Buy and Purchase
2020-04-25
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1This week we answer a question from Julio in Peru. He writes:
2I would like to know the difference between BUY and PURCHASE and when to use each of them. -- Julio, Lima, Peru.
3Dear Julio,
4Thanks for asking about these words.
5As you know, "buy" and "purchase" can be used in similar sentences.
6They can both be used either as a noun or a verb.
7One difference between them is how formal they sound.
8Compare the following sentences.
9Put "buy" or "purchase" in the space.
10I would like to ______ a new home.
11She wants to _____ a hamburger.
12Like most English speakers, I would say "purchase" for the home and "buy" for the hamburger.
13You probably wonder, why does English have two words with exactly the same meaning?
14We can understand this better with a little history.
15English developed from the languages of Germanic tribes of Northern Europe.
16Words from that time are what we call Anglo-Saxon.
17In the year 1066, William the Conqueror and his forces began to take over England.
18William was from Normandy, in France.
19For the next 300 years, everyone in English courts and in government spoke French.
20English was a language for everyday use.
21As a result, French had a great effect on the English language: about 10,000 French words were added to English.
22We still use many of them today.
23As you might suspect, English speakers use the French words for more formal situations and the Anglo-Saxon words for common ideas and things.
24One way you can tell the difference between the French words and the Anglo-Saxon words is their length.
25Anglo-Saxon words, like "buy," are often short, while "purchase" and other French words are longer.
26Julio asked how to use "buy" and "purchase."
27We usually use "buy" as a verb. For example,
28I will buy food for the party.
29It is not so common to see "buy" as a noun, but you do find it in cases like this:
30The police stopped a drug buy on the street.
31We often use the verb "purchase" for when legal documents are involved, such as in:
32The government purchased a new contract for 1,000 airplanes.
33And you should use "purchase" when you need a noun form, as in:
34You made a smart purchase when you bought gas before the price went up.
35In summary, try to use "buy" for simple actions, and "purchase" for more formal exchanges of money for goods.
36And now, I will ask you to do something.
37Please send your questions about English to us by email: learningenglish@voanews.com.
38And that's Ask a Teacher for this week.
39I'm Jill Robbins.
1This week we answer a question from Julio in Peru. He writes: 2Question: 3I would like to know the difference between BUY and PURCHASE and when to use each of them. -- Julio, Lima, Peru. 4Answer: 5Dear Julio, 6Thanks for asking about these words. As you know, "buy" and "purchase" can be used in similar sentences. They can both be used either as a noun or a verb. 7One difference between them is how formal they sound. Compare the following sentences. Put "buy" or "purchase" in the space. 8I would like to ______ a new home. 9She wants to _____ a hamburger. 10Like most English speakers, I would say "purchase" for the home and "buy" for the hamburger. You probably wonder, why does English have two words with exactly the same meaning? 11History of the words 12We can understand this better with a little history. English developed from the languages of Germanic tribes of Northern Europe. Words from that time are what we call Anglo-Saxon. In the year 1066, William the Conqueror and his forces began to take over England. William was from Normandy, in France. For the next 300 years, everyone in English courts and in government spoke French. English was a language for everyday use. 13As a result, French had a great effect on the English language: about 10,000 French words were added to English. We still use many of them today. As you might suspect, English speakers use the French words for more formal situations and the Anglo-Saxon words for common ideas and things. 14One way you can tell the difference between the French words and the Anglo-Saxon words is their length. Anglo-Saxon words, like "buy," are often short, while "purchase" and other French words are longer. 15Buy 16Julio asked how to use "buy" and "purchase." We usually use "buy" as a verb. For example, 17I will buy food for the party. 18It is not so common to see "buy" as a noun, but you do find it in cases like this: 19The police stopped a drug buy on the street. 20Purchase 21We often use the verb "purchase" for when legal documents are involved, such as in: 22The government purchased a new contract for 1,000 airplanes. 23And you should use "purchase" when you need a noun form, as in: 24You made a smart purchase when you bought gas before the price went up. 25In summary, try to use "buy" for simple actions, and "purchase" for more formal exchanges of money for goods. 26And now, I will ask you to do something. Please send your questions about English to us by email: learningenglish@voanews.com. 27And that's Ask a Teacher for this week. 28I'm Jill Robbins. 29Dr. Jill Robbins wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 30________________________________________________________________ 31Words in This Story 32formal - adj. related to serious or official speech and writing 33hamburger - n. a flat, usually round piece of ground beef that is cooked and served usually in a roll or bun 34conqueror - n. a person who takes control of a country or city through the use of force 35Anglo-Saxon - n. the language of the Anglo-Saxons 36summary - n. a brief statement of the main points of something 37Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or email: learningenglish@voanews.com