The driver parked up.

[99bottles]

Is there any difference between the verb park and the phrasal verb park up? For example, do those two sentences have the same meaning?

The driver parked the bus close to the school.

The driver parked up the bus close to the school.

 

[SoothingDave]

I am not aware of any phrasal verb "park up."

 

[Tdol]

If you're going to use park up, I would not recommend using the bus. Park up may be British, but we don't mention the vehicle- we just park up near the school.

 

[jutfrank]

Just assume that any two verbs always have different meaning/use. Your question should be about finding out what the differences are and whether they matter to you for your specific purposes.

 

[99bottles]

Just assume that any two verbs always have different meaning/use. Your question should be about finding out what the differences are and whether they matter to you for your specific purposes.

So, if I got it right, if I say park up (without object), it has the same meaning that it would have if I said: park + object. Right?

 

[jutfrank]

Not quite. You're right that if you use park up you don't use an object since the phrasal verb is intransitive.

The particle up adds the same sense of completion that you get in numerous other phrasal verbs, such as:

tidy up
finish up
clean up
end up
...

In your context, this added sense of completion heavily implies that the driver has finished his or her shift and is about to get out of the bus and go and do something else.

 

[99bottles]

Not quite. You're right that if you use park up you don't use an object since the phrasal verb is intransitive.

The particle up adds the same sense of completion that you get in numerous other phrasal verbs, such as:

tidy up
finish up
clean up
end up
...

In your context, this added sense of completion heavily implies that the driver has finished his or her shift and is about to get out of the bus and go and do something else.

So, if he stops for a break, should I say he parked his vehicle?

 

[5jj]

So, if he stops for a break, should I say he parked his vehicle?

You'd be far more likely, in BrE at least. to say He stopped for a break.

 

[99bottles]

You'd be far more likely, in BrE at least. to say He stopped for a break.

Doesn't that sound vague? He stopped what? Walking or driving?

 

[5jj]

Context or co-text would make it clear. If I say "He stopped for a break", then it's fairly safe to say that we know who 'He' is and what he has stopped doing.

 

[99bottles]

Context or co-text would make it clear. If I say "He stopped for a break", then it's fairly safe to say that we know who 'He' is and what he has stopped doing.

But, as we saw in the OP, he's a bus driver. Which means that he's not the only one who stops for a break when he parks the bus -- the passengers will stop for a break too. That's why I think parked the bus sounds less vague here.

 

[emsr2d2]

Bus drivers don't stop for a break while they've got passengers on board! Coach drivers might (coaches travel longer distances than buses) but then it's a rest stop for everyone anyway.

 

[99bottles]

Bus drivers don't stop for a break while they've got passengers on board! Coach drivers might (coaches travel longer distances than buses) but then it's a rest stop for everyone anyway.

Coach (Longman): A bus for long trips.

If a coach is by definition a bus, why is it wrong to call it that?

 

[emsr2d2]

It's an easy way for us to differentiate between the purpose of those two forms of transport.

 

[99bottles]

It's an easy way for us to differentiate between the purpose of those two forms of transport.

Can a coach be a double-decker one?

 

[emsr2d2]

Can a coach be a double-decker one?

Yes. I've travelled on many double-decker coaches.

 

[99bottles]

Bus drivers don't stop for a break while they've got passengers on board! Coach drivers might (coaches travel longer distances than buses) but then it's a rest stop for everyone anyway.

So, all in all, if I say the coach driver stopped for a break, is it clear that everybody on the coach stopped for a break?

 

[emsr2d2]

As long as you've already made it clear that there are passengers on the coach, yes.