Dressing or putting on clothes. “Dress” or “put on” - how to say it correctly, examples of use in various situations

Strictly speaking, this error is not directly related to sewing and is relevant for everyone without exception. However, people who sew and are interested in fashion still have to use these verbs a little more often. Quite often we hear “Put on your hat!”, “Put on this dress,” “I won’t wear that.” Let's figure out what's the catch here!

By the way, the problem is so significant that the Russian poet Novella Matveeva even dedicated an entire poem to it!

“Put on”, “put on”... Two words

We confuse so stupidly!

It was a frosty dawn,

The old grandfather dressed in a fur coat.

And the fur coat, therefore, is on.

“Put it on”, “put it on”... Let’s take a look:

When to wear and what to wear.

I guess it's like my grandfather

Three fur coats can be worn.

But I don't think that grandfather

Can be worn on a fur coat!

What do dictionaries say?

So, both of these words have every right to exist, however, despite the similarities, they are used slightly differently. According to Ozhegov's dictionary, the word "dress" has the following meanings:

1. someone into something or with something. Cover someone with some kind of clothing or blanket. For example, dressing a child in a coat.

2. whom (what). Provide clothes. For example, dressing someone with taste.

Concerning "put on", the values ​​are:

1. Fasten something to something, attach, attach something to something. For example, put a ring on a finger.

2. Cover the body or part of the body with some clothing. For example, putting a sweater on a child.

On the one hand, it is useful to know the exact dictionary meanings, but on the other hand, we must admit that they do not completely clarify the situation! The meanings are as similar as the words themselves, and ultimately it is not entirely clear which option is correct, “I wore a dress” or “I put on a dress.”

To help those who doubt

Many people may remember a simple tip from their school days: we dress others, we put them on ourselves. But this formulation can be deceiving! For example, the phrase “I put a Panama hat on a child” is wrong, although one can be indignant at how wrong it is if I put the Panama hat on someone else, not myself!

It is better to use another version of the “remembrance”: Hope is put on, clothes are put on. The example about Nadezhda is very successful, because it tells us another feature, the difference between two verbs: “to dress” is used with animate nouns (and with inanimate likenesses of a person: doll, mannequin, etc. and with body parts, for example, “to dress hand into a glove"), and “put on” - with inanimate ones.

Let’s put the rule into practice: “I put on dress(inanimate)", "I put on Panama hat(inanimate) on the child" and "I dressed baby(soul.)".

If you suddenly forget the rule itself, remember that Nadezhda is dressed, and clothes are put on, and that the point here is animation.

And, of course, do not forget that speech errors do not determine our personality, character, and, especially, professionalism in the field of sewing, but every new day is a chance to become better than yesterday in a variety of areas.

The verbs “put on” and “dress” are so criminally similar that most people use them without even thinking about the nuances they convey. And yet they exist. So, “put on” or “dress” - which is correct? In fact, both of these forms have a right to exist. But their use in a particular sentence is determined by the noun to which they refer.

What is the difference?

Let's figure out the meaning of these verbs in order to decide once and for all what is correct - “put on” or “dress”.

It's very simple: we put on something, and we dress someone. Thus, in order to make sure that the verb is used correctly, we need to check whether it refers to an animate or inanimate noun - and everything will immediately fall into place.

For example, we put on a hat (what?). But we dress the child (who?).

Let's once again be convinced of the different meanings of the words “put on” and “dress” by choosing synonyms for them. Synonyms for “put on” are the words “attach”, “pull”. Synonyms for “dress” can be considered the words “cloth”, “equip”.

Thus, the principles of using these words immediately become clear - and you don’t even have to go into the lexical jungle.

A little catch

Every rule has an exception. The girl dresses the doll, despite the fact that the doll is an inanimate object. The store clerk will also dress, rather than put on, a mannequin.

Easy to check

If you doubt the correct use of the verbs “put on” or “dress”, there is a sure-fire way to check: select antonyms for them, i.e. words with opposite meanings. The antonym of the word “put on” is “take off.” The antonym of the word “dress” is “undress.”

That's all the wisdom. Agree, “taking off your hat” sounds ridiculous.

Well, to consolidate the rule, remember a funny saying that will make it easier for you to remember: “They put on Hope, they put on clothes.”

Anastasia Sorokko

Verb to dress

This verb denotes an action that is performed by someone in relation to someone or to any inanimate object. For example, it is worth giving the following expressions:

1. Dress the child

2. Dress the old man

3. Dress the doll

4. Dress up the girl

If you look closely at these sentences, you can see that between the word “dress” and the word, for example, “doll” can I ask who? or what? Let's give a few more examples.

