1. 用于家人之间表示长幼关系,通常用 elder(在美国英语中也用older)。
Tom is my elder (older) brother.
汤姆是我的哥哥。
2. elder 和 older 都指年长,但elder 通常指出两个人的长幼之别,是表明一个身份。而 older 则指年纪较大。
与其说:The older brother is four years older than the younger one. 较年长的(哥哥)比较年幼的(弟弟)大四岁。
不如说:The elder brother (表明大哥身份) is four years older (指年纪较大) than the younger one.
3. elder 有时用作转义,指职位、身份较高的人。例:
He is an elder statesman. 他是一位政治元老/资深政客。
4. older 专指年龄的大小而言,既可用于一个家庭成员之间,又可用于非同一家庭成员之间。
My elder brother is twelve years older than I am.
我的哥哥比我大十二岁。
Mr.Chen is older than I am by two years.
陈先生比我大两年。
5. older 常与 than 连用,但是 elder 决不能和 than 连用。
正:He is older than I am.
误:He is elder than I am.
6. older只能用作形容词,elder 既可作形容词,又可作名词。例:
My elder brother is twelve years older than I am.
我的大哥比我大十二岁。
Tom, you need to be polite! They are all our elders.
汤姆,你要有礼貌,他们都是我们的长辈。
7. 请注意,elder只能用来指人,不能指物;older既可以指人的年纪,也可以指物的新旧。例如:
Jack is three years older than Jill.
This is the oldest temple in Taiwan.