Usage of "neighbor", "neighboring", "neighbored", "nearby"

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Usage of "neighbor", "neighboring", "neighbored", "nearby"

Hello,

The word "neighbor" in AmE or "neighbour" in BrE is well-known in terms of meaning. But its usage in the middle of a sentence may not be obvious sometimes for me. If there are many stores in a street and each store has merchandise different from that in other stores. Please read the following sentences and I appreciate that you tell me which one has any problem:

1- I don't have rice, but you can get to one of my neighboring stores to purchase rice.
2- I have an expensive ball, but you can find cheaper balls in one of neighbor stores.
3- We are neighbored with a few sportive stores, try to find your request in those neighbored ones.
4- My neighbors are mostly merchants, but you can find neighboring residents too.

I think that in some sentences I can use the word "nearby" instead of neighbor, neighboring, or neighbored. But it seems the word "nearby" indicates a location geographically not far, but "neighbor" may represent a warmer indication of "nearby" or maybe closer in proximity. Are these 4 sentences weak if I don't use "nearby"?

Thanks.
 

bhaisahab

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Re: Usage of "neighbor", "neighboring", "neighbored", "nearby"

Hello,

The word "neighbor" in AmE or "neighbour" in BrE is well-known in terms of meaning. But its usage in the middle of a sentence may not be obvious sometimes for me. If there are many stores in a street and each store has merchandise different from that in other stores. Please read the following sentences and I appreciate that you tell me which one has any problem:

1- I don't have rice, but you can get to one of my neighboring stores to purchase rice.
2- I have an expensive ball, but you can find cheaper balls in one of neighbor stores.
3- We are neighbored with a few sportive stores, try to find your request in those neighbored ones.
4- My neighbors are mostly merchants, but you can find neighboring residents too.

I think that in some sentences I can use the word "nearby" instead of neighbor, neighboring, or neighbored. But it seems the word "nearby" indicates a location geographically not far, but "neighbor" may represent a warmer indication of "nearby" or maybe closer in proximity. Are these 4 sentences weak if I don't use "nearby"?

Thanks.
I don't find any of your sentences natural. I have written in red the sort of thing that I would say to express the same ideas.

1- I don't have rice, but you can get to one of my neighboring stores to purchase rice. "I don't have any rice, but you can get some nearby at (name of shop).
2- I have an expensive ball, but you can find cheaper balls in one of neighbor stores. "You can find cheaper balls of a lesser quality at one of the shops in the neighbourhood."
3- We are neighbored with a few sportive stores, try to find your request in those neighbored ones. "You might find what you are looking for at one of the other sports shops in the neighbourhood."
4- My neighbors are mostly merchants, but you can find neighboring residents too. "This is a mostly commercial area, but there are some residential properties."
 

5jj

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Re: Usage of "neighbor", "neighboring", "neighbored", "nearby"

I don't think it's possible to use 'neigbo(u)red' as an adjective.
 
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Re: Usage of "neighbor", "neighboring", "neighbored", "nearby"

Thanks for the replies.

Your sentences are obviously better, but it seems that you entirely omitted the words related to "neighbor" and instead used the word "neighbourhood". However, I would like to use these words related to neighbor in sentences.

Is it possible to use "neighbor" and "neighboring" as adjectives? If it is, can you please give examples using these words? And why I can't use "neighbored"? The word neighbor can be a verb, and I think it is natural to say for example: I am neighbored by a nice woman. Any thoughts?

Thanks.
 

5jj

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Re: Usage of "neighbor", "neighboring", "neighbored", "nearby"

The word neighbor can be a verb, and I think it is natural to say for example: I am neighbored by a nice woman. Any thoughts?
You can't.
 

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Re: Usage of "neighbor", "neighboring", "neighbored", "nearby"

Thanks for the replies.

Your sentences are obviously better, but it seems that you entirely omitted the words related to "neighbor" and instead used the word "neighbourhood". However, I would like to use these words related to neighbor in sentences.

