Nothing but的意思是"只不过",其深层涵义为"除了…之外,什么都不是"。例:
It is nothing but a joke.
Two decades ago this city was nothing but a small unknown county.
Mr.Song is nothing but skin and bones.
请注意,当nothing放在句首用作主语,其后的but 是个介词,相当于except,接复数名词时,动词常用单数形式。例:
Nothing but peonies delights my eyes.
Anything but的意思是"决非"或"并不",相当于far from之意。例:
The fruit here is anything but cheap.
That charlatan is anything but a doctor.
Though we love peace,we are anything but cowards.
请注意,若将anything but这个片语分开用,便不再表示"决非"、"并不"之意。例:
I will do anything for you but that.
与nothing but,anything but类似的片语有:nothing like和anything like.它们之间的区别也是值得注意的。试对比下例:
nothing like丝毫不;一点也不(not at all)
anything like丝毫;一点也(at all)
The painting is nothing like so well drawn.
He does not want anything like manual labour.
从例句可见,nothing like和anything like的意义雷同,但使用场合不同。前者用于不带not的句式,后者用于带not的句式。