了。
Examples from the Corpus
nothing but• They saw nothing but a dim grayness, or was it blackness?• His death was nothing but an absurd, ludicrousaccident.• They did nothing butargue for the whole journey.• You could walk from there till your feet ached, and still you'd see nothing butherring.• Indeed I was forgetful, pathologically so, and for this too I felt nothing butremorse.• At one time we had about eighty people here who did nothing but research into various family genealogies.• Charles, by contrast, had known nothing butrestriction and discipline.• Nora objects, it's been nothing butringingphones and boilingkettles, doorbells and toilets, since you began.• There was nothing butsalad to eat.• This car's been nothing but trouble.
3have nothing against somebody/somethingif you have nothing against someone or something, they do not annoy or offend you 对某人/某事不反感
I have nothing against him personally.
我对他本人并不反感。
Examples from the Corpus
have nothing against somebody/something• Now I want this distinctly understood, that I have nothing against Cleveland.• Atari and Psion, like most companies, have nothing againstenthusiasts making one or two copies for personal back-ups.• I have nothing againstJack personally, I just don't like his line of work.• I have nothing against Mr Jack Neighbours, who sadly, I understand, was killed in the war.• I have nothing against the Arabs ... They are the same as us.• I have nothing against the Arabs.• I have nothing against these resorts, but my own shortlist of best resorts would not include any of them.• I have nothing againstthorns and prickles so long as you can admire them from a safedistance.
‘What have you been doing?’ ‘Nothing. Just sitting here.’
“你都在干些什么?”“没干什么,只是在这里坐着。”
There’s nothing on television tonight.
今晚电视没什么可看的。
‘What did you do last weekend?’ ‘Oh, nothing much.’
“你上周末做了什么?”“嗯,没做什么事。”
Politics meant nothing (=was not important) to me for years.
多年来政治对我无关紧要。
The meal was nothing special (=it was not unusual or interesting) – just fish with a cheese sauce.
那顿饭没什么特别的——就是鱼配干酪酱。
5especially American EnglishAmEHMNNONE/NOTHINGzero 零SYN British English nil
We beat them ten to nothing.
我们以十比零击败了他们。
6have/be nothing to do with somebody/somethingif you have nothing to do with someone or something, or if someone or something has nothing to do with you, you are not involved or connected with it 与某人/某事毫不相干;与某人/某事无关
He said that he had nothing to do with the decision.
他说他和那个决定毫不相干。
As I said, it’s nothing to do with me.
我说了,这事与我无关。
That’s got nothing to do with you.
那不关你的事。
I want nothing to do with (=do not want to be involved) the whole thing.
我可不想牵扯到这件事里去。
My staff had nothing whatsoever to do with this.
我的员工和这件事毫不相干。
Examples from the Corpus
have/be nothing to do with somebody/something• We have nothing to do with each other.• He was nothing to do with her and Alan.• Finally, he was publicly warned and barred from communion, and the people advised to have nothing to do with him.• But that smell might very well have nothing to do with it.• These are things to be proud of, but they have nothing to do withrank or class.• I have nothing to do with the motel.• General Smuts will have nothing to do with you.
7for nothing
a)FREE/COST NOTHINGwithout paying for something or being paid for something 不要钱;不交钱,免费
Why pay a plumber when my brother will do it for nothing?
我弟弟就可以免费干,何必花钱去请管子工呢?
b)FAILREASONif you do something for nothing, you make an effort but do not get the result you want 毫无结果;白白地
We went all that way for nothing.
我们白白走了那么远的路。
Examples from the Corpus
for nothing• I don't want to struggle all my life for nothing.• Nobody gets anything, for nothing.• Peres is to be blamedfor nothing.• If we don't get the contract all our hard work will have been for nothing.• My dad said he'd fix it for nothing.• We drove all the way down there for nothing.• After all, it wasn't dubbed the Palacefor nothing.• Ironically, later auf became a localexpression for a long wait, or working for nothing.• We got the car for nothing because the woman wanted to get rid of it fast.• His mind was set on walking down his quarry and had room for nothing else.• Hell, his great-grandaddy used to work for nothing, for all that matter.• You can skatefor nothing if you want.• What could be more stable than for nothing to change?
When a car has done that many miles, it’s worth nothing.
一辆车行驶了这么多里程,根本不值钱了。
9there’s nothing like somethingused to say that something is very good 什么都比不上某事物
There’s nothing like a hot bath after a day’s climbing.
爬了一天的山以后,没什么比得上好好泡个热水澡了。
Examples from the Corpus
there’s nothing like something• Facing page: there's nothing like a brew to sootheachinglimbs but where's the Kendal Mintcake?• And there's nothing like a conversation when you smoke.• No, there's nothing like a good laugh to make you feel better about yourself.• When the weather's good there's nothing like a luxuriousdessert to give a special menu a final flourish.• There's nothing like a nice hot bath to help you relax.• Second team or not, however, there's nothing like the first century.
10there’s nothing in/to somethingUNTRUEused to say that what people are saying about someone or something is not true 某事不真实
It seems there’s nothing in the rumours that she’s pregnant.
看来关于她怀孕的说法是无稽之谈。
Examples from the Corpus
there’s nothing in/to something• Come on, old girl, there's nothing to be frightened of now.• But the NationalRiversAuthority, which has investigated the site, says there's nothing tofear.• You find there's nothing to it, a falserumour.• The name in a way is obvious; there's nothing to it really.• It's because there's nothing in it.• And often there's nothing to show for it at the end.• But it's going to be all right - there's nothing toworry about.• Nine times out of ten, using this tactic, you discover that there's nothing to worry about.
