expressions: 'to stand in a queue' vs. 'stand in line' vs. 'stand in a line'

[Elhan]

Test No. errors/advan-4 "Not the slightest idea", question 7

As you probably know they are very organized people and when there are a lot of people at the bus stop they stand in a line.

(a) As
(b) organized
(c) there
(d) line

Test No. errors/advan-4 "Not the slightest idea", answer 7

As you probably know they are very organized people and when there are a lot of people at the bus stop they stand in a queue.

Correct entry: queue
The error was: (d) line

You have not found the error.
As you probably know they are very orderly people and when there are a lot of people at the bus stop they stand in a line.
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line is the american equivalent of queue, isn't it? I use the American variety of English.

Elhan

[Alan]

Yes.
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English as a Second Language
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[nessie]

Then why "line" is not acceptable here? :O I think there are some words and phrases which can be used in both British English and American English and "stand in a line" is one of them.

[Torsten]

You can either say 'stand in a queue' or 'stand in line'. 'Stand in a line' means something else.
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Yankee]

I agree that "stand in line" is used much more often, but it is also possible to say "stand in a line" (in AmE). For example, in a discussion about why people 'queue up', I certainly can imagine someone saying something such as this (in AmE):

"People often stand in a line simply because it is there."

The word "it" in the second half of the sentence basically forces the use of "a line" in the first half.
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[nessie]

So what is the other meaning of "stand in a line" as mentioned above?

[Alan]

Hi Nessie,

'Stand in a line' can mean just that - a number of people standing side by side in a straight line.

Alan
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[nessie]

But if it has the same meaning as "stand in line", then why must Torsten wrote "'Stand in a line' means something else."? :O

[Yankee]

Hi Nessie

Generally speaking, when you stand in line, there are people in front of you and also people behind you, and you are usually waiting your turn for something.

If you stand in a line, it could possibly be the same thing as I described above, or it could also be a situation in which there are people on your left and people on your right. You are not necessarily waiting your turn for anything.
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Torsten]

Hi Amy,

Would you say "There were so many people at the supermarket checkout that I had to stand in a line today?"
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Torsten]

Hi Amy,

Would you say a sentence like "There were so many people at the supermarket checkout that I had to stand in a line today"?
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Yankee]

Hi Torsten

Since there is almost always at least a short line at the checkout when I go to the supermarket, I'd suggest some rewording to show how I might use stand in line and stand in a line differently for the same situation:

"It seemed like everybody and their brother was at the supermarket today. Even though I was in the "express checkout" lane, I had to stand in a line that went halfway to the back of the store." (i.e. description of the line itself.)

"It seemed like everybody and their brother was at the supermarket today. Even though I was in the "express checkout" lane, I had to stand in line for an hour."
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[nessie]

Sorry, but I don't understand the matter being debated here. I think according to Amy's explaination about the two phrases "stand in line" and "stand in a line", we should use "stand in line" in Torsten's sentence. That's because the context implies that the speaker is waiting for his turn to be charged

[Yankee]

Personally, I think the problem here is that either 'stand in line' OR 'stand in a line' could be used in American English. (We basically do not use the word 'queue'.) Apparently 'stand in a line' cannot be used in British English.

The best solution might be to change this test sentence, or to identify it as "British usage".
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[lost_soul]

Hi, Amy

In view of your last post on this thread I have a question. According to your explanation, we use "in line" when we're speaking generally, and when we use "in a line", we're talking about a "perceivable" line, as in "we were standing in a line that was quite long".

But in this example we clearly have the first case, i.e. "in line".

So, you would really utter the sentence from this question, i.e. "As you probably know they are very organized people and when there are a lot of people at the bus stop they stand in a line", or you'd opt for the same sentence without a ?

Thanks!