Alexander II's carriage was exploded/blown up by a terrorist

[milan2003_07]

Dear friends,

"The Church on the Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg was built on the spot where Alexander II's carriage was exploded/blown up
by a terrorist who was waiting for the emperor to return to the Winter Palace after a military parade."

Which verb do we need here - "explode" or "blow up"?

Thanks

 

[Rover_KE]

You need 'blown up'.

Incidentally, did you read the responses we gave to this thread?

 

[milan2003_07]

You need 'blown up'.

Incidentally, did you read the responses we gave to this thread?

Dear Rover,

I've read all the replies, thanks a lot! I forgot to acknowledge them, but I've memorized all the advice provided. Now I often use these phrases in speech when describing distances.

Returning to the subject of this thread: why is "explode" wrong here?

 

[Skrej]

There are limited uses of 'explode' as a transitive verb.

You could explode a bomb, mine, missile, grenade, etc., but if you're using the explosive device to destroy something else, then we use 'blow up'.

Explode doesn't sound natural unless the thing in question is already some kind of destructive device.

However, you could also blow up the bomb, mine, missile, etc.

 

[milan2003_07]

There are limited uses of 'explode' as a transitive verb.

You could explode a bomb, mine, missile, grenade, etc., but if you're using the explosive device to destroy something else, then we use 'blow up'.

Explode doesn't sound natural unless the thing in question is already some kind of destructive device.

However, you could also blow up the bomb, mine, missile, etc.

Thanks forv this very good explanation. It turn out that "explode" and "blow up" can be used as synonyms when we're speaking about explosives for example:

1) The bomb was exploded/blown up under Alexander II's carriage and that bomb blast caused his death 2 hours later in the Winter Palace.

2) The grenade was exploded/blown up in Jerusalem last Monday near the bus stop and caused serious injuries of some people.

3) The mine discovered near the palace and left there during the war will be exploded/blown up out of town.

4) The missile was exploded/blown up in the sky of North Korea.

Are all these sentences correct?

1) The metro train was blown up in Moscow as a result of a terrorist act.

2) The plane was blown up in the airport before take-off.

I hope these are fine as well

Thanks

 

[GoesStation]

Are all these sentences correct?

1) The metro train was blown up in Moscow as a result of a terrorist act.

2) The plane was blown up in the airport before take-off.

I hope these are fine as well

Thanks

They're correct except that we say at the airport.

Write I hope these are OK/correct/right as well. Remember to end the sentence with appropriate punctuation.

They're fine is a common response to the question "Are these OK?", but Are these fine? is not idiomatic.

 

[milan2003_07]

They're correct except that we say at the airport.

Write I hope these are OK/correct/right as well. Remember to end the sentence with appropriate punctuation.

They're fine is a common response to the question "Are these OK?", but Are these fine? is not idiomatic.

I know about "at the airport", but I thought we needed "in" instead of "at" when speaking about the actual place where something happened like a terrorist act for example.

I'll remember about "fine".

Punctuation... well, I don't actually pay much attention to it, but I know I have to.

Thanks