Timeline for Is there any object we own but don't possess?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
21 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24 at 22:34 | comment | added | Simon Crase | @AndyBonner There is an offense, being in possession of a controlled substance. So if a person is caught with cocaine, for instance, the police aren't interested in whether or not he owns the drugs. | |
| May 24 at 21:14 | comment | added | JimmyJames | @Lambie Got it. | |
| May 24 at 21:09 | comment | added | Lambie | @JimmyJames Own means the same thing in BrE and AmE. Possess means the same thing in BrE and AmE. They are not synomyms. Now do you see what I am saying? I was reacting to the comment above re BrE aned AmE. | |
| May 24 at 20:28 | comment | added | JimmyJames | @Lambie How would you interpret something like "I own a Rolex, but I don't currently possess it." Is that a contradictory statement? | |
| May 24 at 20:21 | comment | added | JimmyJames | @Lambie I don't follow. Are you saying that it's normal to say a thief 'owns' stolen goods in their possession in the US or Canada? | |
| May 24 at 19:14 | comment | added | Lambie | @JimmyJames That is NOT what I said. I said there is no difference between the way those words are used in BrE and AmE. | |
| May 24 at 19:01 | comment | added | JimmyJames | @Lambie "There is no difference between own and possess" Really? A person can, for example, possess a stolen item but I don't think it's really correct to say that they own it. | |
| May 24 at 0:13 | comment | added | TimothyAWiseman | @Lambie You're right, I never meant to suggest that there was one. I was making a more general statement in response to An IELTS Learner's comment that dictionaries do not always reflect full nuances in actual usage in part because there are regional differences (even inside the US for that matter). I should note that some more comprehensive dictionaries note some regional differences, but many don't even try. | |
| May 23 at 21:13 | comment | added | Lambie | @TimothyAWiseman There is no difference between own and possess in BrE and AmE. | |
| May 23 at 18:50 | comment | added | Jay | Yes, dictionaries sometimes fail to convey nuances. When I was in high school we saw a movie made in Japan about industrial robots. It ended with the narrator saying, "And thus, through the use of industrial robots, people can achieve happiness." The class burst into laughter, because "happiness" was just not the right word for that context. If he had said, "Industrial robots improve people's lives", it would have sounded perfectly reasonable. I remember thinking, I guess English is not his first language, and by a dictionary definition, the word made sense in that context. | |
| May 23 at 17:09 | comment | added | TimothyAWiseman | @anIELTSlearner Most languages, English included, sometimes have nuances in actual language that aren't easily captured in the dictionary. This is particularly true since language evolves. Our modern English is different from Shakespeare's. American English is different from British English. In situations where exact definitions matter, they are often provided with great precision and should be. Otherwise, it is a feature of most languages that a dictionary may not explain the full nuance of a word as used by actual native speakers. | |
| May 23 at 8:42 | comment | added | Jed Schaaf | They can be used just fine as synonyms, but there is a useful distinction if current control over the thing and right of title to the thing differ. | |
| May 23 at 3:53 | comment | added | An IELTS Learner | I meant awkward way* | |
| May 23 at 3:50 | vote | accept | An IELTS Learner | ||
| May 23 at 0:04 | comment | added | An IELTS Learner | For example, if the test talks about the number of people owning a car, and I write "The number of people possessing a car", it will be kind of unnatural, isn't? | |
| May 22 at 23:47 | comment | added | An IELTS Learner | @Peter It is a problem because the definition doesn't specify the difference in nuances between the two words, and then it gives examples relating to physical objects due to which readers might think that possess can be used with physical objects just like own does. If I hadn't raised the question here, I might just go to the exam room using possess in an award way. | |
| May 22 at 22:10 | comment | added | SomeoneSomewhereSupportsMonica | @PeterKirkpatrick For example, if you are going through customs, you might only have (possess) one suitcase with you. They don't care about the other dozen suitcases you own back at home; they're not in your possession right now. | |
| May 22 at 19:38 | comment | added | Peter Kirkpatrick | Why is that example a problem? To me it fits perfectly. The example can mean either (1) "I own this suitcase (I bought it and have the receipt)" (Jay's definition #1) or (2) "This suitcase is the only one under my control" (It's the only one I can find anywhere in the house) (Jay's definition #3) | |
| May 22 at 14:31 | comment | added | An IELTS Learner | This makes me question all the entries in dictionaries; they can be really misleading sometimes. Here's an example in OD: I'm afraid this is the only suitcase I possess. | |
| May 22 at 12:33 | comment | added | Andy Bonner | @anIELTSlearner Another situation in which there would be a difference of course would be theft or dispute. If someone steals my cell phone, they possess it, but I own it. There's a legal saying, "possession is nine tenths of the law." Meaning if I then take the thief to court and he says it's really his, the court is likely to believe him instead of me, unless I have proof, since he possesses it. | |
| May 22 at 12:29 | history | answered | Jay | CC BY-SA 4.0 |