区别辨析immediately、instantly、presently、directly、shortly、soon、at once与right away

immediately、instantly、presently、directly、shortly、soon、at once与right away这些副词或副词词组均有“立刻、马上”之意。

immediately : 指做完一件事后,立即就做另一件事,中间一般没有明显的时间间隔。

  • We really ought to leave immediately.
    我们真的应该马上就走。
  • The purpose of the meeting wasn't immediately obvious.
    会议的目的并不明确。

instantly : 指恰恰就在此刻,一秒钟也没耽误。

  • Both drivers were killed instantly.
    两名司机当即丧生。

presently : 指不久、即将,一种比较过时的说法。

  • The room was hot and presently her eyes grew heavy and she began to feel sleepy.
    屋子里很热,一会儿她就觉得眼皮发沉昏昏欲睡。

directly和immediately同义,指毫无迟疑。

  • Dr Schwarz will be with you directly.
    施瓦茨医生很快就到。

shortly和soon同义,指动作发生或完成的速度之快。

  • We will shortly be arriving in King's Cross Station.
    我们马上就要到国王十字车站了。

soon : 常用词,指行动快,完成速度快。

  • She'll soon be here./She'll be here soon.
    她很快就到。
  • It will soon be impossible for foreigners to enter the country.
    不久以后,外国人就不能进入这个国家了。
  • The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll get there.
    我们出发得越早,到那儿也就越早。
  • Soon after agreeing to go, she realized she'd made a mistake.
    同意去之后不久,她就意识到自己犯了一个错误。
  • How soon (= when) can we sign the contract?
    我们什么时候能签订合同?
  • "When would you like to meet?" "The sooner the better."
    “你想什么时候见面?”“越快越好。”
  • I couldn't get out of that place soon enough.
    我恨不得马上离开那个地方。

at once : 口语中常用,语气强烈,指时间紧迫,一刻也不能耽误。

  • They all started talking at once.
    他们同时开始讲起话来。

right away : 主要用于美国英语,语气稍弱于at once,强调动作迅速。

  • You'd better leave right now.
    你最好马上离开。