bore.

Question

Please help me understand clearly two verbs "drag" and "bore".Thanks a lot.

Danyoo · Accepted Answer

DRAG and BORE mean the same thing, but are used in a different manner.
(I've added my comments to the definitions found in Cambridge)

bore (FAIL TO INTEREST)
verb
to talk or act in a way that makes someone lose interest and become tired:
"Am I boring you?" she asked anxiously.
You can also say "do I bore you?" but it's a lot more common to say "am I boring you?"

bore
noun
1 DISAPPROVING someone who talks too much about boring subjects:
I had to sit next to Michael at dinner - he's such a bore.

2 INFORMAL an activity or situation that is annoying or unpleasant:
Ironing is such a bore.
[+ ing form of verb] It's an awful bore cooking a meal every night.
[+ to infinitive] It's such a bore to have to write this out all over again.

bored Show phonetics
adjective
feeling tired and unhappy because something is not interesting or because you have nothing to do:
It was a cold, wet day and the children were bored.
He was getting bored with/of doing the same thing every day.

boring Show phonetics
adjective
not interesting or exciting:
She finds opera boring.
It's boring to sit on the plane with nothing to read.
a boring lecture
The film was so boring I fell asleep.

"I am bored!" and "it's boring" are two of the phrases young kids learn to say first.

drag (BORING) Show phonetics
noun SLANG
something which is inconvenient and boring or unpleasant:
Filling in forms is such a drag!
I've got to go to the dentist's again - what a drag!

drag Show phonetics
verb -gg-
The first half of the film was interesting but the second half dragged (on) (= seemed to go slowly because it was boring).

You can say something dragged on and on...meaning something boring went on and on for a long time.
Also it's common to say "what a drag." These are the most common usages of "drag."
But you just don't say "do I drag you"..."do I bore you" is okay but not "do I drag you"...though I can't explain to you why that is from the grammatical stand.

Minhuoc · Answer

Thank you for your reply and kind help.

Although I understand what you have explained, I also find it difficult to decide which verb should be used in the sentence:

"Mr Adams found time had begun to drag/bore after six moths of retirement."

Thank you.

Pieanne · Answer

I think you'll have to change your sentence to use either verb. This is my proposition:

- Mr A. was getting seriously bored after six months of retirement.

- After six months of retirement, Mr A. was finding time was dragging on (but I don't like this one anyway). How about: "what a drag it is to be retired!)

Danyoo · Answer

I believe in your example it should be 'drag.'

The closest meaning I found is:
From: http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861606378

6. intransitive verb pass or proceed slowly: to pass or proceed at a very slow and boring pace
(missing image) (missing image) The afternoon was beginning to drag.

Pieanne · Answer

Yes, "time" cannot "bore".

Minhuoc · Answer

Thank you. Very clear now.

MrPedantic · Answer

It's common to hear "it's boring" or "it dragged on", but "what a drag/it's a drag" (at least, in BrE) has a 1960s sound now – unless you're 17, in which case you might be using it ironically.

MrP

bore.

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