mainly、chiefly、greatly、largely、mostly、primarily、principally与generally这些副词均可表示“主要地、大量地”之意。
mainly : 指主要部分，突出在一系列事物中的相对重要性。
- I mainly go to bed around midnight.
我通常午夜前后睡觉。 - The group is made up of mainly young people.
该团体主要由年轻人组成。
chiefly : 侧重某人或某物在众多的人或物中占主要和显著地位。
- The island chiefly attracts upmarket tourists.
这个岛屿所吸引的主要是高消费阶层的游客。 - magazines intended chiefly for teenagers
主要面向青少年的杂志
greatly : 通常强调程度的高。
- I greatly regret not having told the truth.
我非常后悔没有说出实情。 - Her piano playing has greatly improved/has improved greatly.
她的钢琴弹奏大有进步。
largely : 着重范围或分量大大超过别的成分。
- a largely male company
员工大多为男性的公司 - Their complaints have been largely ignored.
他们的抱怨几乎没有引起任何重视。
mostly : 强调数量占多半，近乎全部。
- In the smaller towns, it's mostly (= usually) very quiet at nights.
在小村庄里，晚上通常很安静。 - The band are mostly (= most of them are) teenagers.
这支乐队的成员大多数是十几岁的青少年。
primarily : 侧重基本地，首要地。
- We're primarily concerned with keeping expenditure down.
我们主要关心的是缩减开支。 - Baseball is primarily a summer game.
篮球基本上是一项夏季运动。
principally : 侧重居首要地位。
- The advertising campaign is aimed principally at women.
广告大战主要瞄准了女性。
generally : 通常强调普遍性。
- Your health is generally good, but you do have a few minor problems.
总的来说你身体状况不错，但有些小毛病。 - He wants more money to be given to the arts generally.
他希望各艺术门类都能得到更多的资金。
