1) 要比...为少（比较状语从句）

这个时候"less+形容词原级+than"是一个比较结构，用来表示两个事物之间的比较关系，表明前者的程度、数量或性质较后者更低、更少或更小。常见的情况是："less+长度/高度/体积等具体度量单位+than":表示具体的度量单位中前者的程度更低、更少或更小；"less +抽象名词+than":表示抽象概念中前者的程度更低更少或更小。

The second book is less thick than the first one.

第二本书比第一本书更薄。

My car is less long than your car.

我的车比你的车更短。

He is less honest than his brother. 他不如他哥哥聪明。This film is less interesting than that one. 这部电影不如那部电影有趣。

He spends less time at work than at play.

他花在工作上的时间比玩耍的时间少。

She has less patience than her sister.

她比她姐姐更没有耐心。

They spend less time studying than we do.

他们花在学习上的时间比我们少。

I have less knowledge about this subject than you.

我对这个科目的知识比你少。

I have less money than you.

我的钱比你少。

We drink less coffee than tea. 我们喝咖啡不如喝茶多。We have less rainfall here than in Shanghai. 我们这儿的降雨量比上海少。

“less”后面跟的是形容词或副词“，如：

She is less tall than her sister.

她比她姐姐矮。

He speaks less fluently than she does.

他说话不如她流利。

2) 与其说...倒不如说（准并列结构）

less A than B=more B than A.

“less..than...”结构的意思与“more...than..”的结构刚好相反。亦可使用“与其说….不如说."的句型翻译，但不必先译后面再译前面，而是按顺序翻译。如:

John is less daring than quick-witted.与其说约翰胆大,不如说他脑子灵活。

George was less intelligent than aggressive.与其说乔治聪颖过人，不如说他言行放肄。This is much less apolitical problem than an economic problem.

与其说这是个政治问题，还不如说是经济问题。

Linda was less hurt than frightened.与其说琳达受到伤害，还不如说她受惊吓。

Experience shows that success is due less to ability than to hard work.

经验告诉我们，成功与其说是由于才能，不如说是由于努力工作。

They claim to perceive in our policy a devious, self-seeking strategy that was influenced less by the facts than by a preconceived theory.

他们声称从我们的政策中看到了一种不正当的、专为追求私利的战略思想，这与其说是从事实出发的，倒不如说是受了先入为主理论的影响。

I regard him less as my teacher than as my friend.

与其说我把他当作老师，不如说我是把他当作朋友。

Hitler’s mistakes gave Roosevelt the victory; just as at Waterloo it was less Wellington who won than Napoleon who lost.

希特勒犯下的错误使罗斯福取得了胜利；正如在滑铁卢战场上，与其说威灵顿战胜了，不如说是拿破仑战败了。

注:表示此义时与可与 more...than结构替换(但要注意词序的变化)。如:

He is less a teacher than an expert.=He is more an expert than a teacher.

与其说他是老师，不如说他是专家。

He was less hurt than frightened.= He was more frightened than hurt.

与其说他受伤了，还不如说他吓坏了。

3) 不是...而是

The leaders feared less the potentially dangerous repercussion of military action than the strategically significant loss of the country for their deployment.

这些领导人所害怕的不是因为军事行动而可能产生的危险反响，而是害怕由于他们的部署而使国家蒙受战略上的重大损失。