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Tarirotari Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Change channels / change the channel

Hi,

Please, take a look at the following sentences:

1. Can I change channels?
2. Can I change the channel?

I think sentence 2 is more common, or at least it is the one I hear most. Which one do you use? Do you use both?

And what about the following:

1. I want to change my job.
2. I want to change jobs.

Here, they are both quite common, but I'd say sentence 1 is more common. Which one would you use?

And in both cases, is there a motivation to use one or the other?

Thanks.
  

Top answer

I would probably normally use "change the channel" but either is fine and I don't see any clear difference between them. e. flipping through several channels.

— KrisBlueNZ

  • I would probably normally use "change the channel" but either is fine and I don't see any clear difference between them.
  • e.
  • flipping through several channels.
  • I would say "I want a new (or different ) job", but either of your options are acceptable and I don't see any clear difference between them.
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5 Answers
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I would probably normally use "change the channel" but either is fine and I don't see any clear difference between them. I might use "change channels" or "changing channels" in relation to channel surfing, i.e. flipping through several channels.

I would say "I want a new (or different) job", but either of your options are acceptable and I don't see any clear difference betwe
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tarirotari1. Can I change channels?2. Can I change the channel?I think sentence 2 is more common, or at least it is the one I hear most. Which one do you use? Do you use both?
I think they are equally common; I use both indiscriminately.
tarirotari1. I want to change my job.2. I want to change jobs.Here, they are both quite common, but
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Well I think you might not know the word: swap. To me "I want to change jobs." sounds like you had more jobs and wanted to change both of them. The same applies to the channels but in that case I could accept the oppinion that it can mean surfing as there's no other way it could make sence. But as for jobs it can be misleading. I'm not a native speaker so I might be wrong but I would definately u
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Anonymous To me "I want to change jobs." sounds like you had more jobs and wanted to change both of them
No, in any language, communication depends upon common sense and common experiences. We normally have only one job at a time, and the listener is expected to understand the statement this way. Any other interpretation would require additional language neg
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