reply既可作不及物动词,又可作及物动词,还可作名词.作不及物动词,其意为“回答”,可用“reply to(sb./sth.)”表示“对……作出回答”.作及物动词时,其意为“回答”,“回答说”.作名词时,意思为“答道”,“回信”,“答复”,后面跟介词to.
She sighed,but didn’t reply.她叹了口气,没有回答.
He failed to reply to my question.他没能回答我的问题.
What did he do in reply to your challenge?你提出与他较量,他作何反应?
注：reply和answer的区别
两个词都表示“回答”的意思.但是answer比较常用,如：answer a question/thedoor-bell/telephone,而reply较正式,经过思考,一一答复问题.除了后面可跟直接引语或宾语从句以外,一般只用作不及物动词,和连用.