Please close the gate/s.

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kohyoongliat

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If a gate has two leaves, do we say?

Please close the gate. OR
Please close the gates.

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Tdol

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To be honest, I don't feel strongly either way.
 

5jj

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I would never say that a gate has two leaves. to be honest, I am not sure what I would say, but leaves does not work for me.
 

kohyoongliat

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To be honest, I don't feel strongly either way.
Thanks, Tdol.

So I can either say "Please close the gate" or "Please close the gates."

It is similar to the case of doors, I suppose.

If there are two doors, I can either say "Please close the door" or "Please close the doors."

Correct me if I am wrong.
 

Tdol

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I'd be more likely to use doors.
 

kohyoongliat

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I'd be more likely to use doors.
Thanks, Tdol.
So, in the case of gate/gates, even if the gate has two parts, just as there can be one or two doors, I can either say "Please close the gate" OR "Please close the gates." Have I understood you correctly?
 

konungursvia

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I would use "gate" even if there were two moving sections that closed together.
 

engee30

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If there are two doors, I can either say "Please close the door" or "Please close the doors."
If there really were two doors, then one might ask you to close the two doors. But since you went through one door only, obviously, even if the door had a leaf on either side, it's still one door. The same goes for any gate consisiting of two leaves or more - it's still one gate to close, unless there are more than one gate open, and you, as the last person to come, were asked to close all the gates.
 

5jj

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If there really were two doors, then one might ask you to close the two doors. But since you went through one door only, obviously, even if the door had a leaf on either side, it's still one door. The same goes for any gate consisiting of two leaves or more - it's still one gate to close, unless there are more than one gate open, and you, as the last person to come, were asked to close all the gates.
If there is more than one gate in a single opening, we can open and close one gate or open and close both gates. It's the same if there are two doors in a single doorway. if we are closing both, then we are not closing one door.
 

engee30

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:up: That's true. I can imagine myself going into a church, say in winter, where the doorway is typically two-doored, and, in the case when one of the doors is already open, I am asked to close the two doors behind.
 

5jj

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I think not. The definitions of 'leaf' there include:

7. A hinged or removable section for a table top.

8. A hinged or otherwise movable section of a folding door, shutter, or gate.

To me that does not cover one of two gates that fill the gap between two gateposts.
 

engee30

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5jj, it's not only the folding door that may have leaves. I have also used the term leaf consciously in this thread to refer to sections or parts of the door. I'm a carpenter by trade, and I wouldn't want to make you believe that it was otherwise. Check this link to see what I'm talking about:
http://door.net.ua/images/accessories/coord_fd454_1_en.jpg
 

5jj

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5jj, it's not only the folding door that may have leaves. I have also used the term leaf consciously in this thread to refer to sections or parts of the door. I'm a carpenter by trade, and I wouldn't want to make you believe that it was otherwise. Check this link to see what I'm talking about:
http://door.net.ua/images/accessories/coord_fd454_1_en.jpg
OK, you are correct.

However, three experienced native speakers in this thread have suggested that they do not know this word and/or would not use it. So, unless they are carpenters, I recommend that learners do not use it - they might well not be understood.
 

engee30

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However, three experienced native speakers in this thread have suggested that they do not know this word and/or would not use it. So, unless they are carpenters, I recommend that learners do not use it - they might well not be understood.
That actually makes me believe that kohyoongliat is a carpenter as well. :)
 

kohyoongliat

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That actually makes me believe that kohyoongliat is a carpenter as well. :)
No, I am not a carpenter, but I have heard it used before. If 'leaf' is not the word, I cannot think of another.
 

Tdol

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You're right- I have heard the word used for table extensions, but I have clearly not talked enough to carpenters about gates. ;-)
 
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