What does fetch mean?

[Yankee]

[Alan]

Some of these dogs are really sharp in the UK!

Alan
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[Yankee]

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Amazing.

Seriously, though, I'm just trying to tell you how very strongly that word is associated with dogs on this side of the pond.
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[Torsten]

Amy, on your side of the pond the verb fetch can also be used in the following context: "The land they own might fetch up to 1.5 million dollars on a good day."
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[Yankee]

Yes, it could. You might also use the word 'garner' or even just 'get' instead of 'fetch', for example.

And on sunny days, I like to play 'fetch' with my dog.

And when someone arrives at the airport, what I would do is 'pick them up'. I would neither 'collect' nor 'fetch' them.

And if I want someone to bring me something from the attic, I might ask them to 'go get it'. 'Fetch' is not likely to be a word that would come to my mind -- that would sound too much like a command for a dog.
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[Torsten]

There seem to be a few Americans who use the verb 'fetch' in a similar way many Britons do. Here is a sentence written by a bestselling American author: "She led them to a large office and fetched an assistant who began hauling in files." And few pages down you can read the following sentence in the same book: "The morning after the breakup, Clay fetched the post from outside his door and settled down at the kitchen table with the first cup of coffee." In both sentences I can't see any reference to dogs.
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[Yankee]

Hi Torsten

I have already acknowledged that fetch is sometimes used here to mean 'go and 'get' (in situations other than with dogs).

If you don't want input about strong associations that certain words have on this side of the pond, just say so. Trying to share any information with you nowadays is starting to seem pretty pointless. Has Alan been filling your head with his nonsense about there being no differences in usage between AmE and BE?
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[Torsten]

So what do you make of the two sentences I posted. Do they sound American to you?
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[Alan]

I honestly think it's about time you stopped trying to spread this meaningless mantra of yours with regard to what you think I believe:

[Yankee]

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Well, your refusal to acknowledge or discuss differences in usage in some of the tests does tend to support that assumption, doesn't it?
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[Yankee]

[Torsten]

Hi Amy,

Would you agree that John Grisham is a rather well known author who writes novels for a broad American readership? If so, why would he use words that are not typically used by Americans when he describes pretty typical day to day situations? In addition to the verb 'fetch', are there any other words John Grisham uses that don't sound like typical, every day usage to you? I'm asking these questions because there are lots of people like me who learn every day American English by reading modern American novels and would be good to know which words are really American.
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[Yankee]

Hi Torsten,

Plenty of authors use plenty of words that are not the most commonly used ones in everyday speech. I don't think that's any secret. That's a well-known fact.

One observation that I can make about John Grisham's writing, for example, is that the speech of the 11-year-old hero in his novel The Client does not sound terribly typical of an 11-year-old. Much of Mark Sway's dialog sounds far too adult to me. Of course, that is only my opinion, but I do remember it being a constant irritant as I was reading that novel. Quite a bit of Mark Sway's dialog was irritating because it did not sound natural.

I have not categorized the word 'fetch' as not being American. And I have not said that it is never used. At this point, you have only yourself to blame for that misinterpretation.

What I have done is give you input about usage. The test sentence talks about fetching someone at a bus station. My comment was that this particular usage is not one you'll hear in my neck of the woods. I also told you what expressions would be commonly used instead. Using 'fetch' in such a context sounds foreign to me. I added that the word 'fetch' is often used when playing with a dog. Thus, the word 'fetch' has an association with dogs -- on this side of the pond, anyway. But yes, you'll also hear 'fetch' in some other contexts as well.

Wouldn't you agree that knowing a little something about usage can come in handy?
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[Yankee]

[Torsten]

Hi Amy,

Would you classify the following paragraph as "natural American English"?

He then asked her once again to stop. She really wanted to purchase a new digital radio, she explained, so would it be possible for him to fetch an ashtray. Nicholas pulled an empty soft drink can from under the counter, and actually took the cigarette from her and extinguished it. They talked about radios for twenty minutes as she struggled with the selection. She flirted shamelessly, and he warmed to the occasion. After paying for the radio, she left him her phone number. He promised to call.
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary