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Matman Posted 20 years ago
Vocabulary
Passenger only human
Hi Folks
The word "passenger" is defined as "a traveler riding in a vehicle (a boat or bus or car or plane or train etc) who is not operating it."
The question is, does the word "passenger" only apply to a human being? Is any living organism that is travelling, as defined above, a passenger? Could a dog travelling in his owners car be described as a passenger.
I'd really like to hear some thoughts on this. Some of the young people I work with have been using the word "passenger" in such ways and a colleague of mine has challenged this. I am not sure my colleague is correct!
Thanks
The word "passenger" is defined as "a traveler riding in a vehicle (a boat or bus or car or plane or train etc) who is not operating it."
The question is, does the word "passenger" only apply to a human being? Is any living organism that is travelling, as defined above, a passenger? Could a dog travelling in his owners car be described as a passenger.
I'd really like to hear some thoughts on this. Some of the young people I work with have been using the word "passenger" in such ways and a colleague of mine has challenged this. I am not sure my colleague is correct!
Thanks
Top answer
Hi, Welcome to the Forum. For this kind of thing, there is no clear rule. You just have to look at usage, so here's my opinion.
- Hi, Welcome to the Forum.
- For this kind of thing, there is no clear rule.
- You just have to look at usage, so here's my opinion.
- Generally, I see a passenger as a human being.
- The term might be used rather facetiously about a non-human.
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3 Answers
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Hi,
Welcome to the Forum.
For this kind of thing, there is no clear rule. You just have to look at usage, so here's my opinion.
Generally, I see a passenger as a human being. The term might be used rather facetiously about a non-human.
I'm sure there are highway laws that relate to passengers,eg that they must wear a seat-belt, and I can't see a cop giving you
Welcome to the Forum.
For this kind of thing, there is no clear rule. You just have to look at usage, so here's my opinion.
Generally, I see a passenger as a human being. The term might be used rather facetiously about a non-human.
I'm sure there are highway laws that relate to passengers,eg that they must wear a seat-belt, and I can't see a cop giving you
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Hi Clive and thanks for replying.
I take your points and I accept they're valid.
The usage in this particular query emanates from an assessment question that the students I work with have to answer. The question is "Who was Laika?". The answer to this is "Laika is the first dog to enter orbit". However, some of the students have been writing "the first living passenger to ente
I take your points and I accept they're valid.
The usage in this particular query emanates from an assessment question that the students I work with have to answer. The question is "Who was Laika?". The answer to this is "Laika is the first dog to enter orbit". However, some of the students have been writing "the first living passenger to ente
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Hi again,
That's an interesting controversy. Was Gagarin actually piloting?
I read the book 'The Right Stuff', about the original NASA astronauts. As I recollect, the first capsules were designed with no windows, where animals would just travel passively. When they decided men would go, the guys were all skilled test pilots, and demanded changes to give them more to do, in essenc
That's an interesting controversy. Was Gagarin actually piloting?
I read the book 'The Right Stuff', about the original NASA astronauts. As I recollect, the first capsules were designed with no windows, where animals would just travel passively. When they decided men would go, the guys were all skilled test pilots, and demanded changes to give them more to do, in essenc
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