昨日の “Stardust” の歌詞に、
You wandered down the lane and far away, leaving me a song that will not die.
という部分がある。far は単独では肯定文には使えないとされるが、away の程度を表す副詞としてなら肯定文においても使える。もちろん、far は “a long way” でもよい。次の例文は、ヘミングウェイの「老人と海」の冒頭部分にある、老人が目を覚ますシーンである。
The old man opened his eyes and for a moment he was coming a long way away.
far は通常、単独では疑問文・否定文でしか使用されず、肯定文では “a long way” を使うとされる。
Did you walk far?
The railway station is not far from here.
We walked a long way.
The station is a long way from here.
I can’t see very far without my glasses on.
San Francisco is a long way from New York.
There’s a Thai restaurant not far from here.
How far is your house from the station?
ただし、次のような場合は far が肯定表現で使われる。つまり、so とか as とか too とか enough とかと組合わせたり、比較級とか最上級で程度をあらわす場合である。
So far, we have sent four letters to the Council about the litter on the street. (time until now)
Six months is too far ahead. The restaurant only takes bookings for up to two months in advance.
Where we live is far enough away from the city. I don’t want to move any further away.
From here, you can see as far as the ocean.
The roads here are far better than in our country.
Food costs far more in the UK.
With more than seven million people, London is by far the biggest city in England – the second city, Birmingham, has just over one million.
また、near と far が対比的にセットで使われる場合には、肯定文でも使われるようだ。
This tree is near here and that tree is far from here.
ついでに、a long way は 最後に off をつけると 「長い時間」を意味する。
The holidays are a long way off.
We’re a long way off retiring yet, Marlene.
