¿Cuál es la diferencia entre empty y vacant ?Puedes dar oraciones como ejemplo.

Respuestas

adroit_droid

29 abr 2014

Respuesta destacada

Inglés (US)

I agree with the comment above. Sometimes the two are interchangeable, like in the case with your teacher's comment. A seat can be "empty" or "vacant". "Empty" can oftentimes be used instead of the word "vacant" to mean the same thing, but "vacant" usually sounds strange when it replaces the word "empty". I think of it as "vacant" refers only to the absence of people, but "empty" can be the absence of people and/or things.

Example:
The room is empty. -> There's no one in the room, or the room has nothing in it.

The room is vacant. -> There is no one occupying the room.

Vacant is often used in official situations, like when you are applying for a position, or renting rooms.

Best of luck to you!

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18thmonster

29 abr 2014

Inglés (US)

Empty can be used when there is nothing inside a container or room. Eg. An empty bag of chips or an empty box.
Vacant is the opposite of Occupied. Eg. A vacant toilet stall, or when a hotel has rooms to rent, it has vacancy (has vacant rooms, no one is using them) Implies more that there are no people inside.
Hope that helped, sorry if it was a little confusing.

deepseadiva

29 abr 2014

Japonés

Thank you!
But I have seen the word "an empty seat" in my textbook written by Japanese teacher.
Is it correct??

adroit_droid

29 abr 2014

Inglés (US)

I agree with the comment above. Sometimes the two are interchangeable, like in the case with your teacher's comment. A seat can be "empty" or "vacant". "Empty" can oftentimes be used instead of the word "vacant" to mean the same thing, but "vacant" usually sounds strange when it replaces the word "empty". I think of it as "vacant" refers only to the absence of people, but "empty" can be the absence of people and/or things.

Example:
The room is empty. -> There's no one in the room, or the room has nothing in it.

The room is vacant. -> There is no one occupying the room.

Vacant is often used in official situations, like when you are applying for a position, or renting rooms.

Best of luck to you!

deepseadiva

29 abr 2014

Japonés

Thank you very much!!
I see.
I learned much thanks to you.

djan

29 abr 2014

Inglés (US)

"empty" means that a container has nothing in it.

"vacant" means that a place for people has no people in it. A place being "vacant" implies that the place is big enough for a human to physically fit inside. When used for smaller places, it can sound too formal.

Hotel rooms are called "vacant", because calling them "empty" would imply the room has no furniture.

A chair is called "empty" because humans sit on chairs, not in chairs, so they are too small to be called "vacant".

In some cases "vacant" can be used for non-physical places that humans conceptually fit into, such as a position on a sports team.

deepseadiva

3 may 2014

Japonés

Thank you everyone!
Your answers are so helpful that I found it more interesting to learn English!
Please heip me next time!

みなさんありがとうございました！
みなさんの回答はすごく有用で、おかげで英語学習がまた楽しくなりました。
またの機会がありましたら、宜しくお願いします。