"Lose and gain " for watches?

[Mehrgan]

Hi there,
Can we say 'your watch has gained/lost 10 minutes? What is the normal way to say this when a watch or clock is slow/fast, and we want to mention the amount of time to show how much slow'fast it is?


thanks.

 

[bhaisahab]

Hi there,
Can we say 'your watch has gained/lost 10 minutes? What is the normal way to say this when a watch or clock is slow/fast, and we want to mention the amount of time to show how much slow'fast it is?


thanks.

Yes, you can say that your watch has lost/gained 10 minutes. You can also say that your watch is 10 minutes slow/fast.

 

[Barb_D]

I was just thinking that although the fact that is is running slow or running fast is important so that you know it's not accurate, the amount of time it's gained or lost seems unimportant since it will change. That is, if it's running fast, 10 minutes now might be 20 tomorrow.

I think you'll hear more people say "My watch seems to be running fast" than "My watch has gained 10 minutes."

(Not a commentary on the how correct the answer is -- just on how likely you are to need to use it.)

 

[Mehrgan]

I was just thinking that although the fact that is is running slow or running fast is important so that you know it's not accurate, the amount of time it's gained or lost seems unimportant since it will change. That is, if it's running fast, 10 minutes now might be 20 tomorrow.

I think you'll hear more people say "My watch seems to be running fast" than "My watch has gained 10 minutes."

(Not a commentary on the how correct the answer is -- just on how likely you are to need to use it.)

Thank you a lot dear Barb_D...Nice point. But maybe it can be useful when the person who tells the time isn't aware their watch is either slow or fast (and we can tell them how much it's running slow/fast).


Cheers!

 

[5jj]

I think you'll hear more people say "My watch seems to be running fast" than "My watch has gained 10 minutes."

Quite often if my watch is showing a time later than the real time, it is because I have set it badly. I am therefore far more likely to say, "My watch is ten minutes fast" than I am to say, "My watch is running fast". In fact, I would never say that second sentence. I might say simply, "my watch is fast". If I really think it is gaining, I'd say "my watch has gained ten minutes."

I don't know whether this is personal, or normal BrE.

 

[bhaisahab]

Quite often if my watch is showing a time later than the real time, it is because I have set it badly. I am therefore far more likely to say, "My watch is ten minutes fast" than I am to say, "My watch is running fast". In fact, I would never say that second sentence. I might say simply, "my watch is fast". If I really think it is gaining, I'd say "my watch has gained ten minutes."

I don't know whether this is personal, or normal BrE.

I wouldn't say "My watch is running fast" either.

 

[5jj]

Since answering the question (above), I have realised that I haven't said this about my watch for years. Since batteries replaced clockwork, watches have seemed to keep pretty good time.