contribute
contribute — verb
1. to give money, time, or other resources toward a shared goal, doing your part al
to give money, time, or other resources toward a shared goal, doing your part alongside others in a group effort.
Ada contributes £20 to the local food bank every month.
contribute + [amount] + to + [institution]
Christopher contributed his old laptop to the school's computer lab.
contribute + [object] + to + [recipient]
The family contributed three full days of volunteer work to the beach clean-up project.
Every team member contributed ideas during the product brainstorming session.
Sivan contributed a generous sum to the scholarship fund for first-year students.
- withhold
to deliberately refuse to give what is expected
文法句型
contribute + [money / time / resources] + to + [cause / institution]
contribute to + [cause / institution]
用法筆記
Common objects include money, food, clothes, time, effort, and ideas. The preposition 'to' introduces the person, group, or institution that receives the help.
常見錯誤
2. to provide written material, photographs, or other creative work that is publish
to provide written material, photographs, or other creative work that is published in a newspaper, magazine, book, or on a website.
Gabriela contributes a weekly column on healthy cooking to the city newspaper.
contribute + [regular feature] + to + [publication]
Ishaan contributed several wildlife photographs to a travel magazine last spring.
contribute + [visual content] + to + [publication]
Ryo contributed an article about solar energy to an online science journal.
The professor contributes book reviews to a literary quarterly twice a year.
Adisa contributed a short story to the university's literary magazine.
文法句型
contribute + [article / photograph / story] + to + [publication]
contribute to + [publication]
用法筆記
Often implies a regular or semi-regular arrangement, though it can describe a one-time submission. The content contributed is owned by the contributor but published by the outlet.
常見錯誤
3. to play a role in causing something to happen, often as one of several influence
to play a role in causing something to happen, often as one of several influences that together produce a result.
Lack of sleep contributed to Hamza's poor performance on the final exam.
[negative factor] contribute to [negative result]
The new playground equipment contributed to a rise in outdoor play among local children.
[positive factor] contribute to [positive result]
Several factors contributed to the company's strong growth last year.
Anya's calm manner contributed greatly to the team's ability to finish the project on schedule.
The warm spring weather contributed to the early blooming of the cherry trees.
- lead to
stronger causal link; suggests a more direct or inevitable result
- play a part in
more explicit about being one factor among many; slightly more formal
- add to
can also mean 'increase'; overlaps with 'contribute to' for negative results like problems
文法句型
contribute to + [noun]
contribute to + [gerund / verb-ing]
用法筆記
Always followed by 'to.' The subject is rarely the sole cause; it is one factor among several. Common in academic and journalistic writing to explain reasons behind trends or events.