My watch says 2 o'clock. or My watch indicates 2 o'clock.
John
I heard somebody said "My watch says 2 o'clock." isn't correct but "My
watch indicates 2 o'clock." is correct.
And he said "The clock says 2 o'clock." is correct but "The clock
indicates 2 o'clock" is incorrect.
Actually I doubt if he's correct but I'm not sure.
Somebody help me, please.
Thank you in advance.
![Kevin Stone [www.brainbashers.com]'s profile photo](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/default-user=s40-c)
Kevin Stone [www.brainbashers.com]
In both instances SAYS is the preferred word. INDICATES is pedantic, and you
would be viewed as such.
You can also say, 'My watch tells me its 2 o'clock'.
I've no idea where the concept of the time-piece being able to talk comes
from. However, in the UK, we have the speaking clock - a telephone service
which tells you the time (literally).
:)
Regards,
Kevin Stone
==========================================================
UK English Speaker [expert(ish)]
==========================================================
http://www.brainbashers.com
==========================================================
"John" <coole...@hanmail.net> wrote in message
news:5146eec2.03083...@posting.google.com...
Robert Lieblich
"Kevin Stone [www.brainbashers.com]" wrote:
>
> "John" wrote:
> >
> > I heard somebody said "My watch says 2 o'clock." isn't correct but "My
> > watch indicates 2 o'clock." is correct.
> >
> > And he said "The clock says 2 o'clock." is correct but "The clock
> > indicates 2 o'clock" is incorrect.
> >
> > Actually I doubt if he's correct but I'm not sure.
I'k sure. He's wrong.
[ ... ]
>
> In both instances SAYS is the preferred word. INDICATES is pedantic, and you
> would be viewed as such.
The essential point is that the verb "say" is often used in
situations where nothihg audible is involved. "This book says John
Hanson was the first president of the US." "My calculator says the
square root of 121 is 11." "My watch says it's 2 o'clock." You
can call it a metaphor, an idiom, or simply an extended use, but
it's completely natural Standard English. There is no sound basis
for objecting to it.
>
> You can also say, 'My watch tells me its 2 o'clock'.
Other verbs of "sound" can be so used: "This painting screams for
attention." We even call some things "loud," such as a tie.
>
> I've no idea where the concept of the time-piece being able to talk comes
> from. However, in the UK, we have the speaking clock - a telephone service
> which tells you the time (literally).
I have a blind acquaintance whose watch has a tiny speech
synthesizer buried in it and will literally tell the time when he
pushes a button. He still hasn't figured out the equivalent of
sneaking a peek at his watch.
Here's a poem that some may find relevant (and most should find
amusing):
http://www.alsopreview.com/gwynn/rgagent.html
--
Bob Lieblich
Speaking out
Adrian Bailey
>
> I heard somebody said "My watch says 2 o'clock." isn't correct but "My
> watch indicates 2 o'clock." is correct.
>
> And he said "The clock says 2 o'clock." is correct but "The clock
> indicates 2 o'clock" is incorrect.
How odd (your friend's opinion is). Best in both instances is "shows", but
"says" is quite natural and "indicates" is acceptable but formal.
Adrian
meirman
coole...@hanmail.net (John) posted:
>Hello,
>
>I heard somebody said "My watch says 2 o'clock." isn't correct but "My
>watch indicates 2 o'clock." is correct.
You should hear my mother's talking watch! I think it cost 8 bucks.
>And he said "The clock says 2 o'clock." is correct but "The clock
>indicates 2 o'clock" is incorrect.
A distinction between watch and clock is nonsense.
(I figure if I'm going to say something, say it firmly. What can you
do to me?)
Oh yeah, indicates, pedantic, like Kevin said. It's actually probably
the argot of some industry, the military, or maybe the indicator
industry.
>Actually I doubt if he's correct but I'm not sure.
>
>Somebody help me, please.
>
>
>Thank you in advance.
s/ meirman If you are emailing me please
say if you are posting the same response.
Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis, 7 years
Chicago, 6 years
Brooklyn NY 12 years
Baltimore 17 years
David White
>
> I heard somebody said "My watch says 2 o'clock." isn't correct but "My
> watch indicates 2 o'clock." is correct.
>
> And he said "The clock says 2 o'clock." is correct but "The clock
> indicates 2 o'clock" is incorrect.
>
> Actually I doubt if he's correct but I'm not sure.
Ridiculous. "Says" in both cases is the natural word to use and is better
than "indicates".
David
Mark Wallace
> Hello,
>
> I heard somebody said "My watch says 2 o'clock." isn't correct but "My
> watch indicates 2 o'clock." is correct.
>
> And he said "The clock says 2 o'clock." is correct but "The clock
> indicates 2 o'clock" is incorrect.
>
> Actually I doubt if he's correct but I'm not sure.
All I'll add to what's already been said is that it's less likely that the
"that it is" will be skipped, when using 'indicates':
-- "The clock indicates that it's 2 O'clock".
