Ever 的用法 (一)

Ever 是個副詞，主要意為「在 (過去、現在或未來) 任何時候；從來」，通常用於疑問句，否定句以及表示比較和條件的附屬子句。

疑問句

否定句

Ever 用於否定句時通常與 not、no、none、no one、nobody、nothing 和 hardly 等否定詞連用。例如：

No such animal ever existed. (這樣的動物從來就沒有存在過)
None of my friends have ever heard of that guy. (我的朋友當中從來就沒有人聽說過那個傢伙)
No one ever told me John had moved to Taipei. (從來就沒有人告訴我約翰已搬到台北)
It hardly ever rains here in the summer. (這裡夏天幾乎從不下雨) － hardly ever = almost never (幾乎從不)。

Not (…) ever 與 never 同義，兩者可以互換，但 never 比 not ever 要來得常用許多。例如：

Never do that again. (千萬不要再做那樣的事了)
= Don’t ever do that again. －較不常用。
Tom has never been a friend of mine. (湯姆從來就不是我的朋友)
= Tom hasn’t ever been a friend of mine. －較不常用。

然而，我們可以將 never 放在句首形成倒裝句來加強語氣，但 not ever 卻不行。例如：

Never will we give up the struggle for freedom and peace. (我們絕對不會放棄為自由與和平而奮鬥) (正)
Not ever will we give up the struggle for freedom and peace. (誤)
Never have I seen such a wicked man. (我從未見過這樣邪惡的人) (正)
Not ever have I seen such a wicked man. (誤)

我們亦可將 never 和 ever 放在一起來加強語氣。Never ever 意為「絕不，從不」，是個相當常用的片語。例如：

When there’s a K-pop show on TV, my sister never ever misses it. (只要電視上播出韓國流行音樂節目，我妹妹從不錯過)
We must never ever forget what our parents have done for us. (我們絕對不能忘記父母親為我們所做的一切)

比較句

Ever 用來強調與過去的比較。主要句型為：As + 原級 + as ever (像往常一樣…)；比較級 + than ever (比以前任何時候都…)；the + 最高級 + ever (有史以來或歷來最…)。例如：

I’m as busy as ever. (我仍像往常一樣忙碌)
I thought Gary might be angry, but he was as polite and friendly as ever. (我原本認為蓋瑞可能會生氣，但他卻和以前一樣客氣與友善)
He’s worse than ever. (他的病情比以前更嚴重了)
The government is spending less than ever on education. (現在政府的教育支出比以前任何時候都要來得低)
Mary was more confident than she had ever been. (瑪麗比以前任何時候都更有信心)
These are our best results ever. (這些是我們歷來所得到的最好的結果)
= These are our best-ever results. －最高級 best 和 ever 之間有時不加連字號。
This is the worst disaster ever. (這是有史以來最嚴重的災難)
= This is the worst-ever disaster.
She is one of the very best girls I have ever met. (她是我遇過的最好的女孩之一)