VOA名师答疑2023--Worth, Worthy and Worthwhile

Worth, Worthy¹ and Worthwhile

Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about the difference between "worth," "worthy," and "worthwhile."

Question:

Hello VOA Learning English,

Ask a Teacher: Worth, Worthy and Worthwhile

Ask a Teacher: Worth, Worthy and Worthwhile

I am Li from China. Could you kindly² explain and further explore the differences and usage between these three words: "worth," "worthy" and "worthwhile?"

Thanks,

Li

Answer:

Thank you, Li, for writing to us. This is a good question to explore parts of speech using the word "worth." Let's examine the differences in parts of speech and how we can use the term.

Worth

"Worth" can be a noun. As a noun, it is an expression of value. It can mean an amount of money or something equal to a specific amount.

The Hope Diamond's worth is estimated to be between 200 and 300 million dollars.

I was short on cash, so I put $20's worth of gas in the car.

"Worth" can mean "value" measured by qualities, morals, excellence³ or wealth.

Knowing your worth can help you get a better salary.

The house's worth has increased over the past few years.

"Worth" can also operate like a preposition or an adjective meaning "equal in value to" or "deserving of."

The necklace is worth $200.

I hope the food at this restaurant is worth standing⁴ in this long line!

Some websites say that "worth" is a preposition and others say it is an adjective. In any case, the word is telling us about quality or the amount of some form of value.

Let's move on to an adjective form of "worth."

Worthy

"Worthy" is an adjective that means having worth, value or importance because of qualities or abilities. It describes something or someone who deserves praise or a reward because of those qualities.

There are many worthy charities to give help or money to.

The student was worthy of many scholarships.

We can add the suffix⁵ "-worthy" to the ends of words to make another adjective meaning deserving of being valued.

At Voice of America, reporters write many newsworthy stories.

Worthwhile

While "worthy" means that something or someone has value or deserves something because of certain qualities or abilities, "worthwhile" describes something that is worth spending time on or making an effort to do.

It is worthwhile to do the dishes now instead of later.

Many high school students now think that getting a college degree is not worthwhile.

The expression "worth your while" means the same thing.

It is worth your while to study English with VOA Learning English.

Try making some sentences with the words you learned today; it may just be worth your while. And please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you, Li.

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

salary – n. the money paid to a worker for their labor⁶

necklace – n. a piece of jewelry⁷ worn around the neck

scholarship – n. money given for the purpose of attending school

1 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

2 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

3 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 suffix   

n.后缀；vt.添后缀

参考例句：

• We add the suffix "ly" to make the adjective "quick" into the adverb " quickly ".我们在形容词“ quick”后加“ly” 构成副词“quickly”。
• It described the meaning of suffix array and also how to built it.它描述的含义，后缀数组以及如何建立它。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。