pass / overtake / get past
- Thread starter sunyaer
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There might be a regional difference here.
Overtaking is the normal term in BrE. I think passing is the normal term in AmE.
Have a look at the wikipedia entry.
Apparently in Australia, overtaking and passing mean different things. You overtake a vehicle moving in the same direction, but pass a vehicle that is stationary or moving in the opposite direction.
Overtaking is the normal term in BrE. I think passing is the normal term in AmE.
Have a look at the wikipedia entry.
Apparently in Australia, overtaking and passing mean different things. You overtake a vehicle moving in the same direction, but pass a vehicle that is stationary or moving in the opposite direction.
Well, Copyright, we members seem to be all over the map with this one. Nat likes "overtake" but not "pass", you like "pass" and "overtake", and I'd probably say "pass" or maybe "get past" in a spontaneous utterance. I might well use "overtake" in writing, but it's not the sort of verb that leaps to my tongue when I'm fighting traffic. 
So if I'm driving in London, am I overtaking all the cars parked on the street?
I only overtake moving vehicles, for what it's worth.
So if I'm driving in London, am I overtaking all the cars parked on the street?
No, I would say going past all the parked cars. And I only overtake cars moving in the same direction, like Copyright.
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Personally, if I was driving, and there was a slower car in front, I might say any of those three sentences.
I am Australian, and while it is true that the road rules distinguish between overtaking and passing, that's only for the actual rules. In everyday speech, no one cares too much about any such fine distinction.
I am Australian, and while it is true that the road rules distinguish between overtaking and passing, that's only for the actual rules. In everyday speech, no one cares too much about any such fine distinction.
Same here.
However, my first choice would be "overtake". Then "pass" and then "get past" in the example given by the OP. In different contexts, I would use the phrases differently. I would always say "an overtaking menoeuvre", as opposed to "passing manoeuvre", for example. In the passive voice, for the sake of brevity, I would be more likely to say "He was passed by..." instead of "He was overtaken by...". There are situations where my first preference would be "get past", e.g. "Schumacher squeezed Hill into the corner and didn't let him get past."
In the UK overtake is the most common term. I've never heard anyone use pass, because pass is usually for oncoming traffic. If you said I passed 3 blue cars on the way to work, I would probably assume they were travelling in the opposite direction to you.
It's strange you should say that, Archstudent.
British Formula 1 commentators would certianly not agree with you. And this example is from the Cambridge dictionary:to go past something or someone or move in relation to it or them:
You should only pass a slower vehicle if it is safe to do so.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/pass_1?q=pass
In fact, I'm pretty sure you've heard pass used this way without even paying attention...
Perhaps you are right! I am only giving anecdotal evidence after all, and I'm sure my experience is limited.. In any case overtake is definitely the most commonly used (I don't know about f1 I don't follow it).
All 3 are used. My usage is the second and third. But then I was brought up in the UK.
GF..
Unfortunately my choice of language gets worse the longer I am stuck behind the f. idiot in front of me.
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Today for whatever reason I wanted to refresh my memory on this matter, only to find out that even the Aussie and Kiwi road authorities can't seem to agree on the meaning of 'passing' vs 'overtaking'.
NZ:
NZ:
Aussie, e.g., SA:
So this seems to be a highly regional thing even when formal language is concerned.
Yarique, I don't think the definitions are incompatible. The definition of 'passing' for New Zealand suggests that the slow vehicles pull over at what I would call lay-bys (this is a BrE term), making that vehicle stationary. You'd pass a stationary vehicle but overtake a vehicle moving in the same direction.
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Yarique's NZ quote includes mention of "passing lanes." Here in the States, at least, we have "slow vehicle" lanes on steep hills - an extra lane will open up, and slower vehicles (bigger ones, or those with less powerful engines) are expected to stay in the right lane, permitting faster vehicles to pass them in the left lane.
Natkretep, you are absolutely right as far as rigorous logic is concerned. Still, I find it mildly amusing that the NZ road authority wanted to point out that their definition wasn't exactly the same as the Aussie one. Also, when in formal context, 'passing' involves an oncoming vehicle in Australia. (I can confirm this, being an Aussie driver license holder.) E.g., 'No Passing or Overtaking' seems to be a very Aussie road sign to me, usually seen before a narrow bridge or causeway. (In colloquial speech no such sharp distinction is made, of course, as kindly confirmed by eni8ma.) The bottom line here should probably be that, if one's own or somebody else's life ever depends on the interpretation of 'passing' or 'overtaking', one shouldn't hesitate to ask for the word to be clarified.
I'd say I was overtaking. I'd probably, as a British driver, have my eyes closed in terror - all the cars are driving on the wrong side of the road.
Thank you!
However, I don't know why get past can't be used according to most of native speakers. If you want to pass (or overtake) the car in front of you, it's because it goes more slowly than yours, so we can considered that this car is kind of an obstacle you have to get past....no??
The difference is indeed kind of subtle, then. Anyway, great explanation, Andygc.
