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Alex+ Posted 17 years ago
Vocabulary
Burnt / burnt down
What is the difference between “was burnt” and “was burnt down”? Does “was burnt” meat that the building was not destroyed completely?
1. The building was burnt during the war.
2. The building was burnt down during the war.
1. The building was burnt during the war.
2. The building was burnt down during the war.
Top answer
Hi Alex, To my mind, 'burnt' and 'burnt down' mean the same. A house can be burned without being reduced to ashes, however, so technically you should use 'down' when you mean the house was totally burned. Its like the difference between saying a person was 'shot' and 'shot dead'.
- Hi Alex, To my mind, 'burnt' and 'burnt down' mean the same.
- A house can be burned without being reduced to ashes, however, so technically you should use 'down' when you mean the house was totally burned.
- Its like the difference between saying a person was 'shot' and 'shot dead'.
- They could mean the same but not necessarily.
- OK.
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4 Answers
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Hi Alex,
To my mind, 'burnt' and 'burnt down' mean the same. A house can be burned without being reduced to ashes, however, so technically you should use 'down' when you mean the house was totally burned.
Its like the difference between saying a person was 'shot' and 'shot dead'. They could mean the same but not necessarily.
OK. Now a question for you. What is the difference
To my mind, 'burnt' and 'burnt down' mean the same. A house can be burned without being reduced to ashes, however, so technically you should use 'down' when you mean the house was totally burned.
Its like the difference between saying a person was 'shot' and 'shot dead'. They could mean the same but not necessarily.
OK. Now a question for you. What is the difference
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Thanks a lot for the answer.
I read somewhere that “burnt” is Br. But it can be used in US as an adjective, not a past form of the verb “bund”.
I read somewhere that “burnt” is Br. But it can be used in US as an adjective, not a past form of the verb “bund”.
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You are 100% correct. In the U.S. we would say 'burnt toast' or 'burnt hotdogs', not 'burned' toast.
I suppose in Britain they would also say 'burnt' toast.
There's also a slang use of 'burned', at least in AmE:
He got burned in the stock market.
It doesn't mean that there was a fire on the floor of the exchange, but rather that he made a bad inve
I suppose in Britain they would also say 'burnt' toast.
There's also a slang use of 'burned', at least in AmE:
He got burned in the stock market.
It doesn't mean that there was a fire on the floor of the exchange, but rather that he made a bad inve
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