difference between awake and wake

[oxana]

English Grammar Tests, Elementary Level

ESL/EFL Test #85 "Common English Errors (1)", question 9

I ......... at six o'clock in the morning every day.

(a) awake
(b) wake up
(c) get up from my bed
(d) leave my bed

English Grammar Tests, Elementary Level

ESL/EFL Test #85 "Common English Errors (1)", answer 9

I wake up at six o'clock in the morning every day.

Correct answer: (b) wake up
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What is the difference between awake and wake?

Thanks a lot.
oxana

[Linda]

Hi Oxana,
'Awake' is normally used as an adjective. In literature, the term, as a verb, is used. However, in everyday English, it is not normally used as a verb. For example, a character in a book might say "I awoke to the sound of music." In everyday English, however, "I woke up to the sound of music' is the more accepted phrase.
I hope this helps.
Linda
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[Marko]

I didn't understand the difference between awake and wake? Can someone tell it in the other way? Also, I wanted to ask, why couldn't we say "get up from the bed" in this case?
Thank you in advance.

[Linda]

"Awake" is usually used as an adjective
"Wake" is a verb
We don't use "the bed" when we are referring to our own bed. It isn't necessary so we don't use "the bed" in this case. It is natural and common to use "I got up at...." or "I woke up at...."
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[MrPedantic]

I'm not sure any of those responses could be fairly described as a "common English error". A native speaker might use any of them.

Trollope for instance says:

1. I am so ill that I am quite unable to leave my bed.

while Wilkie Collins has:

2. The next half hour, at most, would decide the question of whether he would, or would not, get up from his bed, and leave the room.

MrP

[MrPedantic]

<deleted by MrP - double post>

[Linda]

Really? I would never say to anyone that "I left my bed" this morning. Nor would I say that "I got up from my bed at 6 am" or "I awoke at 6 am." They all sound terribly unnatural. I have never heard anyone say any of one of those choices in Canada or America - not ever.
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[MrPedantic]

Hello Linda,

"I awoke at 6" sounds fine to me. The other two are probably not that common; but the Daily Telegraph online has:

1. I got up from my bed and stood at the window.

which sounds natural to me; while the Times has:

2. Thompson, it is said, was the cantankerous autocrat that every club needs, so dedicated that he would leave his bed in dead of night to heave the covers on if he heard rain.

I don't think any of those phrases can be described as "errors", as reputable writers (e.g. Trollope and Collins) use them. It's true that B is probably the commonest option, of course.

Best wishes,

MrP

[Linda]

Hi Mr. P,
As I stated at the beginning of this thread:
"Hi Oxana,
'Awake' is normally used as an adjective. In literature, the term, as a verb, is used. However, in everyday English, it is not normally used as a verb. For example, a character in a book might say "I awoke to the sound of music." In everyday English, however, "I woke up to the sound of music' is the more accepted phrase.
I hope this helps.
Linda"

I already stated that some words and terms that are used (and have been used) in literature are not normally used in everyday speech - as I'm sure you can acknowledge and appreciate (you can probably find more examples of those situations as well.) This test is not looking for the right answer to literature examples and scenarios - I'm sure it's designed to test students' knowledge about everyday speech so that they can hone in on their speaking abilities - that's very important for ESL learners. The "Times," Trollope and Collins come later.
By the way, is "commonest" a word?
Take care
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[Yankee]

Hi Linda

I can see your point, but I can also see MrP's point.

If I were asked to choose the most commonly used expression, I'd go for option (b) hands down.
However, this test does not ask test-takers to choose the most commonly used expression. Instead, it is categorized as a test with "common English errors".

Option (a) isn't incorrect; it would simply be a less commonly used expression, and also tends to sound more formal than (b).

Option (c) also isn't incorrect; it's just much more common to omit 'from my bed'.

Option (d) also isn't incorrect; again, it would not be the most commonly used option, however there are a few examples of 'leave my bed' in the American corpus, as well as google-able examples (from what appears to be both British and American native speakers) on the Internet. For example:
- Although I would always leave my bed at the crack of dawn, all I ever brought home was the worry about blue books.

In short, I agree that (b) would be the right choice if the test asked for the most common or frequent usage. And I agree that it is desirable to learn commonly used expressions. But I don't agree that the other options should be labeled as "errors", and also don't think you can categorize them as being strictly literary.

[Lost_Soul]

[Ralf]

And if you should ask yourself what the commonest English words are, check this out !
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[MrPedantic]

Hello Linda,

As Amy says, the problem here is that three correct and grammatical phrases are classified as "common errors". This is likely to mislead students; especially if they discover (in another test) that it's normal to say:

1. During her illness she was so languid she could not leave her bed.

In fact, if frequency is the criterion, the awkward "in the morning every day" might be worth reconsidering: the usual phrase is "every morning".

(I note that the rest of the tests in that section do include grammatical errors, by the way; so this is something of an anomaly.)

On the question of "commonest": yes, it's a valid word. It can be found on the OUP website, in the OED, and in explanatory notes in the American Heritage Dictionary (e.g. "From such uses vulgar has continued to go downhill, and at present crudely indecent is among the commonest senses of the word"); not to mention the venerable precincts of English Test itself, in posts by Mister M and Alan.

Best wishes,

MrP

[Linda]

Hi Mr.P,
As soon as I submitted the post, I realized that it is a word. The fact that "most common" also exists threw me off for a minute.
As far as the whole "bed" thing, I suppose we can change the test title to "Common Expressions and Errors" or something to that effect.
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[Azat2]

Why I can't use ''get up from my bed'' ?