burn用作及物或不及物动词,如:He burned her letter,The tea is very hot, and don’t burn you mouth。
有时用于引申义,表示“有某种强烈的情绪”或“迫切想要”,多用于进行时态:He was burning with anger。
构成被动语态时,除可用 be burned 外,有时也用 get burned 的形式:He was thus burned to death by the enemy。
关于 burned 与 burnt:在美国英语中通常只用 burned,只在用作定语时才用 burnt。例如:He burned his hand on a hot stove。
英国英语中,用作不及物动词用时用burned,用作及物动词时用burnt。例如:The fire burned brightly。
burn down 意为“烧毁”,美国英语中常用,如:The school building was burned down in that big fire。
而英国英语中,burn down 通常指建筑物被完全烧塌,如:The whole village was burned down by the enemy。
burn up 也有“烧毁”“烧掉”的意思,但一般不是指建筑物。例如:Let’s burn up all this waste paper。
此外,还有“烧旺”“烧起来”的意思,如:Please put some wood on the fire and make it burn up。
还有“用光体力”的解释,如:His work burned him up。