“越来越少;愈来愈少”(用于强调数量随时间或过程持续减少,通常修饰可数名词,如 people, cars, books 等)。另有对应表达 less and less 多用于不可数名词(如 time, money)。
/ˈfjuːər ən ˈfjuːər/
Fewer and fewer people write letters by hand.
越来越少的人用手写信了。
As the drought continued, fewer and fewer farms could afford to keep their crops alive, and many families left the region.
随着干旱持续,越来越少的农场负担得起维持作物存活,许多家庭离开了该地区。
Fewer 是 few(少的)比较级形式(“更少”),与并列结构 X and X(如 more and more)结合,形成固定强调句式 fewer and fewer,表示“不断变少、逐渐减少”的趋势。
该表达在现代英语小说与非虚构写作中较常见;例如在不同版本文本中可见于: