He doesn't know how to dress.

[Alexey86]

Please, compare the following pairs:

a) He got up, brushed his teeth, dressed, and went out.
He got up, brushed his teeth, got dressed, and went out.

b) He doesn't know how to dress.
He doesn't know how to get dressed.

Do you see any difference in meaning between dressed and got dressed in (a) and (b)?

 

[emsr2d2]

Please no comma here compare the following pairs:

a) He got up, brushed his teeth, dressed, and went out.
He got up, brushed his teeth, got dressed, and went out.

b) He doesn't know how to dress.
He doesn't know how to get dressed.

Do you see any difference in meaning between dressed and got dressed in (a) and (b)?

In a), there is no difference. In b), the first sentence suggests that he doesn't understand what he should wear (perhaps to a specific event), but the second suggests that he doesn't understand how to put clothes on. Neither sentence is likely to be uttered by a native speaker. The first would be more specific - "I don't know how to dress for the wedding", and the second would be something like "He hasn't learnt how put his own clothes on yet" (I would expect this to refer to a very young child).

 

[Alexey86]

In a), there is no difference.

So, in a) both variants mean to put clothes on.

Let's consider imperatives:

"Put your clothes on!"
"Get dressed!"
"Dress!"

Does the last variant sound OK to you? If not, why?

 

[emsr2d2]

So, in a) both variants mean to put clothes on.

Let's consider imperatives:

"Put your clothes on!"
"Get dressed!"
"Dress!"

Does the last variant sound OK to you? If not, why?

"Dress!" is a very unlikely imperative. I would say that "Get dressed" is the most common.

 

[Alexey86]

"Dress!" is a very unlikely imperative.

But why? Does its meaning differ from that in (a)?

 

[jutfrank]

To repeat what emsr2d2 has said in post #2, dressed and got dressed have the same meaning in pair a).

 

[Alexey86]

dressed and got dressed have the same meaning in pair a).

So do they in the imperatives, or do they?

 

[jutfrank]

So do they in the imperatives, or do they?

Yes. But it isn't very likely a speaker would use Dress! as an imperative, because it's better expressed by Get dressed!.

 

[5jj]

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with imperative Dress! It just happens that we generally us Get dressed! sometimes there is no real reason for such a preference.

 

[Alexey86]

Maybe you have some ideas as to why "Dress!" is so unlikely. Maybe it's just that "Dress!" is ambiguous and could sound like a noun, like "Shirt!" for example.

 

[emsr2d2]

The only reason that "Dress!" is a less likely imperative is simply that "get dressed" (verb) is used much more frequently by native speakers than "dress" (verb). It's unlikely, though not impossible, that if you shouted "Dress!", someone might think you were just randomly shouting out the name of a piece of clothing. As always, context is everything!

 

[Skrej]

Please, compare the following pairs:
(snip)
b) He doesn't know how to dress.
He doesn't know how to get dressed.
Do you see any difference in meaning between dressed and got dressed in (a) and (b)?

In b), the first sentence suggests that he doesn't understand what he should wear (perhaps to a specific event), but the second suggests that he doesn't understand how to put clothes on. Neither sentence is likely to be uttered by a native speaker. The first would be more specific - "I don't know how to dress for the wedding", and the second would be something like "He hasn't learnt how put his own clothes on yet" (I would expect this to refer to a very young child).

I agree with what ems says, but I do think the first sentence of b) could also easily be used as a disparaging comment about someone's general fashion sense that the speaker doesn't approve of. Not only do they not know how to dress for specific occasions, but they also lack any sense of personal style for day-to-day wear.

He doesn't know how to dress = He has no (good) sense of fashion.