Pesquise entre vários professores de Inglês...
Robin
I just came across the fact that in British English the word "to mend something" is used in a wide range of situations, how frequent is this used in daily life as opposed to "to fix" or "to repair"?
and is "to mend" generally used in American English?
examples: mending a car, mending a lamp etc.
6 de jan de 2022 22:17
Respostas · 7
3
Hi Robin
I think we use 'mend' less than we used to. I wouldn't mend a car or lamp, but I might mend clothes or shoes. But I could just as easily fix or repair them instead - and probably would, nowadays.
There's a British phrase, make do and mend, that you might come across. It means putting up with, and if necessary repairing, what you have rather than buying something new.
6 de janeiro de 2022
2
American English - It is not used other than in expressions.
We would say "to mend fences" (to make up with someone) or "on the mend" (recovering) but I can't think of any daily use for it.
6 de janeiro de 2022
2
US and British usage tend to overlap a lot, more than people sometimes think.
In US English, it is much more common to say "fix" or "repair" than "mend." In US English, "mend" is mostly used in a narrow context. We mend something that is torn. For example, we mend a tear in a piece of cloth or paper. For example, a popular brand of sticky tape is called "Scotch Magic Mending Tape."
There is a specific idiom used in US English. I don't know if it's used in the UK. It is "to mend fences." By custom, maintain the fence that separates two pieces of land is the joint responsibility of the two landowners. So "mending fences" suggests "cooperation between neighbors." We use it to me "to try to mend a personal relationship that has gone bad." For example, "So-and-so got angry at me yesterday. I'm need to mend fences with them. I'm going to apologize and offer to buy them lunch."
7 de janeiro de 2022
1
Este conteúdo viola nossas Diretrizes da Comunidade.
7 de janeiro de 2022
You can confirm what everyone has said already by using the Google NGram viewer, which shows that "fix" and "repair" are much more common than mend ... and have been for a long time.
7 de janeiro de 2022
Ainda não encontrou suas respostas?
Escreva suas perguntas e deixe os falantes nativos ajudá-lo!
Robin
Habilidades linguísticas
Chinês (Mandarim), Chinês (Taiwan), Inglês, Alemão, Espanhol
Idioma de aprendizado
Chinês (Mandarim), Chinês (Taiwan), Inglês, Espanhol
Artigos que Você Pode Gostar Também

How to Ask for a Raise or Promotion in English
9 votados positivos · 8 Comentários

The Key to Learning a Language Faster
30 votados positivos · 8 Comentários

Why "General English" is Failing Your Career (An Engineer’s Perspective)
30 votados positivos · 12 Comentários
Mais artigos
