trip over

Status
Not open for further replies.

Ju

Key Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Hong Kong
A. There are something one the floor, like a piece of banana peel.

If I want to say that I pick up the banana peel because I don't want the kids sliding down while stepping on it. Can I say:

I picked up the banana peel so the kids will not trip over.
__________________________________________________________

B.The floor is wet. So I wipe it dry so no one will slide down while stepping on it.

1. Can I say:
I wipe the floor dry so one one will not trip over.

2. Shall I say :
Wipe the floor dry or simply wipe the floor
__________________________________________________________

C. John's mouth is full of left over food.

Can I say:

1. John needs to wipe the mouth clean with a towel.
2. John needs to wipe the mouth with a towel.
_____________________________________________________________

ju
 

Ju

Key Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Hong Kong

BobK

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 29, 2006
Location
Spencers Wood, near Reading, UK
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
:up:
I wipe the floor so the kids will not slide.

Am I right?



Ju

If a floor's wet, you might slip and fall. But when mother has cleaned the floor and told the kids not to play on it because they might slip and hurt themselves, they might ignore her warning and see who can slide the furthest on it. ;-)

On a wet or otherwise slippery surface, slipping is accidental and sliding is intentional.

b
 

eddy143

Junior Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
French
Home Country
South Africa
Current Location
South Africa
Do we say cars "skid" or "slide"?
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
Cars skid.
 

BobK

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 29, 2006
Location
Spencers Wood, near Reading, UK
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Perhaps this is a Br E/Am E difference :-? For us, cars skid. (There is some seepage from Am E though, when specialists adopt a US usage in compound words like 'powerslide'.)

b
 

Ju

Key Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Hong Kong
Perhaps this is a Br E/Am E difference :-? For us, cars skid. (There is some seepage from Am E though, when specialists adopt a US usage in compound words like 'powerslide'.)

b

I could not find the meanings of powerslide in online dictionary.


Ju
 

BobK

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 29, 2006
Location
Spencers Wood, near Reading, UK
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
I could not find the meanings of powerslide in online dictionary.


Ju

I don't have a reference for it - it's a term I've seen used when the only magazine in a doctor's waiting room is AutoCar. I imagine it's something to with putting the car into a controlled skid by applying gas (rather than braking - the cause of most skids). But I'm open to correction...)

b
 

BobK

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 29, 2006
Location
Spencers Wood, near Reading, UK
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
From the news -
"Six students went to the hospital Tuesday after a bus slid off a dirt road in the northeastern part of the county, school officials said."
Which country? I don't see why you can't accept the possibility of regional variation. :-? ;-) Rover's L1 is Br Eng, but he's had more exposure to Am E than most of his countrymen.

A car can slip (runs over some oil or ice and loses traction),[BK - *] it can skid (move in a direction that is not correctable by the driver), or it can slide (in my experience from driving in the Rocky Mountains a slide is more serious than a skid. A slide could end in a crash where a skid make just make the drive lose control for a short time)

* In this case, in Br Eng, the wheels slip and the car - if not properly handled - can go into a skid.

But this isn't an issue I care to spend any more time on.

b
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top