[General] 'run out of something' versus 'run short of something'

Status
Not open for further replies.

JarekSteliga

Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2011
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Poland
'We were lucky we haven't run out of glasses at the party.'


'We were lucky we haven't run short of glasses at the party.'


Is one of the above sentences better (more natural) than the other or are both fine?
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
Neither sentence is natural. The tenses don't match for a start - 'We were lucky we didn't run out/short. . .'

If you run short of something (you haven't much left) you are close to running out of it (you have none left).

'I'm running out of petrol; I'll have to find a filling station soon.'

'I've run out of petrol; I'll have to call the RAC (a roadside rescue service).'

Rover
 

JarekSteliga

Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2011
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Poland
Neither sentence is natural. The tenses don't match for a start - 'We were lucky we didn't run out/short. . .'

If you run short of something (you haven't much left) you are close to running out of it (you have none left).

'I'm running out of petrol; I'll have to find a filling station soon.'

'I've run out of petrol; I'll have to call the RAC (a roadside rescue service).'

Rover

Thank you.

Indeed I was so taken with the issue short/out that tenses escaped my attention.

I understand your using 'out' instead of 'short' in your example sentence, 'I'm running out of petrol; I'll have to find a filling station soon.' is a slip of the tongue.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top