0

I found the two meanings of the verb 'to catch the train, bus etc' in British English:

1) we are getting the stop/station, waiting and boarding

2) we are getting the stop/station, waiting and boarding and do all these things IN TIME.

There is the example from the related topic (BrE):

How shall we get to London next week?" "I've looked at the timetable, and I think we should catch the 10:49"

and I can't undestarnd how this example reffers with my two meanings of the verb 'to catch the train, bus etc'? I think it is more natural to use 'to take' or 'to get' instead of 'to catch'.

5
  • 'catch' is a perfectly fine alternative to get or take. And it makes it seem more sporting.
    – Oldcat
    Commented Mar 21, 2014 at 0:23
  • 1
    This is essentially a re-asking of your other question. See the answers to that question.
    – David M
    Commented Mar 21, 2014 at 0:25
  • Sorry. But I really can't see the difference between 'to catch' and 'to get/take' here. And we are only exploring using 'take/get' in that topic but not 'to catch'
    – Selio
    Commented Mar 21, 2014 at 0:31
  • @Selio Read my answer to your other question. get/catch are essentially interchangeable.
    – David M
    Commented Mar 21, 2014 at 0:44
  • Yes. You wrote: "Now, as to get in AmE: Get carries the implication of boarding the vehicle in question (and in most uses is interchangeable with catch -- e.g. catch a cab, etc.)" But I pointed 2 times in this topic that I'm interesting in British English. I understand your explanation really well, thank you, but I'm not confident that it is the same in BrE. In BrE 'to get' is different from 'to get' in BrE. In AmE it is like 'to catch' but in BrE it is like 'to take' I think. Or may be I'm wrong.
    – Selio
    Commented Mar 21, 2014 at 0:58

1 Answer 1

1

Your examples of getting the station/stop sound wrong to my ears. At least in American English they would be wrong. In any event, both catch and take can be used for transportation. However, there's a difference between the two. Catch means,

4 reach in time and board (a train, bus, or aircraft): they caught the 12.15 from Oxford.

And take means,

to use as a route or means.

So you can use both for the same purpose, but they mean different things.

0

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .