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I have this sentence:

Take the number seven bus to London.

Can we say

Catch the number seven bus to London.

Which should be used in BrE and which in AmE?

I think we can't 'catch the number seven bus to London' because of it is like 'to take route' and we can't catch 'route'. but I'm not sure about it.

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  • Don't you mean particular?
    – QuentinUK
    Commented Mar 26, 2014 at 18:05
  • I mean a particular bus - number seven bus.
    – Selio
    Commented Mar 26, 2014 at 18:11
  • There is no difference in catch vs. take usage simply because you designate a specific bus.
    – choster
    Commented Mar 26, 2014 at 19:15

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Catch instead of Take would be less likely here because there is no time factor involved; if you're trying to get to London by some particular deadline, you might want to "catch the 3:00 bus" in order to get there by 4:00. (In other words, in order to use catch, there should be some possibility to miss as well.)

You could also speak of "catching the first (or the next) bus" since you are referring to one particular bus, as opposed to any bus traveling the given route.

However, this is a minor distinction, and if you do use catch it will be perfectly understandable.

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    In California AmE I usually hear "take" for a bus, not catch, again because the schedules are pretty much fixed. But it is more common to hear "catch a flight", since as we all know flight schedules are not so fixed. This might especially apply when someone will try to "catch" an earlier flight. As Hellion points out, certainty of the timing is the main factor.
    – user3169
    Commented Mar 27, 2014 at 5:25
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Both are fine. And I don't know if there is any BrE and AmE difference based on this. Most likely they are equally possible in both English. I am leaving this conclusion to native speakers. Native speakers, please help here.

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I have a slightly different take on this. Catch and take are interchangeable, both in AmE and BrE (I have caught and taken quite a few buses both in the US and in the UK).

On the other hand, there is a different "flavor" to the two words, as the other answerers are saying. Hellion puts the difference very well: if there's some chance of missing your bus, then catch is the verb used; if not, then take.

The reason that take and catch are interchangeable is because, as I'm sure Hellion will agree, there is always a chance to miss the bus. You can be standing there 15 minutes early, have the bus show up, have one person get off, and have the driver let the person in front of you on and then say "sorry, all full, catch the next one."

Catch conveys the meaning of buses always attempting to leave one behind (which as everyone knows they are) and therefore having be caught to be used. Take is more matter-of-fact; it simply means using the bus as the means of travel. So, as I see it, the question of whether you use catch or take is simply a question of whether or not you want to convey a sense of identification with the stress shared by bus travellers the world over who are depending on a bus as their means of transportation.

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    Catch and take are almost interchangeable. I would use take more to emphasize that I am riding on the bus to my destination, while catch would be act of trying to meet up with the bus at the right time and place and actually getting on it. A little less drama and time pressure indicated in take than in catch.
    – Phil Perry
    Commented Mar 28, 2014 at 17:40
  • I haven't said they aren't, as a perusal of my answer will reveal, no? I don't disagree with your statement. I'm saying that they are (almost) interchangeable because of the simple fact that taking a bus always involves catching it in some way.
    – BobRodes
    Commented Mar 29, 2014 at 23:09
  • I'm just saying that I don't consider them exactly interchangeable, that catch is a little more "dramatic" and take is a little more mundane.
    – Phil Perry
    Commented Mar 31, 2014 at 14:48
  • Yes, me too! :)
    – BobRodes
    Commented Apr 1, 2014 at 13:35

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