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Yolandaprieto
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Can anybody tell us the difference between holiday and holidays?
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I �ve tried to follow the grammar books I �ve got and it is very clear in them but that �s only the theory because when it comes to practise I don �t see the use of both words so clear.
Thanks in advance for your kind help
Yolanda |
23 Jun 2011
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Zora
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a holiday is the same as "a vacation" or a time away or a trip... and "holidays" are the time you need or have to take a holiday.
We are going a holiday to Italy during our summer holidays.
At least I would say that this is the difference. I don �t have a grammar book or dictionary at hand, but as a native that is my take on this.
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23 Jun 2011
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ueslteacher
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Maybe this will clear it up for you. It always helps me:) Sophia |
23 Jun 2011
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Jayho
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In SBE:
You use holiday singular when talking about something particular or specific, like a holiday away that you have booked or arranged (or will) e.g. I am going on holiday to China; where is your next holiday going to be? I can �t wait until my next holiday.
You use holidays plural when referring to the the holiday breaks themselves e.g. I am going away for the holidays; are you doing anything during the school holidays; I can�t wait until the next lot of holidays.
Please note that this may be different in SAE.
Cheers
Jayho |
23 Jun 2011
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redcamarocruiser
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We say that the bank is closed for the holiday when the holiday is just one day long,
The bank is closed for the holidays means for holidays that last more than one day.
We went away for the holidays is also said in the US.
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23 Jun 2011
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chrissmolder
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The use of the word holiday is different in US and British English, which may lead to some confusion for you while you are looking at different sources. Australian English is also different in many ways from British English, but I hope you don �t mind that I am going to call my examples �Australian � just to be safe--I am not as familiar with British English.
In American English (at least in my dialect!) holiday is a countable noun used to describe special days like the 4th of July and Thanksgiving. Because it refers to a special day, it can also imply a day off, but it never refers to a longer period of days off (e.g. two weeks off). I have been out of the States for a while but I will try to give you typical examples of when it is used. In the examples, holiday always means special day (which also implies a day off, but not a trip or extended period off school/work--for these uses Americans use vacation instead):
singular
The buses weren �t running because of the holiday.
What did you do over the holiday weekend?
plural
How many holidays are there in September?
I love November because there are so many holidays.
In Australia it is as JayHo says...holiday is used to mean trip and to refer to special days or days off school/work. It is uncountable when it is used in the expression �to be on holiday � but countable in other respects. So, in addition to the examples above, Australians can also say:
singular
How was your holiday? (US - How was your vacation/trip?)
She is on holiday. (US - She is on vacation.)
How was your Easter holiday? (US - How was your Easter vacation? note - Easter vacation is typically one week or two.)
plural
We don �t go on very many holidays. (We don �t go on vacation very often.)
Anyway, this is only my sense of the two Englishes. I haven �t double-checked against any sources. I hope someone will correct me if I am wrong ;-)
 Chris
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23 Jun 2011
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chrissmolder
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LOL--I can see already that I am wrong about both Englishes when I reread JayHo and Redcamarocruiser�s posts! I hope others can help!
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23 Jun 2011
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redcamarocruiser
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Chrismolder, I liked your explanations. Vacation is indeed used more frequently than "we went away for the holidays", as you pointed out.
I was just adding my examples to supplement what Jayho had already excellently explained. But your explanations are also great and sound correct to me.
Mary (redcamarocruiser)
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24 Jun 2011
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Yolandaprieto
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You must admit that it is difficult for a non-native person to be able to use these words correctly. The other day I uploaded a short reading about a family who went on holiday to Italy (12 days) and I still wonder if I wrote the right word. I asked about it here and most people said that was the correct option but it really sounded strange to me.
Thanks for your help anyway
Yolanda |
24 Jun 2011
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silpont
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Chris!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are awesome!!!!!!!!
Your explanations are always so so fantastic!!!!!
Huge hugs, my friend!!!!!  |
24 Jun 2011
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chrissmolder
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Silvina--LOLOLOLOL! You have made my morning! XO
Thanks also Mary--I don �t know what kind of English I speak anymore!
Yolanda, this whole thing has had me thinking and I can see why you are confused. It seems there is a lot of variation even within dialects. I guess the best we can do is choose the advice of one grammar source (not mine!), but be aware that other grammars may contradict it!
Have a great day/evening everyone!!!!
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24 Jun 2011
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