▲用于不定式（但不是用于独立成分）

Her apology only served to make things worse. 她道歉的结果只是使事情变得更糟糕。

▲用于现在分词

He said that the leaves of his jasmine plant had turned yellow. He thought that it was due to a water shortage so he applied more water, only making things worse. 他说他的茉莉花的叶子变黄了。他想是缺水所致，于是多浇了水，结果反而更糟。

▲用于谓语部分

Don’t let yourself despair; this will only make matters worse. 不要想不开，这样只能使情况变得更糟。

Her attempts to calm them down only made matters worse. 她设法使他们平静下来，不想却适得其反。

It makes things worse that banks are allowed to increase their charges without our knowledge or consent. 银行可以在我们不知情或者未同意的情况下提高收费，这可真是雪上加霜。