VOA名师答疑2023--Reserve, Preserve, and Conserve

Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about the difference between reserve, preserve, and conserve¹.

Question:

Dear VOA Learning² English,

I have been learning English for more than twenty years, but my English is still just okay. I have many difficult words to understand. For example: reserve and preserve.

Please let me know the difference between these words.

Many thanks,

Mei from China.

Answer

Dear Mei,

Thanks for your note. These words share similar meanings and sounds. That makes it hard to remember which is which. I will add a third word, "conserve" so that we understand all the differences between these terms. Let's start with "reserve."

Reserve

Reserve can be a verb or a noun³. As a verb it means to store for future use.

Please call the restaurant and reserve a table for Saturday.

Emily reserved two books from the library.

As a noun, "reserve" means a supply of goods or materials. It is often used in plural⁴ form.

The government says it has only $25 million in usable foreign reserves.

"Reserve" as a noun also means a place where wildlife is protected.

Many national parks and forests in the US are nature reserves.

And lastly, as an uncountable noun, "reserve" means the act of keeping one's feelings hidden.

The dancer's reserve disappeared when the music started.

Preserve

"Preserve" as a verb means to protect something from change.

The glass case helps preserve the pictures of her ancestors.

Ed used a canning process to preserve tomatoes from the harvest.

And, like reserve, a preserve can also mean a place of protection for wildlife.

Conserve

To "conserve" means to protect something from harm, destruction⁵, loss, or change.

We conserved⁶ on energy use by putting in new windows.

Conserve also means to use little of a natural resource.

To conserve water, you should turn off the faucet⁷ when brushing your teeth.

And conserve can also be a noun. It means a sweet food made by preserving fruit with sugar.

Please let us know if these explanations and examples are helpful. We have more in reserve, if needed!

What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at [email protected]

And that's Ask a Teacher.

Words in This Story

faucet – n. a device that is used to control the flow of water from a pipe

1 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

2 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

3 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

4 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

5 destruction   

n.破坏，毁灭，消灭

参考例句：

• The enemy bombs caused widespread destruction.敌人的炸弹造成大面积的破坏。
• Overconfidence was his destruction.自负是他垮台的原因。

6 conserved   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He conserved his energy for the game. 他为比赛而养精蓄锐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Under these conditions, the total mechanical energy remains constant, or is conserved. 在这种条件下，总机械能保持不变或机械能保存。 来自辞典例句

7 faucet   

n.水龙头

参考例句：

• The faucet has developed a drip.那个水龙头已经开始滴水了。
• She turned off the faucet and dried her hands.她关掉水龙头，把手擦干。