Reserve, Preserve, and Conserve
2023-02-11
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1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about the difference between reserve, preserve, and conserve.
2Dear VOA Learning English,
3I have been learning English for more than twenty years, but my English is still just okay.
4I have many difficult words to understand. For example: reserve and preserve.
5Please let me know the difference between these words.
6Many thanks,
7Mei from China.
8Dear Mei,
9Thanks for your note.
10These words share similar meanings and sounds.
11That makes it hard to remember which is which.
12I will add a third word, "conserve" so that we understand all the differences between these terms.
13Let's start with "reserve."
14Reserve can be a verb or a noun.
15As a verb it means to store for future use.
16Please call the restaurant and reserve a table for Saturday.
17Emily reserved two books from the library.
18As a noun, "reserve" means a supply of goods or materials.
19It is often used in plural form.
20The government says it has only $25 million in usable foreign reserves.
21"Reserve" as a noun also means a place where wildlife is protected.
22Many national parks and forests in the US are nature reserves.
23And lastly, as an uncountable noun, "reserve" means the act of keeping one's feelings hidden.
24The dancer's reserve disappeared when the music started.
25"Preserve" as a verb means to protect something from change.
26The glass case helps preserve the pictures of her ancestors.
27Ed used a canning process to preserve tomatoes from the harvest.
28And, like reserve, a preserve can also mean a place of protection for wildlife.
29To "conserve" means to protect something from harm, destruction, loss, or change.
30We conserved on energy use by putting in new windows.
31Conserve also means to use little of a natural resource.
32To conserve water, you should turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth.
33And conserve can also be a noun.
34It means a sweet food made by preserving fruit with sugar.
35Please let us know if these explanations and examples are helpful.
36We have more in reserve, if needed!
37What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
38And that's Ask a Teacher.
39I'm Faith Pirlo.
1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about the difference between reserve, preserve, and conserve. 2Question: 3Dear VOA Learning English, 4I 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. 5Please let me know the difference between these words. 6Many thanks, 7Mei from China. 8Answer 9Dear Mei, 10Thanks 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." 11Reserve 12Reserve can be a verb or a noun. As a verb it means to store for future use. 13Please call the restaurant and reserve a table for Saturday. 14Emily reserved two books from the library. 15As a noun, "reserve" means a supply of goods or materials. It is often used in plural form. 16The government says it has only $25 million in usable foreign reserves. 17"Reserve" as a noun also means a place where wildlife is protected. 18Many national parks and forests in the US are nature reserves. 19And lastly, as an uncountable noun, "reserve" means the act of keeping one's feelings hidden. 20The dancer's reserve disappeared when the music started. 21Preserve 22"Preserve" as a verb means to protect something from change. 23The glass case helps preserve the pictures of her ancestors. 24Ed used a canning process to preserve tomatoes from the harvest. 25And, like reserve, a preserve can also mean a place of protection for wildlife. 26Conserve 27To "conserve" means to protect something from harm, destruction, loss, or change. 28We conserved on energy use by putting in new windows. 29Conserve also means to use little of a natural resource. 30To conserve water, you should turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth. 31And conserve can also be a noun. It means a sweet food made by preserving fruit with sugar. 32Please let us know if these explanations and examples are helpful. We have more in reserve, if needed! 33What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com 34And that's Ask a Teacher. 35I'm Faith Pirlo. 36Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 37______________________________________________________________ 38Words in This Story 39faucet - n. a device that is used to control the flow of water from a pipe 40______________________________________________________________ 41Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 42Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.