1. Dress (whom?) brother in clean clothes

2. Dress (whom?) girl in a fashionable fur coat

3. Dress (What?) stuffed animal in an old dress

There is another way to determine which word should be used - put on or dress. The verb “to dress” refers to verbs that are called reflexive. That is, it can be used with a particle - sya. Again, here are a few examples:

1. Dress for the season

2. Dress in a fashionable salon

3. Dress only in new clothes

Verb to put on

The verb to put on, in contrast to the verb “to put on,” denotes an action that is directed towards oneself. For example:

1. You need to put on a new suit

2. I'll put on something warmer

3. I put on my most beautiful dress

However, there are also sentences in which the use of the verb “to dress” would be simply illogical. Here you should definitely use only the verb “put on.” Examples include the following sentences:

1. Put a gown on the patient

2. Put glasses on your nose

3. Put the cover on the chair

4. Put tires on wheels

What do all these proposals have in common? Yes, indeed, the verb put on is used here only in relation to inanimate objects (except for the sick person). And each such sentence has a short word “na”. That is, to “put on” to put something on someone or put it on something.

There is another very simple tip that will help you decide how to write correctly - to put it on or dress it down. So, we remember - they put something on themselves or on something else, but they dress someone and dress themselves. Example:

1. The girl put on her mother’s earrings and looked in the mirror

2. The man put the bait on the hook and cast the fishing rod

3. The girl hastily dressed her brother in a new jacket and walked with him to the door

4. The boy woke up and reluctantly got dressed

So what do you do with the ring? Do they wear it or do they still put it on? Now you know in which case you need to say and write “dress”, and in which case – “put on”.

How many times have you encountered a situation where you didn’t know how to write correctly – DRESS or WEAR? It seems to be nonsense, write any option. But no. If you choose the wrong one, you will either have an error or a fairy tale instead of a business text.

But in fact, everything is simple. According to the rules, the word DRESSED can only be a definition of a living creature. Well, it could be inanimate, but with signs of a person. Here is a mannequin in a store - it is inanimate, plastic, but looks like a person. Or a doll. And the hare is alive, warm and cheerfully jumping in the snow. Therefore, we will say that he is DRESSED in a warm fur coat. And let’s also say about the mannequin and doll that they are DRESSED in outfits.

But only inanimate objects can be WEARNED. Gloves on the hands, these same outfits on the mannequin and doll, a fur coat on the hare are WEAR. Even a chicken on a spit - and it GOES ON. If you joke figuratively, you could say that the spit is DRESSED as a chicken. There is even a kind of logic here. CLOSED will be the one who has been PUT something on. Let's put a new fur coat on Lyuba - and our Lyuba will be DRESSED.

Or you don’t have to bother at all. Once upon a time, while explaining this point to my son, I accidentally came up with my own bauble. Do you know the group "NA-NA"? She also sang a song about Faina. So, I found the “NA-NA rule”: where there is one NA, we’ll fasten the second one there too. ON someone means to WEAR. Even if we don’t say it directly, but only mean it. For example, let’s say “Lyuba put on a new fur coat.” And we mean - ON ourselves. Well, or FOR your little sister. That's where the second ON is hiding! AND DRESS someone. There is no second HA here, not even a supposed one.

And then your readers won’t have to imagine in surprise a glove that they suddenly accidentally put on. She walks all dressed up... a scarf around her neck, a handbag in her hand, stiletto heels on her feet. Not a glove, but an imagination. And this little thing should not walk around anywhere in dresses and be DRESSED, but sit comfortably on your hand, because she is WEARING ON this very hand (NA-NA rule!)
So DRESS Lyuba in a fur coat correctly!

Marina Khasibzyanova in

The difference between put on and put on confuses many. Their incorrect use is designated as a speech error. These words are paronyms; they are similar in sound and spelling, but they have different meanings. Like any other paronyms, this pair of words is often misused.

You can understand the differences between them, as well as learn the rules of how to use them correctly, using simple ways to memorize them.

This pair of words was highlighted back in 1843 in the “Reference Place of the Russian Word”.

Already there, attention was focused on the complexity of using these words, it was indicated how each word is written, it was described what the difference between them is, when to write and say put on, and when to put on.

The words are similar in morphemic composition and sound; these are verbs. But they differ in the following characteristics:

• they have different prefixes (o- and na-);
• different lexical meaning.

Enshrined in explanatory dictionaries. To dress means to put some clothes on someone, to cover someone, to help. Putting on is an action directed at oneself, at the one who speaks.

But even understanding the lexical differences between these words does not always help you choose the right option.

Important! Rules, tables, examples and “memos” come to the rescue - ways to memorize the rules for using words.

How to choose the right word

You can use the table to select a word:

Examples can be used for better understanding. For the word put on:

• The girl put on a beautiful snow-white dress.
• I put on a hat because it’s cold outside.
• A cool wind blew in the evening, don't forget to wear a warm coat.
• I put on the new jewelry you gave me.
• Put the ring on, I like it so much!
• When putting on pants, don't forget to take out the belt.
• We wore the same overalls completely by accident.

For the word dress:

• I can’t get ready so quickly, I still have three children to dress!
• Dressing children for walks is the responsibility of educators.
• Dress warmly, it's freezing outside!
• Don't wear that skirt on her, it doesn't match her tights!
• It seems strange to me to dress a dog in so many clothes.
• Put glasses on her, she can't see well!

There is a vivid example of a “memory” with a glove. A worn glove is one that has something on it: a hat or scarf. And a glove on is a glove on the hand.

If these methods are not enough, you can use other options.

