English Language Discussion Forums

jiang · #1 11-Apr-2004, 14:50

Dear teachers,
Please read the following sentence:
Many colleges and universities offer an orientation program for new students. In these programs, the young people get to know the procedures for registration and student advising, university rules, the ___ of the library and all the other major services of the college or univeristy.
a. usage b. use
The correct answer is 'b'. In this case because there is 'other major services' so we should choose 'b'. Otherwise we can use both usage and use. The only difference is 'usage' means the way something is used and 'use' means the act of using or the state of being used ( I quoted the definitions from a dictionary) Am I right?

I am looking forward to hearing from you. I am sorry to bother you on weekend.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

MikeNewYork · #2 11-Apr-2004, 16:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by jiang

Dear teachers,
Please read the following sentence:
Many colleges and universities offer an orientation program for new students. In these programs, the young people get to know the procedures for registration and student advising, university rules, the ___ of the library and all the other major services of the college or univeristy.
a. usage b. use
The correct answer is 'b'. In this case because there is 'other major services' so we should choose 'b'. Otherwise we can use both usage and use. The only difference is 'usage' means the way something is used and 'use' means the act of using or the state of being used ( I quoted the definitions from a dictionary) Am I right?

I am looking forward to hearing from you. I am sorry to bother you on weekend.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

Weekends are no problem. Each of us is in and out all the time.

I agree with the correct answer (b) here. The two words are close in meaning, and both words can mean the "act of using", but I would choose "use" for that act in general and "usage" for a specific act. In addition, "usage" is used for the mmanner and amount of using. This is where the meanings change a bit more. If one had a meter that monitored "water use", it would indicate whether or not water was being used. If one had a meter that monitored water usage, it would indicate the amount of water being used.

In this case, students are informed about the "use" of the library. To me that means hours of operation, where to go, etc. If it were "usage" of the library, I would expect it to include statistics on who uses the library and for what purposes.

**Tdol** · #3 11-Apr-2004, 18:43

What Mike said. Have a nice weekend.

**Red5** · #4 11-Apr-2004, 21:50

As far as is possible, we all try to pop in and answer the latest posts.

Have a good weekend!

Regards,

jiang · #5 11-Apr-2004, 22:46

:D
Thank you very much for your very very explanation. How wonderful it would be if my dictionaries can explain this way!

Best wishes,

Jiang

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeNewYork

Quote:

Originally Posted by jiang

Dear teachers,
Please read the following sentence:
Many colleges and universities offer an orientation program for new students. In these programs, the young people get to know the procedures for registration and student advising, university rules, the ___ of the library and all the other major services of the college or univeristy.
a. usage b. use
The correct answer is 'b'. In this case because there is 'other major services' so we should choose 'b'. Otherwise we can use both usage and use. The only difference is 'usage' means the way something is used and 'use' means the act of using or the state of being used ( I quoted the definitions from a dictionary) Am I right?

I am looking forward to hearing from you. I am sorry to bother you on weekend.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

Weekends are no problem. Each of us is in and out all the time.

I agree with the correct answer (b) here. The two words are close in meaning, and both words can mean the "act of using", but I would choose "use" for that act in general and "usage" for a specific act. In addition, "usage" is used for the mmanner and amount of using. This is where the meanings change a bit more. If one had a meter that monitored "water use", it would indicate whether or not water was being used. If one had a meter that monitored water usage, it would indicate the amount of water being used.

In this case, students are informed about the "use" of the library. To me that means hours of operation, where to go, etc. If it were "usage" of the library, I would expect it to include statistics on who uses the library and for what purposes.