6.4.4 非数字并置表示约量
除了数字连用之外，英汉语中都还有其他一些表示约量的方法。观察句对库中的实例，可以说，汉语中不用“或”“或者”来表示约量，而英语则在很多情况下借助“or”来表示约量。从6.4.2和6.4.3两小节所举的例子中可以看出，英语大多用“or”来对译汉语中表示约量的数字并置结构。
下面再来看英语包含“or”而汉语不是数字并置的句对。根据英语中的相应表达，这些句对可以分为三组。
第一组，以“数字+or so”来表达。
326）祥子没等她说完，就晃晃悠悠的走出来。走到一块坟地，四四方方的种着些松树，树当中有十几个坟头。阳光本来很微弱，松林中就更暗淡。
Without waiting for her to finish，Xiangzi stumbled back to the road and went over to a tidy little graveyard with a dozen or so graves surrounded by pine trees that dimmed the already faint sunlight.
327）院子很小，靠着南墙根有棵半大的小枣树，树尖上挂着十几个半红的枣儿。The yard was small，with a young date tree standing against the southern wall，which，at the time，had produced a dozen or so half-ripe dates on its top branches.
328）到了掌灯以后，客人陆续的散去，只有十几位住得近的和交情深的还没走，凑起麻将来。
Most of the guests had left for home by the time the lamps were lit，leaving only a dozen or so close friends who lived nearby.A mahjong table was set up.
329）车才拉过半年来的，连皮带的颜色还没怎么变，而且地道是西城的名厂德成家造的。
…it came from the renowned Decheng Factory and had only been in use for six months or so—its tires looked brand-new.
330）厂子里靠常总住着二十来个车夫；
Twenty or so men bunked in Harmony Shed，
331）中秋节后十多天了，天气慢慢凉上来。他算计着得添两件穿的。
The weather began to cool off ten days or so after the Mid-Autumn Festival，and he would soon need warmer clothes.
332）However，when they had been running half an hour or so，and were quite dry again，the Dodo suddenly called out‘The race is over！’and they all crowded round it，panting，and asking，‘But who has won？’
然而跑了差不多半点钟光景，大家跑得都跑干了，那渡渡鸟就忽然叫道“赛跑完了！”他们大家就气喘喘地挤过来，围着它问道，“那么是谁赢的呢？”
333）过了差不多半点钟，一个球门也没有得剩下来了，
…by the end of half an hour or so there were no arches left，…
334）‘I’m a poor man，your Majesty，’the Hatter began，in a trembling voice，‘—and I hadn’t begun my tea—not above a week or so—and what with the bread-and-butter getting so thin—and the twinkling of the tea—’
那帽匠声音发抖地说道，“陛下我是个穷人——我不过刚才起头喝我的茶，——喝了没有一个礼拜出头——而且说起那面包越弄越薄——而且那茶又要查夜——”
这一组汉语文本借助“几”“差不多”“来”“多”等词语来表达模糊数量概念，在对应的英文中全部以“or so”来表达。《牛津高阶英语词典》第8版对“or so”的解释是“about”（大约），相当于例332）和例333）中的“差不多”。“大约”和“差不多”的意思相当于位于参考数值的上下都可以。但是，在例326）至例331）汉语中的约量表达都倾向于理解为大于参考数值，为何仍用“or so”来表达呢？实际上，附于数字之后的“or so”本来就倾向于表达大于参考数值的意思。Quirk等（1972：929）比较了“about ten years”“ten or eleven years”和“ten years or so”三者的区别，他们认为：“about ten years”可以是多于十年，也可以是少于十年；“ten or eleven years”尽管有时被错误地用来指十一年多一点，但一般表达十年和十一年之间；而“ten years or so”一般超过十年，实际时长可以是十一年，也完全可以是十二年。Quirk等（1972）对“or so”用法的判断，与英语“n or m”结构中较大的数字位于较小的数字之后这一规律相吻合。例334）有些特别，“not above a week or so”相当于把一个礼拜以上的时长都否定了，所以汉译成了“没有一个礼拜出头”。
第二组，以“数字+or more”有类似形式来表达。
335）自己的三十多块钱，为治病已花去十多块，花得冤枉！
He had already spent ten or more of his thirty yuan on his illness，a waste of money.
