Hi there! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question about the words “change” and “vary.”
Question:
Hello Teacher,
I’m Ali, and I live in Mashhad, Iran.
What is the difference between "change” and “vary?"
I'm keen on knowing how American people use "vary" in different forms in daily conversations.
Thank you,
Thanks for writing to us, Ali!
Here is the first major difference between the word “change” and the word “vary”: Only one of them is a noun and a verb.
“Change” is that word. You can “change your opinion” for example. That’s change as a verb.
You can also have “a change of opinion." That’s change as a noun!
“Vary” is more narrow in meaning. It means to make a partial change in something, or to diversify something.
Sometimes change and vary are synonyms.
Let’s look at each one more closely.
While “change” can be either a noun or a verb, we will compare the verbal meanings and uses to “vary.”
It can be used in a lot of different situations and can be a synonym for many other verbs like transform, exchange, switch or alter.
“Change” meanings range from making a difference or altering something particular to completely transforming or replacing something.
“Change” can also mean making a slight modification in something to switching or making a shift from one thing to another.
Andrey’s accent changed after he moved to the big city.
Now let’s look at “vary.”
“Vary” is a verb. It can mean to make a partial change or to differentiate between items by size, amount or degree.
It can also mean to show or experience a change.
Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you, Ali.
Do you have a question about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
And that’s Ask a Teacher.
I’m Faith Pirlo.
Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.