How to remember the difference forever

Not only rules, but also “memories” help to remember the difference between words and not make mistakes when using them: associative short poems, rhyming lines, short sentences, comic sketches. For example:

• Mommy was dressing her son, and he put on the wrong pants again.
• I will put on a red coat, and I will dress you in a blue coat.
• I dressed according to the new fashion, wearing a dress from the chest of drawers.
• I dressed Maruska in a jacket and put on boots for myself.
• Dress the doll in boots, put on those pants for yourself!

Advice!“They dress in something, put it on themselves!”, “Put it on themselves, dress someone” - sometimes it’s enough to remember these simple phrases for the correct use of words in the future.
You can come up with your own phrase. It should be simple and rhythmic, easy to remember.

Antonymous pairs help you choose between words:

• put on/take off;
• dress/undress.

If you are in doubt about the use of these words, you can replace them. For example, which usage is correct: “put on gloves” or “put on gloves”? If you replace the word with an antonym in the second case, you will get an incorrect phrase: “Take off your gloves.”

Is there a difference?

Disputes continue among Russian language researchers regarding the normative use of these words.

Some argue that there is not much difference and that modern language is being modified.

This leads to the fact that there is no longer a need to monitor word usage so strictly.

For example, even in Ushakov’s explanatory dictionary, in the meaning of the word “dress,” it is allowed to be used instead of “put on.”

And in 1973, in the reference book “Difficulties of Word Usage and Variants of Norms of the Russian Literary Language,” it was allowed to use both words freely without distinction, and this was not considered an error.

So you still have to think about how to say: dress or put on? Or let everyone speak as they please?

Modern researchers are divided: some defend the variability of the Russian language and advocate the preservation of shades of meaning behind each word.

Another part supports changes and the tendency of the language to simplify. This question is often raised, but there is no consensus on this matter yet.

Useful video

Let's sum it up

When using one of the two words, you should take into account the target audience of the text: if it is an academic text, then it is advisable to write in accordance with accepted norms of the Russian language.

In live speech, some mistakes may be made, but in any case you should always be able to argue your position. To do this, you need to arm yourself with rules, excerpts from dictionaries, and vivid examples and views on this problem from different linguists.

There are rules that everyone seems to know, but they still make mistakes all the time. These include -tsya and -tsya, zhi- and shi-, the declension of the word “coffee”, as well as the long-suffering WEAR a hat or should we wear it, damn it?
Are you also confused about these two words? Then I’ll tell you a couple of little grammatical tricks, using which you will always use these words correctly.

The main difference between these two verbs is that they always dress someone, but not themselves. In those cases when they dress themselves, they say: “I am dressing,” which means “I am dressing myself.” After all, you will never say: “I’ll get dressed soon!” - it sounds simply ridiculous. So, the first thing to remember: ALWAYS DRESS someone else - a child, a dog, a doll, a mannequin.
But if you pull on, throw on, try on something, some specific thing, then you WEAR it, and that’s the only way. I WILL wear a dress, you WEAR new shoes, he will never WEAR that terrible tie.

This is the fundamental difference. When you say DRESS, you may not indicate any item or even mention clothing at all, but you must indicate exactly who you are DRESSING. Therefore: “She dressed her daughter for half an hour.” And vice versa: when you say WEAR, you always indicate what exactly, what thing, but you may not specify who exactly WEARED them. Like this: “Don’t wear so many things, you’ll get tired.”

But what to do when in one sentence there is both a person who needs to be dressed in something and the item of clothing itself? How then to choose the correct verb? Everything here is also not difficult, if you figure it out. If you are talking about someone you want to dress up, then say DRESS. For example: “She didn’t play with the doll so much as dress it up in different outfits.”
If you are describing a thing that someone dressed in, then say WEAR. So: “Mom put a hat on her son.” Here the preposition NA will serve as a clue. Remember, you can’t “put it on” - only PUT IT ON.

Still confused? Then, perhaps, two hint rhymes will come to your aid (or your children), having learned them, you can quickly remember the correct use of the word.

The first poem was written at the end of the 19th century by the poet V. Krylov:

Dear friend, do not forget,
What to wear does not mean to wear;
There is no need to confuse these expressions,
Each of them has its own meaning.
You can easily remember this:
We use the verb “to dress” when
We put clothes on something,
Or we cover something with clothes,
Otherwise we dress in clothes.
Do you want to dress yourself more elegantly?
So you should put on a new dress,
And you put on a glove on your hand,
When you put a glove on your hand.
You will dress the child in his dress,
When you put the dress on him.
To whom the native language is both sweet and dear,
He will not tolerate even a trace of mistakes,
And therefore, my friend, never
Don't make such reservations.

And the second was composed by our contemporary, poet and singer-songwriter Novella Matveeva:

“Put on”, “put on”... Two words
We confuse so stupidly!
It was a frosty dawn,
The old grandfather dressed in a fur coat.
And the fur coat, therefore, is on.
“Put it on”, “put it on”... Let’s take a look:
When to wear and what to wear.
I guess it's like my grandfather
Three fur coats can be worn.
But I don't think that grandfather
Can be worn on a fur coat!