ENGLISH
REFERENCE

let alone

idiom.
C1 Advanced Oxford

idiom. you use this to say that if a simple thing is impossible, then a more difficult thing is definitely impossible.

idiom. a conjunctional idiom used to emphasize that a second, more extreme statement is even less likely or possible than the first negative statement.


SIMPLE

I can't afford a bicycle, let alone a car.

CONTEXTUAL

He was too tired to walk to the kitchen, let alone cook a three-course meal for six people.

COMPLEX

The small startup lacks the infrastructure to manage local deliveries, let alone coordinate a global supply chain across three different continents.

Usage

almost always follows a negative statement or a question with a negative implication.

Teaching tip

explain that this phrase functions like 'much less'; it connects two nouns, verbs, or phrases where the second is more 'extreme' than the first.

Pitfall

He can't speak English, let alone to write it.He can't speak English, let alone write it.the grammatical structure after 'let alone' should match the structure of the first part of the sentence.

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