Li'l Bull
Senior Member
Spanish (Spain)
- Feb 16, 2014
- #1
Hi, native speakers of English!
The difference between spend/waste/lose time is not always that clear. I've read other posts but it seems to me it's very context-dependent. How would you fill in the gap in the following case?:
She doesn't have much free time, so she's taken on an assistant to do the shopping for her. That way she doesn't _____ time going shopping.
A. waste her
B. lose
C. have to spend
I would say A is not suitable because going shopping is not a waste of time (you actually do something productive, namely buying food and contributing to your survival). B might work, but there's that sense that with "lose time" it doesn't depend on you (e.g. I lost a lot of time because my flight was delayed) - I don't like it somehow. Probably I'd use C as it sounds kind of neutral and by a process of elimination.
But I'm fully aware I may be wrong
What do you think?
Thank you in advance.
F
fires
Member
US (Michigan)
American English
- Feb 16, 2014
- #2
I find your interpretation to be solid, but I wouldn't say that A and B would never be used. Some people may view shopping as a waste of time, making A make sense, especially since it doesn't specify what type of shopping she would have been doing. It can also be taken in the sense that she has to shop (in order to survive), and it's not dependent on whether she wants to shop or not, allowing B to make sense. In the end, though, I would go with what you said.
Li'l Bull
Senior Member
Spanish (Spain)
- Feb 16, 2014
- #3
fires said:
I find your interpretation to be solid, but I wouldn't say that A and B would never be used. Some people may view shopping as a waste of time, making A make sense, especially since it doesn't specify what type of shopping she would have been doing. It can also be taken in the sense that she has to shop (in order to survive), and it's not dependent on whether she wants to shop or not, allowing B to make sense. In the end, though, I would go with what you said.
Thank you, fires.
I can't quite follow your argumentation for "B. lose" - Can you please elaborate?
S
slej
Senior Member
Ireland / England English
- Feb 16, 2014
- #4
It depends on how she views shopping. Personally I spend, waste, use, lose time in that order. I don't use 'lose time' very much, maybe in a traffic jam or if I'm timing myself doing a certain task, to get my fastest time.
perpend
Banned
American English
- Feb 16, 2014
- #5
I agree with fires, and agree that C) is the way to go.
A little trick: add an "ex-" and lose the "s" in spend.
That way she doesn't expend time going shopping.
That's fairly neutral, but expresses a little bit of the effort, in my opinion.
Li'l Bull
Senior Member
Spanish (Spain)
- Feb 16, 2014
- #6
Thank you all for your very interesting contributions.
However, I'm still interested in how my sentence could be interpreted so that "lose" could be used.
F
fires
Member
US (Michigan)
American English
- Feb 16, 2014
- #7
Li'l Bull said:
Thank you, fires.
I can't quite follow your argumentation for "B. lose" - Can you please elaborate?
I meant that the speaker may view it as something that she has to do, as she needs to get food and other necessities. If she doesn't, she won't be able to live, and she may view this type of activity as a loss of time. Does this help? Overall, though, B is probably the worst choice.
The point I was trying to make was that it depend on how the speaker views the shopping. This doesn't mean that they wouldn't use a different verb than the one that fits best, though.
S
slej
Senior Member
Ireland / England English
- Feb 16, 2014
- #8
I have never expended time in my life but that could be a cultural thing. To lose time you need another pressure that is such a priority that it makes other tasks inconsequential, or you're a marathon runner/athelete who fails to best their previous time. Losing time gives a real sense of urgency to me, without that urgency I am wasting time. If I was stuck in a traffic jam going to work that would be a waste of time. If I was stuck in a traffic jam when I was supposed to be collecting my kid I would be anxious and losing time.
perpend
Banned
American English
- Feb 16, 2014
- #9
I've reread, and it's all quite relative. I would use all three versions, depending on context/emphasis. Is it a test question?
Li'l Bull
Senior Member
Spanish (Spain)
- Feb 16, 2014
- #10
perpend said:
I've reread, and it's all quite relative. I would use all three versions, depending on context/emphasis. Is it a test question?
No, it isn't. I've presented it as a multiple choice question just to check my alternatives with you.
I'm sure it's my fault, but so far I've failed to see how "lose" could be used in my sentence (I do understand "spend" because, as I said, that's the one that makes most sense to me, and I think I also understand "waste": it might be used if the woman regarded going shopping as an actual waste of time).
perpend
Banned
American English
- Feb 16, 2014
- #11
Well, there's the saying that "time is money".
"Lost time" could be lost money.
If you are busy, and have an assistant, that means you don't want to lose time, because time is valuable.
So, "lose" makes total sense to me.
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