VOA慢速英语2021--Anyway and Similar Words

 

Hello! This week's question on Ask a Teacher comes from Nitin in India. He asked us on You Tube:

Question:

Could you tell me the use and meaning of these two words: nevertheless and anyway?

Nitin, India

Answer:

Dear Nitin,

Thank you for writing to us. "Anyway" is an adverb. That means it describes or gives us more information about a verb or adjective¹. The usual meaning is similar to "in any case" or "even though something else is true." Let us look at some examples of how we use it.

I think Candice will not read my message but I'm going to write to her anyway.

In this statement, the speaker is writing despite the fact that the message is not likely to be read.

Another meaning of "anyway" is to give more force to a question, as in:

You can't go to the front of the line. Who do you think you are, anyway?

And a third way to use "anyway" is to add or make a change to something that was said before:

I'm sorry, you can't go to the park today. Anyway, it's going to rain.

An informal word that is used like "anyway" is "anyhow."

Other words like anyway

You also asked about the word "nevertheless." It is an adverb too. And it means in spite² of something that was said before. It is more formal and sounds a little old-fashioned³ when compared to "anyway." For example:

COVID-19 infection rates are falling in my state. Nevertheless, we should still follow the safety guidelines⁴.

Other words or expressions you may see that can serve the same purpose as "anyway" are "anyways," "nonetheless," "regardless," "in any case" and "at any rate."

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Words in This Story

despite – adv. without being prevented by (something) — used to say that something happens or is true even though there is something that might prevent it from happening or being true

formal – adj. of language; suitable for serious or official speech and writing

in spite of –adv. (the same as despite)

informal – adj. of language; relaxed in tone⁵; not suited for serious or official speech and writing

old-fashioned –adj. of or relating to the past: generally no longer used or replaced by something more recent

1 adjective   

n.形容词；adj.形容词的，用作形容词的

参考例句：

• Don't apply that adjective to me.不要用那个字眼来形容我。
• The adjective loose has several senses. 形容词loose有几个义项。

2 spite   

n.（用于短语）虽然，不顾，尽管

参考例句：

• He has modern ideas in spite of his great age.尽管他年事很高，但思想观念却很入时。
• In spite of his anger,his remarks were restrained.他尽管生气，说的话还是有节制的。

3 old-fashioned   

adj.旧式的，保守的，挑剔的

参考例句：

• Why do you still dress in an old-fashioned mode?你为什么还穿款式陈旧的衣服？
• Here is an old-fashioned pump for drawing water from a well.这里有一个旧式水泵可从井里抽水。

4 guidelines   

n.指导方针，准则

参考例句：

• The government has drawn up guidelines on the treatment of the mentally ill. 政府制订了对待精神病人的指导方针。
• Planners seem a little uncomfortable with the current government guidelines. 规划师似乎不太接受现行的政府指道方针。

5 tone   

n.语气，音调，气度，色调；vt.（up）增强

参考例句：

• There was a tone of mockery in his voice.他说话的语气含有嘲笑的意味。
• Holmes used an informal,chatty tone in his essays.霍姆斯在文章中语气轻松随便。