rarely ♦︎ seldom ♦︎ hardly ever ♦︎ infrequentlyThese words and expressions are all used when sth happens or is done not often or almost never.这些词语均表示罕见、少有。PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS 句型和搭配◆rarely / seldom / hardly ever / infrequently used◆rarely / seldom / hardly ever available / the case◆to rarely / seldom / hardly ever happen / speak◆only / relatively / very rarely / seldom / infrequently■rarelynot often罕有;很少;不常◆He rarely spoke.他很少讲话。◆That's something I very rarely do.我很少做那种事。◆Finding a hotel is rarely a problem.找旅馆几乎不成问题。OPPoften ⇨ often■seldom (ratherformal) not often罕有;很少;不常◆She seldom smiled.她难得一笑。◆He had seldom been happier in his life.他的人生中几乎没有比那更幸福的时刻了。◆Revenge was seldom, if ever, the motive in these cases.这些案件的动机很少是为了复仇的。OPPoften ⇨ oftenNOTE辨析 Rarely or seldom?Rarely is slightly more formal than not often and seldom is slightly more formal than rarely. The use of rarely and seldom at the beginning of a sentence followed directly by the verb is literary or very formal. * rarely比not often稍正式些,seldom又比rarely稍正式些。rarely和seldom置于句首而动词紧随其后是文学性或很正式的用法◆ (formal) Rarely has a debate attracted so much media attention.鲜有吸引这么多媒体关注的辩论。◆Seldom have I come across such vindictive reviews.我很少遇到这样的报复性评论。■hardly everalmost never极少;几乎从不◆We hardly ever see him.我们很少见到他。◆The room was hardly ever used.这个房间很少使用。■infrequently (ratherformal) not often罕有;很少;不常◆The satellites are launched only infrequently.卫星发射只是偶尔进行。◆The charges made for the drugs are not infrequently(= very often) excessive.药物收费常常过高。ⓘ Infrequently is about as formal as seldom, but used more in official writing and with passive verbs; seldom is used more in literary writing and to talk about personal feelings and habits. * infrequently大致和seldom一样正式,但多用于公文写作并和动词被动形式连用;seldom多用于文学写作,表示个人感受和习惯。OPPfrequently ⇨ often