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Sun 25 Jan, 2009 10:47 pm
When one of my car tyres is punctured, what should I say?
1. My car suffered a flat / punctured tyre.
2. One of my car tyres is flat/punctured.
3. My car has a flat/tyre.
Which of the above sentences is natural to native speakers? If none is fine, could you please rephrase the sentence?
@Intrepid,
Your reply was fast. I was still editing my text when you replied.
I left out 'punctured' in sentence 3. Am I right to say that either 'punctured' or 'flat' is correct?
Many thanks.
@tanguatlay,
As an aside, tyre is the British spelling of tire, it is not used in the US.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tire
@tanguatlay,
tanguatlay wrote:
Your reply was fast. I was still editing my text when you replied.
I left out 'punctured' in sentence 3. Am I right to say that either 'punctured' or 'flat' is correct?
Many thanks.
Not all flat tires are a result of a puncture. If you don't know that the cause is a puncture, you would be more accurate to use the word flat.
My car has a flat tire.
This is the way that it is said.
Or just "My car has a flat."
Thanks to all who responded to my post.
@Butrflynet,
Tire is an American spelling of tyre, and is not used in Britain.
Except to mean something completely different.
Really? What does it mean in Britain?
@tanguatlay,
In
England we would say "My car has a flat tyre".
@tanguatlay,
tanguatlay wrote:
Your reply was fast. I was still editing my text when you replied.
I left out 'punctured' in sentence 3. Am I right to say that either 'punctured' or 'flat' is correct?
Many thanks.
Flat would be the preferred useage.
@MontereyJack,
It's exclusively a verb here, meaning to become weary.
oh, heck, I knew that one already. I thought you meant it had some new esoteric and interesting meaning or was some new and possibly vaguely obscene Brit slang. oh, well, disappointment reigns.
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