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Gene93 Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary
Is this chair free?
Hello, everyone,
Native speakers have told me that the sentence: "Is this chair free?" doesn't make any sense. If I wanted to sit on a chair, but I didn't know if
somebody was sitting there, would it be correct to ask:
- Is anyone sitting on this chair?
-Is this chair taken?
- Is this chair free?
- Is anyone using this chair?
Which of the questions sound good to you? If you have any other suggestions, I am all ears
.
Native speakers have told me that the sentence: "Is this chair free?" doesn't make any sense. If I wanted to sit on a chair, but I didn't know if
somebody was sitting there, would it be correct to ask:
- Is anyone sitting on this chair?
-Is this chair taken?
- Is this chair free?
- Is anyone using this chair?
Which of the questions sound good to you? If you have any other suggestions, I am all ears
.Top answer
" doesn't make any sense. It's fine, and commonly said. If I wanted to sit on a chair, but I didn't know if somebody was sitting there, would it be correct to ask: - Is anyone sitting on this chair?
- " doesn't make any sense.
- It's fine, and commonly said.
- If I wanted to sit on a chair, but I didn't know if somebody was sitting there, would it be correct to ask: - Is anyone sitting on this chair?
- Much more common is "is anyone sitting here?
- ' - Is this chair taken?
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12 Answers
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Native speakers have told me that the sentence: "Is this chair free?" doesn't make any sense. It's fine, and commonly said.
If I wanted to sit on a chair, but I didn't know if somebody was sitting there, would it be correct to ask:
- Is anyone sitting on this chair? Much more common is "is anyone sitting here?'
If I wanted to sit on a chair, but I didn't know if somebody was sitting there, would it be correct to ask:
- Is anyone sitting on this chair? Much more common is "is anyone sitting here?'
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Thank you, Clive. It appears that I have been mislead. I was about to type "sitting here", but for some obscure reason I thought it might be wrong
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I am sorry for intruding again, Clive, but is it also correct to ask: "Is this seat free?" The difference between the two is not that big
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Yes, that's fine. Actually, it's more commonly said, in my experience.
Clive
Clive
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When I said "Is this seat free?" I was actually referring to a real seat, not a chair. Are you saying I can use it in either context? Is it not more natural to say: "Is this seat taken?"
A quick recap. The questions work for both chairs and seats. Is that correct?
Thank you, Clive
A quick recap. The questions work for both chairs and seats. Is that correct?
Thank you, Clive
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Gene93The questions work for both chairs and seats. Is that correct?The generic would be: this place.
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A chair is a seat. A seat is just a more generic term.
I don't know what you mean by 'a real seat'.
Is this seat free? / Is this seat taken? are both fine.
Clive
I don't know what you mean by 'a real seat'.
Is this seat free? / Is this seat taken? are both fine.
Clive
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Thank you, both. By a "real seat" I mean a seat in a cinema, etc. I could say "Is this seat taken/free?" even when I am actually referring to a chair. Yes? I realize they are both seats and the question is probably prompted by my native language, where we do differentiate between them and different phrases have to be used separately.
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Thank you, Philip. What did I say wrong? I would really love to learn from my mistakes .
Thank you again
.Thank you again
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Gene93Thank you, Philip. What did I say wrong? I would really love to learn from my mistakes .Thank you againYou didn't say anything wrong. I just offered another term that would include seat, place, chair, bench, table.
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