[General] I statyed at hotel

Status
Not open for further replies.

suniljain

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2015
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Hindi
Home Country
India
Current Location
India
I stayed at a hotel by the lake.

I stayed at a hotel near the lake.

Are both the sentences okay and can we used them interchangeably?
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Yes, pretty much.
 

Matthew Wai

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2013
Member Type
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
Are both [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] sentences okay, and can we use them interchangeably?
I am not a teacher, so please tell me whether the corrections are correct.
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Yes. they are Matthew.
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
I stayed at a hotel by the lake.

I stayed at a hotel near the lake.

Are both the sentences okay and can we used them interchangeably?

If the hotel was by the lake, I would take it to mean that it was right next to the lake, while a hotel near the lake could be a short distance from it, a few minutes' walk, for example.
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
For me, "by" and "near" have the same meaning. If I wanted say "right next to the lake", I would use "on".
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
Maybe it's another of those little AmE/BrE differences.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Although "Are both sentences correct?" is a correct correction (!), it is not wrong to say "Are both the sentences correct?"

Suniljain, note that you missed the word "a" out of your title and you misspelt "stayed".
 
Last edited:

Eckaslike

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2015
Member Type
Teacher (Other)
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Wales
(Not a Teacher. BrE first language speaker)

>>Maybe it's another of those little AmE/BrE differences.<<

It certainly seems like it. Also, I don't think a BrE speaker would say "on" the lake, although we know what is meant in AmE. To us it sounds like you have a floating house! :)
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
This is what we say about the British having houses in a street. :lol:
 

Eckaslike

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2015
Member Type
Teacher (Other)
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Wales
Exactly. A house in the middle of a street is not a good place to live! :-D
 

Matthew Wai

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2013
Member Type
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
What's the problem with such a house?
 

Eckaslike

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2015
Member Type
Teacher (Other)
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Wales
Hi Matthew,

It's just me trying to be funny using a play on words.

In BrE we might say when giving someone directions, that a house "is in the middle of the street", meaning that it is half way along a row of houses lining that street. The literal interpretation, however, is that the house is actually standing right in the middle of the road, or street, and therefore will get hit by traffic. So it is not a good place to live!
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
This is what we say about the British having houses in a street. :lol:

Just be glad it's not a street right next to a lake- we'd be here all day trying to sort it out. ;-)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top