You get past, say, a house, not a moving car.
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Yes, I think it is clear that this is how passing is used in North American English. I was thinking of post 25 which suggested that this worked for most native speakers of English and wanted to say that it doesn't work for BrE and AusE, for example. For us (who keep left), the right lane is for overtaking.
I don't. I get past an obstruction, such as a parked car, or a slow-moving vehicle. We, in the UK, don't build houses on our roads, we build them beside our roads. I go past houses.
We do use "passing" in BE, usually in the context of lanes of traffic moving at different speeds, and sometimes also to mean "overtaking", but it lacks the implication of something being in the way that is expressed by "getting past".
< Response to deleted post removed. Cagey, moderator. >
If I'm driving my car I can only get past a house if it's partially blocking the road. As I said, if it's in the usual place for a house, I go past it.
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You certainly can in BE, but it's "in your way".
This question has been added to a previous thread. Cagey, moderator
I call the insurance company for claiming a accident and say "The other driver 'overtook' or 'passed' my car illegally from my right side."
Are they both correct in AmE? If so, which is more formal in accident claims? Thank you.
I call the insurance company for claiming a accident and say "The other driver 'overtook' or 'passed' my car illegally from my right side."
Are they both correct in AmE? If so, which is more formal in accident claims? Thank you.
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Americans use "pass". The only people I've seen using "overtake" were British or Australian.
The issue with "overtake" in the USA isn't that it would be wrong; it's that people might not ever have even heard of it at all so they wouldn't know what you meant. (I didn't know that "overtake" existed until I saw a few foreigners using it on the internet.)
The issue with "overtake" in the USA isn't that it would be wrong; it's that people might not ever have even heard of it at all so they wouldn't know what you meant. (I didn't know that "overtake" existed until I saw a few foreigners using it on the internet.)
This is fascinating. So what if it's a metaphorical use? I'd normally say things like "The Ruritanian economy is rapidly overtaking that of other east European countries" or "John's French is improving and he has overtaken most of the others in his class.". What would you say in the USA? Pass?
In my experience, "overtake" is used in AmE but almost always in the sense in which you must increase your speed and catch up to them for some reason - perhaps I'm racing the other car or I want get in front of the other car to stop it (the police overtook the bank robber's car) or figuratively as in Keith's examples. The normal situation (the other car is going more slowly than I would like to go) is just "passing."
For a while, I used to investigate accidents and I interviewed hundreds of drivers:
Usually, at this point I would have had the answers concerning whether both cars were moving, or only one car (your car) was moving. There is no context, so:
I am trying to pass the car in front me. -> I would see this as slightly ambiguous and ask more questions. “Were both cars moving?”
I am trying to overtake the car in front me. -> I would assume that both you and the car in front were travelling but confirm this was the case.
I am trying to get past the car in front me. -> This indicates to me that there might have been some difficulty or danger in the manoeuvre and I would assume that the car in front of you was (i) stationary but in an awkward position or, (ii) was moving or manoeuvring slowly or (iii) you were in a desperate hurry and liable to take a risk... but I would ask more questions.
"Overtake" or "surpass," I suppose.
You're putting in an insurance claim in Hong Kong? I would use overtake because I think the British usage is dominant in Hong Kong.
But there's a puzzle there. Traffic is on the left in Hong Kong. Therefore, if you overtake from the left, it's illegal. The right lane is for overtaking. So where are you?
Hi,
This question concerns traffic regulations. In the code of my country three particular definitions regarding car movement are distinguished: overtaking (catching up with and passing while travelling in the same direction), passing (catching up with and passing an immobile vehicle) and the third one is going next to a vehicle coming from the opposite direction. Is there also a verb which has the meaning of the third definition?
This question concerns traffic regulations. In the code of my country three particular definitions regarding car movement are distinguished: overtaking (catching up with and passing while travelling in the same direction), passing (catching up with and passing an immobile vehicle) and the third one is going next to a vehicle coming from the opposite direction. Is there also a verb which has the meaning of the third definition?
Not to my knowledge; I would call it "passing an oncoming vehicle."
The vehicle coming from the opposite direction is known as an oncoming vehicle.
I can only think of saying to pass an oncoming/approaching vehicle.
(cross-posted)
I can only think of saying to pass an oncoming/approaching vehicle.
(cross-posted)
I have, nat. Thanks. The thread is fascinating. I think it's important to note the road conditions are different in various countries. In mine, for example, where multilane roads are still few and far between, the instance of passing a moving vehicle in another lane (in the same direction) is quite rare. Most roads have one lane in each direction so this:
"In my experience, "overtake" is used in AmE but almost always in the sense in which you must increase your speed and catch up to them for some reason - [...]"
occurs much more often than passing.
Interesting!
"In my experience, "overtake" is used in AmE but almost always in the sense in which you must increase your speed and catch up to them for some reason - [...]"
occurs much more often than passing.
Interesting!
or (iv) there was too much oncoming traffic.
