托福独立写作中，但凡涉及到两者选其一或是不同看法比较之类的题目时，优缺点之类的词汇都是经常会被用到的。而具体来说，disadvantage这个词的用法搭配，其实还有不少同学并没有很好地掌握，很容易出现一些运用细节上的错误。下面小编就结合一些实例为大家详细讲解这个常用词的正确使用方法。

托福独立写作常用词汇disadvantage定义分析

想要用好一个词汇，大家要做的第一件事是了解这个词汇的准确定义，disadvantage的定义是a quality or condition that puts something or someone in an unfavorable or inferior position compared to others. 这里需要注意的是compared to others这个细节部分，也就是说这个词是用来对比的，换句话说，很多时候所谓的disadvantage其实都是相对而说的，如果没有对比对象，那么这个词汇也是不能随意使用的，它和shortcome还是存在一定区别的。

托福独立写作常用词disadvantage搭配用法实例精讲

1. disadvantage of sth.

这个用法应该是disadvantage比较常见的一个用法了，也就是某件事的缺点坏处，来看下面这些例句：

a. The disadvantage of living in the countryside is the poor quality of education.

b. One disadvantage of living in the countryside is the poor quality of education.

c. One of the disadvantages of living in the countryside is the poor quality of education.

需要注意的是，disadvantage of sth.的用法最好用在句首部分，如果是虚词结构(expletive construction)的句式比如There is/are之类的句子，就不要再直接接上disadvantage of sth.了，否则这种句子读上去很不自然，一般老外是不会这么写的，比如下面这几个句子，中国考生可能看不出什么问题，但老外考官读起来说不定就不太舒服了：

a. There are many disadvantages to living in the countryside.

b. There are many disadvantages in living in the countryside.

2. at a disadvantage

这个用法是在进行明显对比时候会经常用到的一个搭配用法，而且经常搭配一些特定形容词来体现对比差异，比如和competitive, clear, distinct这类词汇放在一起，比如：

a. At a clear disadvantage

b. At a distinct disadvantage

c. At a competitive disadvantage

当然这种用法并不只是放在句首，也可以放在句子当中或者句尾部分，基本句式如下：

a. ___ (something) puts/places ___ (someone or something) at a disadvantage.

b. ___ (someone or something) is at a disadvantage.

上面两个句式再各给大家两个例句参考一下：

a. His lack of formal education puts him at a clear disadvantage in the business world.

b. The new tariff policy will place my company at a competitive disadvantage in the marketplace.

c. You'll be at a disadvantage playing tennis against someone as skilled as Jimmy.

d. Children from poor families are at a distinct disadvantage in education.

3. to one’s disadvantage

disadvantage和介词的另一个实用搭配就是to one’s disadvantage了，这个搭配的意思也很简单，就是某件事给某个人造成了一些困难，常用句式有三个，句中句末都有，大家来了解一下：

___ (something) is to ___(one’s) disadvantage =

___ (something) works to ___(one’s) disadvantage =

___ (something) puts ___(someone) at a disadvantage

看过句式以后如果还是不会用可以再来读一读实际例句：

a. My lack of formal education is to my disadvantage in the business world.

b. I hope my lack of experience won't be to my disadvantage.

c. It is to your disadvantage to not take this opportunity.

d. The new tariff policy will work to our disadvantage.

4. disadvantage形容词disadvantageous怎么用?

说完了disadvantage本身，下面再讲一个根据这个词拓展出来的形容词disadvantageous的用法，这个词的基本定义是不利的，可以直接使用，比如：

a. We have to resell the property at a disadvantageous time.

b. Minority groups find themselves in a disadvantageous position.

而除了直接使用外，它也有比较常见的用法搭配，也就是be disadvantageous to，来看实例：

a. Living off campus is disadvantageous to students.

b. The company believes the new regulation is disadvantageous to the growth of its business.

5. disadvantage形容词disadvantaged用法介绍

除了disadvantageous以外，disadvantage还有另一个比较常见的形容词形式，那就是disadvantaged，这个词和disadvantageous的意思有很大区别，一般是指因为缺少某些东西(比如金钱或是教育等)而弱势的或是社会地位较低的，比如：

a. Research shows that men from disadvantaged backgrounds experience lower rates of marriage.

b. Nowadays employers are reaching beyond their usual networks and hire more people from disadvantaged populations.

c. Aborigines are the most disadvantaged ethnic group in Australia.

d. Scholarships, grants, and financial aid make studying abroad affordable for disadvantaged students.

而因为其含义，这个词汇也常和economically以及socially搭配在一起使用，比如：

a. Research shows economically disadvantaged children enter school with less developed cognitive skills than their peers..

b. In addition to higher smoking prevalence, socially disadvantaged workers smoke more heavily and are less successful in quitting smoking compared to other workers.

以上就是托福独立写作常用词汇disadvantage的用法搭配细节和实例精讲，大家在看完本文后应该就会对这个词如何使用有更为清晰明确的理解认识了。合理运用这些常见词汇，相信大家的托福作文水平和得分就会有明显的进步提升。