--
Mark Wallace
-----------------------------------------------------
For the intelligent approach to nasty humour, visit:
The Anglo-American Humour (humor) Site
http://earth.prohosting.com/mwal/
-----------------------------------------------------
rewboss
3F528C9A...@Verizon.net...
> "This book says John
> Hanson was the first president of the US."
I don't know why, but when I first read this sentence, my subconscious added
some extra punctuation. I read: "This book, says John Hanson, was the first
president of the US."
Daniel James
> I heard somebody said "My watch says 2 o'clock." isn't correct
> but "My watch indicates 2 o'clock." is correct.
The only thing wrong with "my watch says 2 o'clock" is that some
smartarse is likely to repsond "Really! Mine says tick-tick."
I might say any one of:
"My watch says it's 2 o'clock."
"My watch shows/is showing 2 o'clock."
"It's 2 o'clock by/according to my watch."
"I make it 2 o'clock."
I'm sure that anything that works for watches also works for
clocks.
Cheers,
Daniel.
rewboss
VA.0000033...@nospam.aaisp.org...
> I'm sure that anything that works for watches also works for
> clocks.
Ever tried putting an AA cell in a wristwatch?
Daniel James
> > I'm sure that anything that works for watches also works for
> > clocks.
>
> Ever tried putting an AA cell in a wristwatch?
Nope. But you /know/ that's not what I meant, right?
I was about to say that I've never put an AA cell in a clock,
either, but I now recall that we have a wall clock in the kitchen
that runs off a single AA cell. The only other clock we have that
isn't built into a cooker or a VCR or some other piece of
mains-powered electronics has to be wound, once a week, with a
big brass thing like an old car starting-handle.
Cheers,
Daniel.
Dr Robin Bignall
I've got one of those, with three bits that have to be wound up with a
large key. It chimes the hours, and is very comforting. Considering the
effort I have to put into winding it, I'm not surprised that it runs for a
week, for it leaves my winding hand weak.
--
wrmst rgrds
Robin Bignall
Quiet part of Hertfordshire
England
rewboss
5a49lv0bp7c90jc1a...@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 12:26:41 +0100, Daniel James
> <waste...@nospam.aaisp.org> wrote:
>
> >I was about to say that I've never put an AA cell in a clock,
> >either, but I now recall that we have a wall clock in the kitchen
> >that runs off a single AA cell. The only other clock we have that
> >isn't built into a cooker or a VCR or some other piece of
> >mains-powered electronics has to be wound, once a week, with a
> >big brass thing like an old car starting-handle.
> >
> I've got one of those, with three bits that have to be wound up with a
> large key. It chimes the hours, and is very comforting. Considering the
> effort I have to put into winding it, I'm not surprised that it runs for a
> week, for it leaves my winding hand weak.
My father is a watch and clockmaker (meaning one who repairs watches and
clocks, just to confuse non native speakers), and I grew up with assorted
clocks of various types and states of repair all over the house.
If your clock has three bits to wind up, then those three bits will be the
clock mechanism itself, the chiming mechanism and the striking mechanism. If
you're unclear about the difference between chiming and striking, it's
really quite simple: the "chime" is the merry little tune it plays, usually
every quarter hour -- the most common tune being the Westminster Chimes;
when it counts out the hour on a single note, it is not chiming but
striking.
To be perfectly accurate, then, clocks don't chime the hour, they strike the
hour. They may chime *on* (or just before) the hour, and on every quarter
and half hour as well.
Depending on what type of clock you have, you may find some dials or levers
marked "chime" and "strike", which allow you to switch them on or off.
Another piece of trivia: Big Ben does not play the Westminster Chimes. Big
Ben doesn't chime at all: Big Ben is the bell that is used to strike the
hour, and it really is big. The clock itself is called, I believe, the
Westminster Tower Clock, or something similar -- Big Ben is only a part of
it.
Dr Robin Bignall
>Dr Robin Bignall <docr...@ntlworld.com> schrieb in im Newsbeitrag:
>5a49lv0bp7c90jc1a...@4ax.com...
>> On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 12:26:41 +0100, Daniel James
>> <waste...@nospam.aaisp.org> wrote:
>>
>> >I was about to say that I've never put an AA cell in a clock,
>> >either, but I now recall that we have a wall clock in the kitchen
>> >that runs off a single AA cell. The only other clock we have that
>> >isn't built into a cooker or a VCR or some other piece of
>> >mains-powered electronics has to be wound, once a week, with a
>> >big brass thing like an old car starting-handle.
>> >
>> I've got one of those, with three bits that have to be wound up with a
>> large key. It chimes the hours, and is very comforting. Considering the
>> effort I have to put into winding it, I'm not surprised that it runs for a
>> week, for it leaves my winding hand weak.
>
>My father is a watch and clockmaker (meaning one who repairs watches and
>clocks, just to confuse non native speakers), and I grew up with assorted
>clocks of various types and states of repair all over the house.
>
[interesting, but previously-known detail snipped]
Thanks for that, rewboss. My winding hand is still weak, however. Even more
so after this post, for it contains one of my two typing fingers.