336）雪已下了寸多厚，祥子低着头走。
An inch or more of snow had fallen while he was inside.He started walking，head down.
337）头发有时候一个多月不剃一回。
He often went a month or more without shaving his head，
338）他不喜，也不哭，他只为那十几个铜子，陪着人家游街。
He neither took pleasure in nor cried over his role in such processions，for which he received ten cents or more.
339）那头低得很深，双脚蹭地，跑和走的速度差不多，而颇有跑的表示的，是那些五十岁以上的老者们。
…those who ran with their heads down and shuffled along at a walking speed that only looked like a run were in their fifties or older.
340）高兴呢，给她裁件花布大衫，块儿多钱的事。
If she pleased him，he could buy her a nice dress at a cost of one yuan or less.
这一组句对中，汉语原文里有“多”“以上”“几”等表达模糊数量概念的词语，大多英译为“or more”，这时“or”之前的数值也小于“or”之后的数值。例339）中用“or older”来对译“以上”，道理相同。例340）有些特殊，“块儿多钱”被反向英译成了“one yuan or less”。这个句子的上文说，军官不需要花很多钱就可以娶上小福子这样的姑娘，强调这种军官娶妻安家的成本很低。在这样的语境中，裁件花布大衫，只需花一块左右的钱，甚至更少，这样的说法是合理的，是为了取得语用效果上的对等。
第三组，用“a+名词+or two”来表达。
341）余光散尽，黑暗似晃动了几下，又包合起来，静静懒懒的群星又复了原位，在秋风上微笑。
When the light died out，the darkness sputtered a time or two before coming together again，as the stars quietly，lazily，returned to their places and smiled at the autumn breezes.
342）到后半夜，他忍了几个盹儿，迷迷糊糊的，似睡不睡的，像浮在水上那样忽起忽落，心中不安。
Sometime before daybreak he dozed off a time or two，in an uneasy daze，as if floating atop rolling waves.
343）转圈看了大家一眼，点了点头，又咬了一截饼。
He looked at the other men in the shop，nodded a time or two，and took another bite of his flatbread.
344）你也得学着点，拉一辈子车又算老几？
You could learn a thing or two from him.What’s so great about pulling a rickshaw anyway？
345）她不动，祥子当然不动；她要是先露出点意思，他没主意。
He would not make the first move and didn’t know what he’d do if she dropped a hint or two.
346）他，即使先不跑土窑子，也该喝两盅酒，自在自在。
Though he wasn’t quite ready to go to a whorehouse，he could at least have a drink or two and relax.
347）This was such a new idea to Alice，that she was quite silent for a minute or two，
这句新鲜话，说得把阿丽思发愣了半天没有话说。
348）更严重一些的，有时候碰了行人，甚至有一次因急于挤过去而把车轴盖碰丢了。
But there were worse mishaps：he sometimes ran down a pedestrian or two，and once even lost a hubcap by failing to squeeze through a narrow opening.
在例341）至例343）中，“a time or two”分别表示晃动、打盹、点头的模糊次数。例344）和例345）中的“点”也表示约量，吕叔湘（1990：139）就曾指出“点”可以表示约量。例346）中的“两盅”和例347）中的“半天”可以看作吕叔湘（1999：138）所指出的数字活用表示约量。例348）中的“行人”被英译成“a pedestrian or two”是译者根据逻辑事理的增益，相当于将原文补充成“一两个行人”，然后英译。此外，值得注意的是，这一组句对的英文“a+名词+or two”实际上是“a+名词+or two+名词”的简化说法，只是“two”后面的名词一般不说出来，还有“a”一般不用“one”来代替。Huddleston等（2002：1304）指出，在这一结构中，用“a”可表示约量，改用“one”则表示选择。
除了以上三组之外，还有下面两个句对难以归类，但有一个共同点，两个句对都是译者出于某种考虑的特殊翻译处理，但也不排除是误译。
349）She said this last word two or three times over to herself，being rather proud of it：
她把“陪审员”三个字又说了两遍，自己觉得很得意：
350）拉进城来，卖给汤锅，也值十几多块一头；
If you’d brought those camels into town and sold them to a slaughterhouse，you could have gotten ten or fifteen a head.