Hire a moped

[Glizdka]

Do we ever hire a moped? I thought we rented them, but I saw it today in a book I can't remember the name of.

 

[5jj]

We can.

 

[probus]

I think it's a BrE/AmE difference. In AmE we never hire anything, we only rent things. We hire people when we start to employ them in a job.

 

[Rover_KE]

I think it's a BrE/AmE difference.

Exactly so.

(See Expensive Cars by Iona Bentley and Hiram Organ.)

 

[Yankee]

Do we ever hire a moped? I thought we rented them, but I saw it today in a book I can't remember the name of.

It would not work in AmE, but maybe in BrE.
(Sorry I didn't see previous replies.)

 

[Glizdka]

Hmmm... now that's interesting.

Does it mean BrE does not use the word rent or just that it uses it differently? What do hire and rent work with in BrE? (people, apartments, cars, bikes, etc.)

 

[emsr2d2]

I use both when talking about paying to use something that belongs to someone else (with exceptions).

I'm hiring/renting a car in Spain in September.
My mates and I hired/rented mopeds on a Greek island many years ago.
She's going to rent/hire a wet and dry hoover to sort out her filthy carpets.
He wants to rent/hire a Darth Vader costume for his mate's fancy-dress party.

Example exceptions:
I don't own a property. I still rent a house.
The boss wants to hire a new assistant manager because we're so busy.

 

[Yankee]

In AmE we typically hire persons or contractors.

 

[Tdol]

We hire people when we start to employ them in a job.

We do that, but we can still rent a lot of stuff.