Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about if nouns can become verbs.
你好！本周在“请教老师”中，我们将回答一个关于名词是否可以变成动词的问题。
 
Question:
问题：
 
Hello there!
你好呀！
 
Can any nouns be a verb?
任何名词都可以做动词吗？
 
For example:
例如：
 
When it's hot, I fan my mom.
天热的时候，我给妈妈扇风。
 
When it's raining, I umbrella her.
下雨的时候，我给她撑伞。
 
Thank you,
谢谢，
 
Johnny
约翰尼
 
Answer
回答
 
Thanks for writing us, Johnny. This is a great question.
谢谢你给我们写信，约翰尼。这是一个很好的问题。
 
The answer may surprise you.
答案可能会让你大吃一惊。
 
Yes, any noun can be made into a verb in English. It is one of the most interesting things about English. The process is called "verbing" or making a verb from a noun.
是的，任何名词都可以变成英语中的动词。这是关于英语的最有趣的事情之一。这个过程被称为“动词”或从名词变成动词。
 
Let's review your two examples:
让我们回顾一下你的两个例子：
 
"To fan" something or someone is an accepted verb, which means that many people use it, and you can find it in the dictionary. This verb means to cool by using a device, a like fan, to create air.
“To fan”something or someone是公认的动词，意思是很多人用，查字典也能查到。这个动词的意思是通过使用像风扇这样的设备来制造空气来降温。
 
So, you can totally fan your mom.
所以，你完全可以扇你妈妈。
 
You can also "fan" the flames of a fire to make it stronger.
您还可以“煽动”火焰，使其更烈。
 
But just because a noun can be made into a verb, does not mean that it always works or is accepted into the language.
但仅仅因为名词可以变成动词，并不意味着它总是有效或被语言接受。
 
We do not yet have "to umbrella" as a verb in our language. But who knows, if you keep using it enough, you might just "verb" it!
在我们的语言中，我们还没有将“to umbrella”作为动词。但谁知道，如果你一直使用它，你可能只是“动词”它！
 
Verbing is very common
动词很常见
 
We often see "verbing" on the internet, especially on social media. For example, the noun "friend" is now commonly used as a verb.
我们经常在互联网上看到“动词”，尤其是在社交媒体上。例如，名词“朋友”现在通常用作动词。
 
She friended me on Facebook yesterday.
她昨天在 Facebook 上加了我好友。
 
We also "google" to find information. And since more people study and work from home during the pandemic, we now "zoom" or "skype" each other.
我们还“谷歌”查找信息。由于在大流行期间越来越多的人在家学习和工作，我们现在互相“缩放”或“Skype”。
 
But this process of creating verbs from nouns is not new. We have been verbing for centuries!
但这种从名词创建动词的过程并不新鲜。几个世纪以来，我们一直在动词！
 
Some common nouns turning into verbs include "pencil, table, butter, and voice. For example,
一些常见的名词变成动词包括“铅笔”、“桌子”、“黄油”和“声音”。例如，
 
I will pencil you in for next Friday!
我会在下周五给你写信！
 
"To pencil" means to set up a meeting or add someone to a list by writing their name down.
“To pencil”是指通过写下某人的名字来安排会议或将某人添加到列表中。
 
Since we are running out of time, let's table this discussion for next week's meeting.
由于我们的时间不多了，让我们把这个讨论放在下周的会议上。
 
"To table" something is to delay the discussion until a future time.
“To table”是将讨论推迟到将来的某个时间。
 
I butter my bread every morning.
我每天早上都在面包上涂黄油。
 
"To butter" means to apply butter to bread.
“To butter”是指在面包上涂抹黄油。
 
And lastly, "to voice" has two meanings. The first is to tell someone your thoughts, feelings, or opinions about something.
最后，“to voice”有两个含义。第一种是告诉别人你对某事的想法、感受或意见。
 
She voiced her opposition to the new community plan.
她表示反对新的社区计划。
 
The second meaning of voice is to make sounds with your voice, like speaking. For example,
声音的第二个意思是用你的声音发出声音，就像说话一样。例如，
 
At Learning English, we always voice our stories after we write them.
在 Learning English，我们总是在写完故事后说出我们的故事。
 
If you are interested in learning how words are created and accepted into the language, there is an interesting TED Talk by Erin McKean, who writes dictionaries.
如果您有兴趣了解单词是如何被创造出来并被语言所接受的，那么 Erin McKean 的 TED 演讲很有趣，她是词典作者。
 
Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you!
如果这些解释和示例对您有所帮助，请告诉我们！