elder, eldest 与 older, oldest的用法区别与比较

1. older与oldest

old通常的比较级和最高级分别是older, oldest。可用于人或物，可用作表语或定语，可与 than 连用。如：

He is older by five years than me. 他比我大5岁。

The next oldest building is the church. 第二古老的建筑物是那个教堂。

This is the oldest Chinese manuscript in existence. 这是现存的最早汉语手稿。

Many representatives of the older generation were there. 老一辈的各类人都在那里。

As one grows older one’s memory declines. 人的记忆力随着年龄增长而衰退。

As she got older, she became more and more fond of comfort. 随着年龄的增长，她更喜欢舒适的生活。

2. elder与eldest

主要用于家人之间表明长幼关系，通常只用于人而不用于物，只用作定语而不用作表语，也不与 than 连用。如：

His eldest boy is at university. 他的长子上大学了。

Jill is my eldest daughter. 吉尔是我的长女。

The estate went to the eldest son. 该地产归长子继承。

Their eldest girl’s getting married. 他们的长女就要结婚了。

The mother favored her eldest son. 母亲偏袒大儿子。

His elder brother is more English than the English. 他哥哥比英国人更具有英国人的风度。

Her elder daughter, in whom she placed the greatest trust, failed to match her expectations. 她的长女，她对之无比信任，却辜负了她的期望。

His eldest boy’s at school; the other is still at home. 他的大儿子在上学，另一个还呆在家里。

注：在美国英语中，也可用 older, oldest 表示长幼关系。如：

One day the oldest son had to go into the forest to cut firewood. 有一天大儿子到森林中去砍柴。

elder 与 eldest 的区别是：前者指两者中年纪较大的, 而后者指三者或三者以上的年纪最大的。如：

one’s elder son 指两个儿子中年纪较大的一个

one’s eldest son 指三个或三个以上的儿子中年纪最大的一个

3. elder和eldest用作名词

elder和eldest作为形容词，通常只能用作定语，不用作表语；但若不是用作形容词(即其后不接名词)而是用作名词，则可以用作表语(此时通常有冠词或物主代词修饰)。如：

Which of them is the eldest? 他们中谁的年龄最大?

He was the elder of the two sons. 他是两个儿子中较大的。