11if nothing elseused to emphasize one good quality or feature that someone or something has, while suggesting that it might be the only good one 不说别的〔用于强调某一好的特性或特征,但暗示这可能是唯一的优点〕
If nothing else, the report points out the need for better math education.
不说别的,该报告起码指出了改进数学教育的必要性。
Examples from the Corpus
if nothing else• Everybody knew each other, and had grown up in proximity, if nothing else.• There must be a Rafferty son who could at least do some digging, if nothing else.• On this, if nothing else, both left and right can certainly agree.• Used to be that Republicans were if nothing else, civil human beings.• And a strike, if nothing else, creates lots of opportunities.• Good manners, if nothing else, decreed that she stayed.• It's boring, but if nothing else, I can get my homework done.• At the very least, if nothing else is available, works should be rinsed with lots of cold water.• The formulation of classifications provides, if nothing else, mentalexercise for geomorphologists.• If nothing else, the report points out the need for better matheducation.
12.come to nothingif a plan or action comes to nothing, it does not continue or does not achieve anything 〔计划或行动〕没有结果,终未实现
13be nothing if not somethingused to emphasize a particular quality that someone or something has 极其,非常〔用于强调某种特性〕
You’ve got to admit – he’s nothing if not persistent.
你得承认,他极为执着。
Examples from the Corpus
be nothing if not something• The World Wide Webis nothing if not a participatorymedium.• But Yeltsin is nothing if not a risk-taker.• The plan was nothing if notcomplicated.• Shelley's proseis nothing if notinspired and inspiring.• That kidis nothing if notnoisy.• The Suffolk farmhousewas nothing if notpractical.• Herbert Wadlough is nothing if notreliable.• He was nothing if notvain.
14.nothing doingspoken used to refuse to do something 不行,我不干
Examples from the Corpus
nothing doing• Lend you $500? Nothing doing!• Clinton did some franticshuttlediplomacy, but there was nothing doing.• I wanted to get to know him all right, but nothing doing.
15(there’s) nothing to itspokenEASY used to say that something is easy to do 〔做某事〕没有困难,很容易
Anyone can use a computer. There’s nothing to it!
人人都会用电脑,很简单的!
16it was nothing/think nothing of itspokenTHANK used when someone has thanked you a lot for something you have done for them 别放在心上,没什么〔用于回应他人的感谢〕
‘Thank you so much.’ ‘Oh, it was nothing.’
“太感谢你啦。”“哎呀,没什么。”
17nothing of the sort/kindspokenREFUSEUNTRUE used to say strongly or angrily that something is not true or will not happen 绝对不行;绝对不可能〔用于严词否认〕
‘I’ll pay.’ ‘You’ll do nothing of the sort!’
“我来付账。”“绝对不行!”
Examples from the Corpus
nothing of the sort/kind• Even apparent moves by the regime to resolve the crisis turn out on closer inspection to be nothing of the kind.• In reality, of course, Pooley had done nothing of the kind.• It is nothing of the kind.• Maggie expected him to look annoyed but he did nothing of the sort.• Uncle Allen rememberednothing of the sort.• But nothing of the sort happens.• It sounds unkind, but nothing of the sort was ever remotely true of Borg.
18have nothing on somebodyinformal if someone has nothing on you, they are not better than you at something 比不上某人
She’s got nothing on you when it comes to writing.
19there’s nothing for it but to do somethingDO something/TAKE ACTIONBritish EnglishBrE used when there is only one thing you can do in a particularsituation 除了做某事以外别无他法
There was nothing for it but to go back the way we came.
Do not use nothing with another negative word (eg ‘not’). Use anything. 如果有其他否定词(如not),不要用nothing,而要用anything
I could not find anything suitable (NOT 不说 I could not find nothing suitable).
我找不到合适的东西。
nGRAMMAR: Negatives
Don’t use nothing with another negative word such as ‘not’. Use anything. You say:
I could not find anything suitable.
我找不到合适的东西。
✗Don’t say: I could not find nothing suitable.
Examples from the Corpus
nothing• "What did you say?" "Oh, nothing."• I never said nothing about taking you swimming.• Nothing ever happens around here.• There's nothing in this box.• It's nothing, just a scratch.• The kids were complaining there was nothing to do.• I have nothing to wear to the wedding.• No, there's nothingwrong, I'm all right.
nothing else• She had on socks and nothing else!• She sees him as a friend and nothing else.• When nothing else happened disappointmentdiluted her excitement.• If nothing else, I know him.• If nothing else, it gives an indication of the performance to be expected from a well-maintained battery.• If nothing else, that would get boring.• If nothing else the meeting serves as a useful way of getting everyone's ideas together.• I am sorry, but there's nothing else to be done.• Everyone taught or studied; there was nothing else to do.• It was a fairly preposterous starting point, but there was nothing else to go on.
nothing much• "What did you do last weekend?" "Oh, nothing much."• After more than a hour nothing much had changed.• Despite the tension, nothing much happens, but there is plenty of talk.• Yet, she knows, as the unemployed assuredly know, that nothing much is going to happen quickly.• His secret: nothing much more complicated than understanding what constitutes an explanation.• I had nothing much to do before reporting to the banker at four o'clock.• And for the past 10 years they have had nothing much to do except talk.• Only two or three clownsdressed up and nothing much took place.• For the rest of the ridenothing much was said.
nothing2adverbadv
1be/seem/look nothing like somebody/somethingLIKE/SIMILAR#to have no qualities or features that are similar to someone or something else 一点都不像某人/某物
She’s nothing like her brother.
她一点都不像她的哥哥。
She looked nothing like her photograph.
她和照片上一点都不像。
2be nothing less than something (also be nothing short of something)VERY used to emphasize that something or someone has a particularquality or seems to be something 简直是;近乎〔用于强调〕