写日记用动词write还是keep

问题

用英语表示“写”日记（a diary），到底是用动词 write 还是 keep？有时看到 keep a diary，有时看到 write a diary。也有人说只能用keep a diary，不能用 write a diary。请帮助解释！

老师答疑

陈老师：

▲表示“写日记”，用动词 keep 和 write 均可，但总的说来，用 keep 的情形较多：

I started keeping a diary when I was thirteen. 我从13岁就一直写日记。

She kept a diary until shortly before her death.  直到去世前不久她都一直在记日记。

a useful way of assisting your learning is to keep a diary. 记日记是帮助学习的一种有效方法。

they were asked to keep a diary and record everything they ate or drank. 他们被要求写日记记下吃或喝的一切东西。

▲两者的细微区别是：用动词 keep 侧重指记日记的习惯，用动词 write则侧重指“写”的具体动作，因此要表示往日记里写什么东西时，通常要用 write。如：

He took out his diary and began to write. 他拿出日记本就写了起来。

He wrote everything he saw in his diary. 他把所看到的情况都写进日记里。

“It’s all over,” he wrote in his diary for April 21. 在4月21日的日记中，他写道：“一切都结束了。”

She had a small, mean mouth that curled disapprovingly each time her husband wrote something in his diary.  每次丈夫写日记时，她都会不满地撇撇那张刻薄的小嘴。