reverse a car

P

piotr1980

Senior Member
Polish
Hello,

While backing up your car, you need to put a reverse gear.

How do you say it :

-You need now to reverse your car (or to back it up)
-You need now to put a reverse

Could you please what is a correct form to say it.

Also, refering to the gearbox, do you say :
Let's start your car and put a First ( meaning a first gear) ?

Many thanks
Piotr
 
    • Hello,

    It sounds good to say "You need to put the car in reverse" or just "Put the car in reverse." These two make sense if you're in the car with the driver. For example, a driving instructor would probably say this sentence to his student.

    In response to your second question, you should say:

    "Start the car and put it in first [gear]." You could say "gear" after "first", but it's optional.

    Hope this helps.
     
    Is Pedro's "You need to reverse your car" generally understood by BE/IE speakers?

    That would make no sense to my AE ears. I would think you wanted me to turn my car around 180 degrees or something.
     
    mgarizona said:
    Is Pedro's "You need to reverse your car" generally understood by BE/IE speakers?

    That would make no sense to my AE ears. I would think you wanted me to turn my car around 180 degrees or something.
    Click to expand...

    It makes perfect sense. Reverse means go backwards. If I want someone to turn, I would say - "you need to turn your car".
     
    We frequently use the word 'reverse' to mean 'go/turn/etc. the opposite way'.

    Reverse your dress. <-- Your dress is backwards. You need to put it on the other way.

    I was walking down the street, and I reversed my direction. <-- I turned around and went the opposite way.

    A teacher says to the students, 'Reverse your seats." <-- Turn your chairs around so they face the opposite direction.

    So, if I hear You need to reverse your car I would think that I need to turn my car around and go back the way I came in the opposite direction.

    You need to drive in reverse. <-- Now I know that I am supposed to back-up, or drive in reverse.

    Orange Blossom
     
    Yes, BE speakers usually say "Put the car in reverse", "reverse the car", "Put it into first", "Put it into first gear".

    I do not hear "reverse" in the dress/classroom situation in England. It would be "Put your dress on the other way round"/"You've got your dress on the wrong way round", and "Turn your chairs (a)round".

    An interesting AE/BE difference it would seem!
     
    Hi,

    I usually hear it said either way. "Reverse your car" and "put your car in reverse" are both used in my neck of the woods with equal meaning.

    Cheers!
     
    Orange Blossom said:
    We frequently use the word 'reverse' to mean 'go/turn/etc. the opposite way'.

    Reverse your dress. <-- Your dress is backwards. You need to put it on the other way.

    I was walking down the street, and I reversed my direction. <-- I turned around and went the opposite way.

    A teacher says to the students, 'Reverse your seats." <-- Turn your chairs around so they face the opposite direction.

    So, if I hear You need to reverse your car I would think that I need to turn my car around and go back the way I came in the opposite direction.

    You need to drive in reverse. <-- Now I know that I am supposed to back-up, or drive in reverse.

    Orange Blossom
    Click to expand...

    Interesting, I wouldn't say "reverse your seats" either, though I would understand it to mean "turn your seats around." But we do in fact (rarely, however) say "reverse your car".

    Strange.
     
    The gear box you are mentioning in your question is called the transmission of the engine. Inside the car, where the driver sits, you would have a stick shift, or the gearshift on the steering column--both which connect to the transmission and shift, or change, the position of gears that tell your car which direction (forward or backward) and with which gear ratio to move your car. You can use the verb to shift when describing the action:

    Shift into first gear!
    Shift into reverse!


    (Confusingly, a shift is also the name of a shapeless dress that looks about the same if you have it on forwards, or backwards! :D )
     
    In BE, the gearbox is the gearbox and we don't use shift.

    The transmission is the complete set of oily metal whirry bits that connect the engine with the wheels.

    We change into first, or we "put it in first" - using the gearstick or gear lever.
    I haven't come across a gear lever on a steering column since 1968.
     
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