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Old Man Gordon Posted 18 years ago
Vocabulary

Typical/Usual/common

0I asked a student about his father. He said "He is a usual father." I explained that most Americans say typical in that case.02br
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00As I looked at the synonyms for typical and common, I found that it is difficult to explain when to use which one. They are not completely interchangable.02br
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00Can you give me any rules to apply for the nuances of these words:02br
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01u00typical, usual, common, average, ordinary, normal, standard02u00, et al02br
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00Can they be divided into two (or three) groups?0-
  

Top answer

0I agree that it is difficult to pinpoint the differences. 02br 02br 00Usual = the ones that are normally 'used' or thought of [think of the film "The Usual Suspects" - those that are often call up as possible criminals]02br 02br 00With the other examples, I cannot perceive a difference from 'typical'. 0-

— Philip

  • 0I agree that it is difficult to pinpoint the differences.
  • 02br 02br 00Usual = the ones that are normally 'used' or thought of [think of the film "The Usual Suspects" - those that are often call up as possible criminals]02br 02br 00With the other examples, I cannot perceive a difference from 'typical'.
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8 Answers
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0I agree that it is difficult to pinpoint the differences. I also agree that 'typical' is more proper here.02br
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00Typical = one that belongs to a type, one of many of the same sort.02br
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00Usual = the ones that are normally 'used' or thought of [think of the film "The Usual Suspects" - those that are often call up as possible criminals]02br
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0Thanks, Philip. 02br
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00I was thinking that I normally use typical just as you define it.02br
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00I think usual refers to something that is repeated, and often modifies some action or implied action, eg 'my usual breakfast'. (Then again, I might say typical here, too.)0-
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0 Hi OMG02br
00My English teacher's words come to my mind. He didn't say anything about 01i00typical, average, normal02i00 and 01i00standard02i00 - probably because those words aren't difficult for Finns.02br
00As you have said: If a person 01u00usually02u00 has the same breakfast or drink: 01i
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0It seems to me that 01i00usual02i00 can't be used with nouns unless the nouns are related to some verbal idea -- to something that "occurs".02br
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00So 01i00usual father02i00 doesn't work, but 01i00usual drink02i00 (to drink) does.02br
00usual breakfast -- breakfast "occurs" as a meal in the
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0Thanks, CJ. I think your definition stands up to testing (at least in my mind). 0-
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0 So far, so good then.02br
00If there are counterexamples out there, I'm sure we'll hear about them. Such is the charm of the forum format. 05002br
00As as aside: I think the adjective 01i00frequent02i00 has the same (or similar) properties. *frequent father / frequent visitor02br
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00CJ 010id1
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0CJ said:02br
00>It seems to me that 01i00usual02i00 can't be used with nouns unless the nouns are related to some verbal idea -- to something that "occurs".02br
00That's probably true:02br
00---------02br
01b00 usual02b00 describes 01i00that which 01b00happens02b00 freq
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I appreciate all the above explanations since it was always in my mind a bit of the confusion.
Standard furthermore is a 'common' word used mainly in the technical field: "standard instruments", instruments
held by ISO for example or International Organization for Standardization in certain climate condition, without any
modifications and to be used for all other countries as a
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