程度副词pretty可以修饰动词吗

问题描述

表示程度的 pretty（用作程度副词时）可以修饰形容词和副词，这是众所周知的。如：

News travels pretty fast. 消息传得很快。

His letter left me feeling pretty bad. 他的信让我感到很难受。

I feel pretty ancient when I see how the younger generation behaves. 看到年轻一代的举止行为，我觉得我太老了。

Of course I find pretty young women attractive—I’m only flesh and blood. 我当然会认为年轻的漂亮女人很有吸引力——毕竟我也是凡人。

请问它可以修饰动词吗？好像程度副词very不可以修饰动词，但程度副词rather可以修饰某些动词。那程度副词 pretty 呢？

老师答疑

龙老师：

与 rather 不同，程度副词 pretty（非正式）通常只修饰形容词和副词，不用于修饰动词。再例：

I’m pretty good at maths. 我数学很好。

The climate here is pretty temperate.这里的气候很温和。

Even the closest stores are pretty far. 即使最近的商店也相当远。

The movie was pretty good, but not exceptional. 这部电影很不错，但还算不上优秀。

I’ll call you if I can, but I’m going to be pretty busy. 如果可能，我会给你打电话，但我会很忙。

“How often do you wash your car?” “Pretty rarely.”“你多久洗一次车？”“很少洗。”

Given the fact that this is their first game, I think they did pretty well.  考虑到这是他们的首场比赛，我觉得他们打得很好了。

At first they were pretty hostile towards me but when they found out I’d helped the authorities they eased up a bit. 起先他们对我很不友好，但当他们发现我曾帮助过当局时，他们对我便宽容多了。

黎老师：

外研社、建宏《英汉多功能词典》明确指出：pretty 用副词时“修饰形容词或副词”。