do you CLOSE bottles

Question

Is the right word close?Close the bottle of shampoo when your done using,

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

Not usually.
I often say eg Put the top / the cap on the shampoo.

Clive

Anonymous · Answer

The word "close" is not used for bottles. You would generally hear: "Cover the shampoo when you're done using it.", or "Cover the ketchup when you're through with it.", or "Cover the mouthwash when you're done with it.", or "Cover the jelly when you're finished.", or "Cover the peanut butter when you're done."

You might hear "close" used in: "Close the box of cookies when you're done.", or "Close the bag when you're done with the potato chips.", or "Close the wrapper when you're through with the bread."

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Perhaps this is a very regional topic that we are discussing?
I say this because I would never use 'cover' in that way.

Clive

CSnyder · Answer

It must be regional, because I would never use anything other than "close" for a shampoo bottle and wouldn't use "cover" for anything other than perhaps butter in a butter dish.

Cool Breeze · Answer

This discussion helps me understand why my English may sound unnatural to native ears. Even natives occasionally sound unnatural to other natives!

CB

Anonymous · Answer

A shampoo bottle is perhaps a bad example because I believe nowadays there's no cap really but a kind of pop-up spout. No person on this planet would fuss about whether this spout is left up or put down, as leaving it up won't make any difference. Same with ketchup, the bottles today may have the same type of pop-up spout, and it doesn't matter if you leave the spout up. This is why product designers designed this type of spout, so that there will be no fuss about covering the bottle. But I don't use either shampoo or ketchup so I'm not sure exactly what the bottles look like today.

However, I believe mouthwash bottles (I don't use mouthwash either, so I'm not sure what the current bottles look like) still have *****-on caps, as do jars of jelly and peanut butter. To say: "Close the mouthwash, or close the jelly or peanut butter.", is really sub-standard English, in my book.

If you have an open cookie box, or open potato chip bag, or open bread wrapper, to say: "Cover the cookie box (what, throw a towel over it?), or cover the potato chips, or cover the bread.", is very sub-standard English, in my view.

do you CLOSE bottles

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