Today we answer a question from Thu Huong. Thu Huong writes:
今天我们将回答来自秋香的提问。秋香写道:
I am confused when using the words "let" and "leave." Please tell me more about them. Thank you –Thu Huong.
我搞不清楚 “let” 和 “leave”的用法。请告诉我更多相关知识。谢谢
Dear Thu Huong, Thank you for writing to us.
亲爱的秋香,感谢来信。
These two words may seem similar, but they have different uses. Let us look at them!
这两个词看起来相似,但用途不同。让我们来研究一下!
You hear it often in everyday language.
你经常会在日常语言中听到它。
In one famous song the Beatles sing "let it be."
甲壳虫乐队在其某首著名的歌曲中唱到 “let it be”。
There, it means to relax, and not worry too much about your life.
这里,“let it be”的意思是要放松,不要过分担心自己的生活。
At other times, you may hear "leave her be," as in this example:
有些时候,你可能会听到“leave her be”,如下例所示:
The cat is not happy about visitors, please leave her be.
这只猫不喜欢有人来访,请不要打扰她。
"Let it/her/him be" and "leave it/her/him be" mean about the same thing.
“Let it/her/him be”和 “leave it/her/him be”的意思大致相同。
That is, you should permit the cat to remain where she is, and not try to touch her.
也就是说,你应该让这只猫留在原处,而不要去触摸她。
"Let" commonly means to permit someone or something to do something. Here are a few examples:
“Let”通常指允许某人或某物做某事。如下例所示:
Let me help you if you need it.
如果您有需要的话,请让我帮您。
The teacher lets us take a five-minute break during class.
上课时,老师让我们休息五分钟。
It is good to let your dog go outside for half an hour each day.
每天最好遛狗半小时。
"Let's," a shortened form of "let us" is commonly used for making a suggestion to another person or a group of people. Here are two examples:
“Let’s”是“let us”的缩写形式,通常用于向其他人或一群人提出建议。以下有两个示例:
Let's sit under a big tree so we won't get sunburned.
让我们坐在一棵大树下,这样我们就不会被晒伤了。
Let's tell Andrew to buy some fish for our meal.
我们告诉安德鲁买些鱼来做饭吧。
"Let us" is more rarely used. It can communicate more like a command than a suggestion.
我们很少使用“Let us”的形式。这种沟通更像命令而不是建议。
For example, during a religious service, the clergy leader might say, "Let us pray," meaning "Now, we will pray."
例如,在宗教仪式中,神职人员领袖可能会说:“让我们祈祷”,意思是“现在,我们将要祈祷”。
"Let us" also might be used when the speaker wants to add weight to a request, like in this sentence:
当说话者想加强请求的语气时,也可以使用“Let us”,例如:
Please let us get a dog, Mom!
妈妈,让我们养一只狗吧!
The negative way of saying this is "let's not" or "let us not". For example:
这种说法的否定形式是“let’s not”或“let us not”。 例如:
Let's not go to a movie today, it is too nice outside!
我们今天别去看电影了,外面太好了!
"Leave" usually means to go away from a place or person. For example:
“Leave”通常指的是远离某个地方或某人。 例如:
We left the park early this afternoon.
今天下午早些时候,我们离开了公园。
I left my friends after the party so I could go home.
晚会结束后我和朋友告别,所以我可以回家了。
"Leave" can also mean to give up or stop having a job or position. For example:
“Leave”也可指放弃工作或离开职位。例如:
The mayor will be leaving office in a month.
市长将在一个月内离任。
Finally, "leave" also means to let something remain as it is.
最后,“leave”还指让某物保持原样。
This is the closest definition of "leave" to "let", but they are not quite the same. Here are some examples:
这是“leave”和“let”最相近的定义,但它们并不完全相同。以下是一些例子:
After the car accident, I left my car as it was for a few months before I got it fixed.
车祸后,我把车放了几个月才去修好。
Painting your room? Leave the color choice to me.
要粉刷你的房间吗? 请将颜色选择留给我。
I hope that helps to answer your question, Thu Huong.
希望以上能解答你的提问,秋香。
And that's Ask a Teacher.
以上就是本期《名师答疑》的全部内容。
And I'm Gregory Stachel.
我是格雷戈里·施塔赫尔。