How to use the word ”building”.

[Michael J]

Hello,

Is it correct to use the word ”building” to describe various buildings once used by a gardener? A couple of examples:

1. ”Main building” for the ten-room house (with cabin-like wings) in which the gardener lived with his family. For some reason ”farm house” or ”cottage” do not feel quite right here, but a native English speaker might disagree.

2. ”The southwest outbuilding. Tool storage and outhouse.”

In American English I think ”outhouse” usually means the place people pay a visit to when they need to and that is how the word was used in example 2. Therefore talking about this ”outhouse” and that ”outhouse” might look silly to some readers, but perhaps so may ”building”.

I would appreciate your comments, thank you.

 

[5jj]

A ten-room building seems to be enormous for a gardener. How large was the house in which the owner of the gardens lived?

 

[cereal_chick]

"Outbuilding" isn't a word in the sense that you're using it. "Outbuilding" is the gerund of the verb "outbuild", meaning to build more or better than.

[Not a teacher]

 

[emsr2d2]

"Outbuilding" is a noun referring to such things as sheds, barns etc, attached to a larger house.

See HERE.

Sentence 2 in post #1 appears to use it correctly if it's referring to such a structure in the southwest of a property's land.

 

[Tarheel]

An outhouse is unlikely to be used for tool storage.

 

[Michael J]

[FONT=&quot]Thank you very much for your clarifying answer. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]About the dwelling of the family running the garden market. The house had ten rooms, five on each floor. Do you think it would be correct to refer to it as the "main building”?[/FONT]

 

[emsr2d2]

Thank you very much for your [STRIKE]clarifying[/STRIKE] answers.

I am talking about the dwelling of the family running the garden market. The house had ten rooms, five on each floor. Do you think it would be correct to refer to it as the "main building”?

Note my corrections above.

What's a "garden market"? Whether you call it the "main building" or not depends on if it is the largest house on the property. If there is a larger house, then no, don't call it the main building. Can't you just call it the gardener's house?

 

[Skrej]

"Outhouse' is exclusively reserved for an unplumbed toilet in AmE. Nobody would use it to store anything, because they are typically just big enough for one or maybe two people to sit in. Once they're occupied, there isn't any room for storage.

I'm not bothered by using 'main building' to describe the primary residence, but I probably wouldn't use it to describe the grounds keeper's or gardener's dwelling. I'd reserve it for the main residence of the property owner.

Thank you very much for your clarifying answer.
About the dwelling of the family running the garden market. The house had ten rooms, five on each floor. Do you think it would be correct to refer to it as the "main building”?

Yes, as per my comment above. However, we were mislead in your original post when you referred to the person as the 'gardener'. Referring to him as 'a gardener' makes it sound like he was one of multiple employees working on a larger estate, whose duties were upkeep and maintenance of the estate gardens.

You seem to be referring to someone who makes a living raising or selling produce, such as a farmer or greengrocer.

Could you clarify what the person in question actually does? Then we can help you determine the best choices for his residence.

 

[5jj]

Before we go any further, could you please tell us why you refer to the person who lived in this property as 'the gardener'? Was he employed as a gardener by somebody who had a (presumably larger) house on the property?

What do you mean by 'garden market'?

What do you mean by 'leisure house'?

 

[Michael J]

Note my corrections above.

What's a "garden market"? Whether you call it the "main building" or not depends on if it is the largest house on the property. If there is a larger house, then no, don't call it the main building. Can't you just call it the gardener's house?

[FONT=&quot]Excuse me, I meant "market garden" as in: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_garden[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
Originally, the fairly large house was built for a family belonging to the upper middle class and not as a [FONT=&quot]gardener´s house. It was the largest house for living, flanked by two wings. I do not think the outbuildings were larger.[/FONT]

 

[SoothingDave]

I have never heard of the term "market garden."

He sounds like a farmer to me. He grows stuff and sells it.

 

[Tarheel]

"Market Garden" was a term used by the British for an offensive against the Nazis during WW2.* Either it was a term already in use or they made it up for that occasion.

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*It didn't go well.

 

[emsr2d2]

"Market garden" is a term most native speakers of BrE would still understand, even if it's not used much anymore. I wouldn't call him a farmer. That suggests something on a much larger scale. A market garden is a plot of land just big enough to grow vegetables to eat and to sell some at the local market.

 

[5jj]

I worked on a market garden in my youth. My boss was a market gardener, not a gardener.