What is the difference between remain and be left? Which sentence below is correct or normal?
An ace of spades remained.
An ace of spades was left.
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1Both are fine, in this sentence.– Peter ShorSep 25, 2011 at 11:43
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2In most card games you're only using one deck, so it would be The ace of spades, not An ace.– FumbleFingersSep 25, 2011 at 12:47
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1"The remains of the day" --> "What was left of the day" ... sometimes you may have to change a bit to switch from one of these to the other.– GEdgarSep 25, 2011 at 13:15
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2Note that you can also say "All I have left is an ace of spades."– RobustoSep 25, 2011 at 13:24
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3 Answers
An ace of spades remained.
This places the emphasis on the fact that an ace of spades is still there after some other cards were removed.
An ace of spades was left.
This places the emphasis on the sequence of actions that led to other cards being removed, but not the ace of spades.
More context is necessary to choose the best answer, but both are grammatically correct.
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Thanks for your useful answer! Do you mean
remainis more neutral word thanbe left? The context is "you can not remove a king because only an ace will remain(or be left) if you remove the king. Having only aces is forbidden.". I think both the fact(ace will remain or be left) and the sequence of actions(if you remove the king) are important. Which word shoud I use in the context?– js_Sep 27, 2011 at 4:04 -
I would say "You may not remove a king because only an ace would remain"; or possibly "You may not remove a king because that would leave only an ace". Sep 27, 2011 at 8:12
If the subject is a person, the difference is one of volition:
If you say:
I remained on the desert island.
then it was probably your choice; you wanted to stay there.
If you say:
I was left on the desert island.
then maybe the ship left without realizing you weren't aboard, or maybe you were marooned there by your mutinous crew. But either way, it probably wasn't your decision.
If the subject is the ace of spaces, then there really isn't any difference.
answered Sep 25, 2011 at 12:00
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1It's probably true that we shouldn't bring volition into the equation with playing cards. This particular endgame could have come about by one or more players deliberately causing the ace to still be unplayed, but if you wanted to convey that you'd probably phrase things differently. But assuming aces are "significant" cards in the context of the game, I think I'd rather use remained in most contexts. To me it better implies that the ace endured/survived unplayed right up to the end rather than was passed over (as unimportant) until last. Sep 25, 2011 at 12:59
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When I hear "I was left..." it sounds very much like it was not my choice at all. A better example sentence to compare the two might be: "There were two people left on the island." vs. "Two people remained on the island." Sep 25, 2011 at 21:50
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@JeffSahol Thanks for your comment. Why "There were two people left on the island." vs. "Two people remained on the island." is better example sentence? Is it essentially the same as Peter Shor's example?– js_Sep 27, 2011 at 4:08
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1When you say "I was left on the desert island", it can be a case of my own volition, but not very likely. It's not just the desert island, either--something about the first person "I was left" makes it sound more accusatory, and so less likely to be my own volition. I might pose that as a question, because I am not sure why myself. Sep 27, 2011 at 10:32
There is no difference between the two, to call a spade a spade!
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2+1 Awesome answer for a (1) first-time and (2) non-native speaker! Sep 25, 2011 at 12:14