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It opens or It's open

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ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms

Aparel vs. garment? | Meaning of proprietorship

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#1 (permalink) Sun Jan 15, 2006 4:54 am It opens or It's open

Hi everybody Is there any difference between: The company opens from 9:00 to 5:00. and The company is open from 9:00 to 5:00. hope to get your help Jupiter

Jupiter
I'm here quite often ;-)

Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 207
Location: Cambodia

#2 (permalink) Sun Jan 15, 2006 15:07 pm It opens or It's open

jupiter wrote:

Is there any difference between:

The company opens from 9:00 to 5:00. and
The company is open from 9:00 to 5:00.

Yes, Jupiter, there's a big difference. In the first sentence, "opens" is a verb, and it describes a perfective action (one that has a clear finish). In the second sentence, "open" is an adjective and decribes a state. The first sentence is wrong, and the second sentence is right.

Think of it this way: How long does it take to open a company? Usually, as soon as you've unlocked the door, the company has opened. It's a quick action. If you say, "The company opens at 9:00," then it means that every day at 9:00 someone opens the door and people can come in. If you say, "The company opens from 9:00 to 5:00," that means there is probably something wrong with the door, and every day it takes eight hours to unlock it and let people in. It could also mean that they have some kind of opening ceremony that lasts for eight hours before they start business. Both of these are absurd ideas, so if you want to use "open" as a verb, you'd have to say, "The company opens at 9:00 and closes at 5:00."

In the second sentence, the adjective "open" describes a state. It means that someone opens the company at 9:00 and people can go in and out until 5:00. The second sentence is a good one.

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#3 (permalink) Mon Jan 16, 2006 11:26 am Thanks

Thanks so much for your help. It's very clear for me. First, I supposed they are the same but know I can see the big problem. Thanks again jupiter

Jupiter
I'm here quite often ;-)

Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 207
Location: Cambodia

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Aparel vs. garment? | Meaning of proprietorship

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