This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a request from a reader in Guinea. Here is the request:

本周的《名师答疑》，我们要回答几内亚一位读者提出的问题wc7k(sCEeuk。提出的问题是：

Dear VOA, I'm Adama from Enta in Guinea. I would like to know the difference between "buy" and "pay." Thanks for your service!

亲爱的美国之音，我是来自几内亚恩塔的阿达玛7x3Qoq@07]。我想知道“buy”和“pay”的区别F6g~]y62%i868A。感谢您的解惑！

Hello Adama, we are happy to be of service.

你好，阿达玛，很高兴能为你解惑LO_^Q.jTPI1yR7q。

I'm also glad that you asked about "buy" and "pay."

我也很高兴你问了有关“buy”和“pay”的问题MvitnRyoCR。

As a native English speaker, I had never thought about the difference.

作为以英语为母语的人，我从来没有想过它们之间的区别HY&6pB,b8;v~N+。

Because of your question, I learned something new!

因为你的问题，我学到了一些新知识！

Here is what I learned: We can use "buy" or "pay" to talk about using money, but each word has a different focus.

下面是我学到的：我们可以用“buy”或“pay”来谈论花钱，但每个词的侧重点不同2K*sNAY^#2Dip=)VDN。

The verb "buy" means to get something by paying for it. The verb "pay" means to give money in exchange for goods or services.

动词“buy”的意思是通过付钱得到某物J+,H67EA&8tN0-B。动词“pay”的意思是用金钱来交换商品或服务H]gtUh&_G!!hlvZ。

Listen to these examples and think about the difference between the two words:

听下面的例子，思考这两个词之间的区别：

I just bought a used motorbike.

我刚买了一辆旧摩托车pYrv%&&R-gl5aWGSNW。

I paid $900 for the motorbike.

我花900美元买了这辆摩托车n+*gAP,S]u。

The musician bought a Mexican guitar.

那位音乐家买了一把墨西哥吉他VUc46|[]O%8))i。

She paid for the guitar with her credit card.

她用信用卡买的吉他w[f9_D3~TDvSbn3J。

Is he going to buy us lunch?

他会给我们买午饭吗？

Is he going to pay our bill?

他会为我们买单吗？

Did you catch the difference? The verb "buy" puts the focus on the thing you are purchasing.

你注意到区别了吗？动词“buy”把重点放在你要买的东西上WW3!S+TnX!dN.Z.[=9@y。

The verb "pay" brings attention to the money that is being exchanged.

动词“pay”让人们注意到交易中的货币I9O-~Zh@pgF。

"Pay" can also bring attention to the process.

“Pay”也可以引起人们对支付过程的注意jnUc|;[YbE。

For example, the musician used a credit card to purchase the guitar.

例如，这位音乐家用信用卡买了一把吉他[DO^LwkW=sq)078_vo。

You may have also noticed that the preposition "for" can appear after the verb "pay." We say "pay for" to talk about a thing or event we give money for and receive at the same time.

你可能还注意到动词“pay”后面跟着介词“for”xIU8UR6Lvg608J。我们说“pay for”来谈及我们在花钱的同时就能得到的东西或事物+aad*6Ge=Pk4HQr=4。

But when we use "pay" (without "for"), we are talking about the person or thing we are giving money to.

但是当我们用“pay”不加“for”的时候，我们指的是我们给某人钱，或者为某物付钱PbKmgcSxh!F~Ey]OLZU。

You can pay a person, for example. Or you can pay a bill for goods or services that you already received.

例如，你可以付钱给一个人+PXeSl^1g([。或者你可以为你已经收到的商品或服务付账1A0gN!O^I0L4HDS0jsi。

And that's Ask a Teacher for this week.

以上就是本周《名师答疑》的全部内容;=rPhcQy2Gk。

I'm Alice Bryant.

我是爱丽丝·布莱恩特;thKb&vT=;。