mainly
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++main·ly /ˈmeɪnli/ ●●● S2 W2 adverb MOSTused to mention the main part or cause of something, the main reason for something etc 主要地，大部分地 SYN primarily Her illness was caused mainly by stress. 她的病主要是由精神压力引起的。 The workforce is mainly made up of women. 员工主要是女性。 I don’t go out much, mainly because I have to look after the kids. 我不大出去，主要是因为我得照看孩子们。 Increased sales during the summer were mainly due to tourism. 夏季销售额增加主要是由旅游业带动的。 We talked about various things – work, mainly. 我们谈了各种各样的事情——主要是谈工作。5 GRAMMAR 语法• Mainly is not used at the beginning of a sentence. mainly不用于句首They play mainly on Wednesday evenings (NOT 不说 Mainly they play...).他们主要是在周三晚上演奏。n Grammar• You usually use mainly in the middle of a sentence: They play mainly on Sundays.People go there mainly because of the beautiful beaches.• You also use mainly at the end of a sentence, especially in conversation: I read novels, mainly.• It is much less commonly used at the beginning of a sentence. RegisterIn written English, people often prefer to use chiefly or primarily, which sound more formal than mainly: 在书面英语中，人们往往更喜欢用chiefly或primarily，这两个词听起来比mainly更为正式The disease is caused chiefly by poor sanitation. 这种疾病主要是卫生条件差引起的。
Examples from the Corpus
mainly• Is Idaho where you grew up, mainly?• I was asked to lead the meeting mainly because Kristin is out of town.• At $ 2 billion each, the B-2 is mainly built in California and Washington state.• This impetus originated mainly from two previously noted sources: the user's immediate family and the police.• Farms were mainly in the 10-40 hectare range although there were some larger units.• Medical involvement was mainly in the background, but it included expert knowledge of abnormal neuromuscular function and its alleviation.• The others are mainly rectangular with cream surrounds and gold material backings.• Now I think we're mainly suffering from shock.• The company sells its batteries mainly through electronics stores.• AIDS is transmitted mainly through sexual contact.• We cater mainly to small businesses.• My new job's fairly boring - it's mainly typing.main·ly adverb →5 GRAMMAR1 →n GRAMMAR2
→REGISTER1LDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable
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mention or cause part main of Corpus something, used to the
mainly
main‧ly S2 W2 /ˈmeɪnli/
adverb
used to mention the main part or cause of something, the main reason for something etc
SYN primarily:
Her illness was caused mainly by stress.
The workforce is mainly made up of women.
I don’t go out much, mainly because I have to look after the kids.
Increased sales during the summer were mainly due to tourism.
We talked about various things – work, mainly.
GRAMMAR
Mainly is not used at the beginning of a sentence:
▪They play mainly on Wednesday evenings (NOT Mainly they play...).
REGISTER
In written English, people often prefer to use chiefly or primarily, which sound more formal than mainly:
▪The disease is caused chiefly by poor sanitation.
▪ in general used when saying that something is usually true in most situations, or about most people or things: In general, temporary jobs are less well-paid. | In general, the bigger a company becomes, the harder it is to maintain customer satisfaction.
▪generally another way of saying ‘in general’, which is often used before a verb. Generally can also be used to say that most people have a particular opinion: Women generally live longer than men. | Newton is generally regarded as the father of modern science.
▪generally speaking/as a rule other ways of saying ‘in general’: Generally speaking, large breeds of dog are becoming less popular. | He’s a singer who doesn’t do interviews, as a rule. | The graduates are, generally speaking, a confident and articulate group of young people.
▪mostly/mainly/largely used when saying that something is true about most people or things, or about most of something. Largely is slightly more formal than mostly or mainly: The disease mainly affects women. | Their attempts were largely unsuccessful. | The students were mostly French and German, but there were a few Japanese students too.
▪for the most part used when saying that something is true in most cases, but not in every case: These problems have for the most part been resolved. | For the most part, the gangs were made up of boys aged between 11 and 16.
▪by and large/on the whole used for saying that something is true in most ways or in most cases: The project was, by and large, a success. | On the whole, people were very friendly.
main‧ly S2 W2 /ˈmeɪnli/
adverbused to mention the main part or cause of something, the main reason for something etc
SYN primarily:
GRAMMAR
Mainly is not used at the beginning of a sentence:
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REGISTER
In written English, people often prefer to use chiefly or primarily, which sound more formal than mainly:
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Ways of saying 'in general' “通常” 的表达方式
◆ Women generally earn less than men.女人通常比男人挣钱少。 ◆ Generally speaking , jobs traditionally done by women are paid at a lower rate than those traditionally done by men.一般来说，传统上由妇女干的工作比传统上由男人干的工作报酬低。 ◆ In general /By and large , women do not earn as much as men.总的说来，女人不如男人挣钱多。 ◆ Certain jobs, like nursing and cleaning, are still mainly carried out by women.有些工作仍然主要由女性做，比如护理和保洁。 ◆ Senior management posts are predominantly held by men.高层管理职位大多由男性担任。 ◆ Most senior management posts tend to be held by men.大多数高层管理职位通常由男性担任。 ◆ Women are, for the most part , still paid less than men.女人的薪水多半仍比男人低。 ◆ Economic and social factors are, to a large extent , responsible for women being concentrated in low-paid jobs.经济和社会因素在很大程度上导致女性集中于低报酬工作。