There's a parking space in the east of the entrance.

[Silverobama]

Yan and I went to an English club in a local park (not far from where I live) last night. Yan drove here. I asked him "Is it easy to park here" and he said "No, the lot was full when he arrived". Since I know the place very well and I told him that actually there is a parking place inside the park. I said "There's a smaller parking place in the east of the entrance. Next time try it".

Is my sentence natural?

 

[emsr2d2]

Yan and I went to an English club in a local park (not far from where I live) last night. Yan drove there.

See above.

I asked him "Is it easy to park here?" and he said "No, Not this evening! The lot was full when he I arrived".

See above. By asking "Is it easy to park here?", you're asking about the regular, habitual situation. If you just wanted to know about last night, you should have asked "Was it easy to park?"

Since I know the place very well, and so I told him that actually there is [actually] a parking lot inside the park.

See above.

I said "There's a smaller parking place lot in to the east of the entrance. Next time, try it there".

See above.

Is Are my final two sentences natural?

 

[Skrej]

Note that when speaking of parking, 'place' typically refers to a single spot. That's why emsr2d2 changed 'place' to 'lot' above. Your original version sounds like you were trying to tell Yan you knew about a single open parking place..

It's of course unlikely that you would know about current parking availability if you weren't still in the parking lot yourself.

You may hear the terms 'spot' and 'place' used interchangeably in this context.

 

[emsr2d2]

I tried to stick to AmE with my corrections as that appeared to be what the OP was using. In BrE, they would be a car park and a parking space.

 

[Skrej]

Out of curiosity, is '(parking) spot' also used in BrE?

 

[tedmc]

I think the word "spot" is very vague as it could mean anything from a place to a small patch. A parking lot, which refers to a designated 8 ft x 16 ft space, is more precise. A piece of land is also called a lot.

 

[Skrej]

I think the word "spot" is very vague as it could mean anything from a place to a small patch. A parking lot, which refers to a designated 8 ft x 16 ft space, is more precise. A piece of land is also called a lot.

Unless it's different in other parts of the English-speaking world, you've got them reversed. A parking 'lot' is a larger parking area for multiple vehicles. A parking 'spot' is just big enough for one vehicle. I've never heard of a single vehicle space called a 'lot'.

A parking 'place' and a parking 'spot' are interchangeable terms in AmE for space to park a single vehicle. Such a place might or might not be part of a larger parking lot or parking garage. It could even be an unmarked place where people parallel park next to the sidewalk.

I'm waiting to see if 'spot' is used in BrE.

 

[tedmc]

Unless it's different in other parts of the English-speaking world, you've got them reversed. A parking 'lot' is a larger parking area for multiple vehicles. A parking 'spot' is just big enough for one vehicle. I've never heard of a single vehicle space called a 'lot'.

A parking 'place' and a parking 'spot' are interchangeable terms in AmE for space to park a single vehicle. Such a place might or might not be part of a larger parking lot or parking garage. It could even be an unmarked place where people parallel park next to the sidewalk.

I'm waiting to see if 'spot' is used in BrE.

I think your definition of a parking lot being "an area for multiple vehicles" is confined to US & Canada. This is another difference between AmE and BrE. In the UK and other Commonwealth countries, as in Malaysia and Singapore, a parking lot is a single lot or parking bay. The overall area is called a car park.

 

[emsr2d2]

I can assure you of two things in BrE:

1. We don't use "parking spot". We understand it because we're exposed to lots of AmE in films and TV.

2. We understand "parking lot" to be the AmE term for a car park - either an area of land for multiple vehicles or a multi-storey building holding potentially hundreds of cars. Tedmc might be right that it means a single parking space in Malaysia and Singapore but he's definitely wrong about it being used that way in BrE. The only words we use for the [delineated] area designed to contain one car are "parking space" and "bay".

 

[jutfrank]

I'm going to add to the confusion:

Out of curiosity, is '(parking) spot' also used in BrE?

Yes, widely, and I'm surprised to hear that emsr2d2 disagrees. I would say we tend to use it not to refer to a designated bay but rather to an undesignated space that we have found somewhere, usually just big enough for one car.

In the UK ... a parking lot is a single lot or parking bay.

No, that's not true at all. We use 'bay' or 'space' for a single car. The only thing that 'parking lot' means to us is an American way to say 'car park'—a place reserved for multiple cars.

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes, widely, and I'm surprised to hear that emsr2d2 disagrees. I would say we tend to use it not to refer to a designated bay but rather to an undesignated space that we have found somewhere, usually just big enough for one car.

Maybe it's regional. I've never heard it used.

Did you find anywhere to park?
Yep. I found a space just down the road from the restaurant.

Is it hard to park round there?
It's not too bad. I usually find a space within a couple of minutes of getting there.

I've never heard/used "spot" in place of "space". The reason I put "delineated" in brackets in my previous post was to make it clear that, for me, a space doesn't have to have painted lines around it.

 

[SoothingDave]

2. We understand "parking lot" to be the AmE term for a car park - either an area of land for multiple vehicles or a multi-storey building holding potentially hundreds of cars.

The latter would be a parking garage.

 

[jutfrank]

But a parking garage doesn't necessarily have to have multiple levels, right? It just needs to have a roof.

 

[SoothingDave]

But a parking garage doesn't necessarily have to have multiple levels, right? It just needs to have a roof.

That's right. An apartment building might have a garage in the basement for the tenants, and it would be one level.

I've stayed in hotels like that, too.

A multi-level parking structure, say near a stadium or hospital or in a dense downtown, would not be called a "parking lot."

 

[Skrej]

The only words we use for the [delineated] area designed to contain one car are "parking space" and "bay".

No, that's not true at all. We use 'bay' or 'space' for a single car.

I have heard 'bay' used in AmE as well. For me personally, a 'bay' would be a space in one of those covered parking shelters that don't have walls - just a roof to protect from the direct impact of the elements (mostly hail and to some extent the sun). These are fairly common in apartment complexes in the US, at least in my region. Often they don't have enough covered spaces for all residents, so renters pay a premium for the right to an assigned parking spot under the shelter. Each space is reserved only for one individual and violators risk having their vehicle towed at their expense.

I suspect at least some other AmE speakers might use 'bay' for a designated spot in an enclosed parking garage as well, though. My idea of 'bay' may just be my own.

Regardless, I tend to think of bays being reserved for one particular individual, either way - assigned parking, if you will. Again, that may be my own usage vs. general AmE usage.

The reason I put "delineated" in brackets in my previous post was to make it clear that, for me, a space doesn't have to have painted lines around it.

That's the same in AmE with both 'spot' and 'space'. It may or may not have painted lines delineating the space. In particular, parallel parking alongside sidewalks typically doesn't have marked spaces, although I have seen it. Regardless, an opening big enough to fit your vehicle would be a space (or spot).

It seems the notion of a 'lot' being a single space is limited to Malaysia and Singapore then, or perhaps SE Asia. Maybe I can try and remember to ask my Filipino friend next time I talk to her and see she uses it that way as well.

 

[stanislaw.masny]

In Poland, we use the word "zatoczka", which is a diminutive of the word "zatoka = bay", meaning a place on a street or road where vehicles can stop so as not to obstruct traffic.

 

[teechar]

a place on a street or road where vehicles can stop so as not to obstruct traffic.

See also "lay-by".

 

[probus]

By the way, "in" is the wrong preposition here. It should be "to".