VOA慢速英语2021 “sentence”和“statement”的正确区分

Many VOA Learning¹ English stories and programs use the words "sentence" and "statement²."

许多美国之音英语学习故事和节目中会使用“sentence”和“statement”这两个词。

But what exactly does each word mean?

但是他们各自到底是什么意思呢?

Are there differences between the two?

这两个单词有什么不同呢？

This week, our question comes from Armando. Here it is:

本周，我们的问题来自Armando。这里是他的提问:

What's the difference between "sentence" and "statement" and how can I use them?

“sentence”和“statement”这两个单词有什么不同呢，我该如何使用它们？

Hello, Armando! I am glad you asked that question.

你好Armando！很高兴收到你的提问。

The answer will help a lot of English learners.

这个问题的答案会帮助到很多英语学习者。

First, think of a sentence as a tree and the three kinds of sentences as tree branches.

首先，你可以把句子想成一棵大树，这棵大树上有3根树杈，也就是3种句子。

One branch is a statement. Another is a question. Yet another is a command.

一个树杈是陈述句，另一个是疑问句，还有一个是祈使句。

A sentence is a group of words that usually have a subject, verb³ and information about the subject.

句子是一组单词组成的，通常有主语、谓语和关于主语的信息。

Remember: A sentence can be a statement, question or command.

一定要记住：句子可以是陈述句，也可以是疑问句和祈使句。

A statement is a basic fact or opinion. It is one kind of sentence. It usually ends with a period or exclamation⁴ point.

陈述句是句子的一种，是在陈述基本的事实或者观点，通常以句号或者感叹号结尾。

To make this clearer, here are examples of the three types of sentences.

为了讲得更清楚些，下面来举例展示三个类型的句子。

The first one is a statement:

第一个是一个陈述句：

Armando studies English every day.

Armando每天都学习英语。

Now, here is the same sentence as a question:

同样的句子变成疑问句就变成：

Does Armando study English every day?

Armando每天都学习英语吗？

And finally, here is the sentence as a command:

最后，是一个祈使句。

Study English every day.

每天都要学习英语。

But wait – where did the subject "Armando" go in the command?

但是，等等，祈使句中的主语“Armando”去哪里了呢？

We do not include subjects in commands.

祈使句是没有主语的。

They are understood without being said.

不加主语别人也能理解其中的含义。

Now, let's turn to the part of the question about when to use "statement" or "sentence."

现在让我们回到我们的问题，什么时候该用“statement”，什么时候该用“sentence”呢？

Here is a way to keep it simple:

下面一个方法可以让你更清楚：

You can avoid the word "statement" unless you are speaking or writing about something formal, such as written or spoken information from a government official.

尽量不要使用statement这个词，除非你正在说或者写的内容很正式，比如来自政府官员的书面或者口头信息。

English teachers sometimes use the word "statement," but thankfully you don't have to!

英语老师有时会用“statement”这个词，但好在你不需要这样做!

And that's Ask a Teacher.

以上就是今日名师答疑的全部内容。

1 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。

2 statement   

n.陈述；声明；综述

参考例句：

• The government will put out a new statement tomorrow.政府将于明天发布一项新声明。
• Put down your statement in black and white.把你的话用白纸黑字写下来。

3 verb   

n.[语]动词

参考例句：

• The sentence is formed from a verb and two nouns.这句子由一个动词和两个名词构成。
• These are the finite forms of a verb.这些是一个动词的限定形式。

4 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。