Is it possible to use "neighbor" and "neighboring" as adjectives? If it is, can you please give examples using these words? And why I can't use "neighbored"? The word neighbor can be a verb, and I think it is natural to say for example: I am neighbored by a nice woman. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

I think you're confusing a passive-voice verb and a past-participle adjective.

The construction "is neighbored by" is passive voice. It is sometimes used, at least in AmE, to refer to geographical regions that border each other. For instance, we might say that "New Jersey is bordered by New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware." I think that construction would sound very unnatural to refer to people, so I agree with 5jj that it should not be used this way.

A past-participle adjective would be "a neighbored state," but as Chicken Sandwich mentioned, we would say "a neighboring state."

Hope that helps!
 

5jj

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Re: Usage of "neighbor", "neighboring", "neighbored", "nearby"

The construction "is neighbored by" is passive voice. It is sometimes used, at least in AmE, to refer to geographical regions that border each other. For instance, we might say that "New Jersey is bordered by New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware."
But would you say, "New Jersey is neighboured by New York, etc"?
 

Tdol

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Re: Usage of "neighbor", "neighboring", "neighbored", "nearby"

I think it is natural to say for example: I am neighbored by a nice woman. Any thoughts?

I don't think it's natural.
 
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Re: Usage of "neighbor", "neighboring", "neighbored", "nearby"

Thanks for the constructive replies!

I conclude the following:
1- We cannot use "neighbor" as an adjective. Always it is a noun.
2- We sometimes (at least in AmE) use "neighbored by" (but not neighbored with) but we should not use it to refer to people.
3- The word "neighboring" sounds natural if used as an adjective. But depending on context, it would be better to use alternative words such as "nearby" or "neighborhood".

Are you ok with my conclusions?

Can I rephrase my first sentence as follows:
We do not carry any rice, but our neighboring store certainly does.
 

5jj

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Re: Usage of "neighbor", "neighboring", "neighbored", "nearby"

Can I rephrase my first sentence as follows:
We do not carry any rice, but our neighboring store certainly does.
If you insist, but it's not the way most native speakers would say it.
 

Tdol

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Re: Usage of "neighbor", "neighboring", "neighbored", "nearby"

Can I rephrase my first sentence as follows:
We do not carry any rice, but our neighboring store certainly does.

The store next door sounds more natural to me.
 
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Re: Usage of "neighbor", "neighboring", "neighbored", "nearby"

But would you say, "New Jersey is neighboured by New York, etc"?

Perhaps if I were a Brit living in the US. ;) Kidding aside, it's not a structure I use every day. I tend to hear it on the news, but not very often.

And I agree with you and Tdol that "next door" sounds much better in the final sentence offered.
 
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Re: Usage of "neighbor", "neighboring", "neighbored", "nearby"

Thanks for the constructive replies!

I conclude the following:
1- We cannot use "neighbor" as an adjective. Always it is a noun.
Well, technically Merriam-Webster lists neighbor as an adjective, but I'm struggling to think of any example when I've actually heard it used that way. I don't suggest doing it.

2- We sometimes (at least in AmE) use "neighbored by" (but not neighbored with) but we should not use it to refer to people.

Neighbored by is passive voice, but you can use the active-voice verb neighbor. This is also true in BrE (with the spelling neighbour of course).

OED gives this example: "the square neighbours the old quarter of the town." I still don't suggest using it very often, in AmE or BrE. Listen for the phrase on the news, and you'll probably only hear it once in a while.

3- The word "neighboring" sounds natural if used as an adjective. But depending on context, it would be better to use alternative words such as "nearby" or "neighborhood".

I agree that context will determine the best word. :)

Are you ok with my conclusions?

Can I rephrase my first sentence as follows:
We do not carry any rice, but our neighboring store certainly does.

Part of learning a language is figuring out which words are used in which contexts. Sometimes there are 10 synonyms, but only experience can tell you what sounds natural to native speakers. In this sentence, the use of "neighboring" is being forced a bit.
Hope that helps!
 
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