Dear students,
Some of you have expressed confusion about how to use “dress” and “wear” when writing the essay “Dressing for Success”.
I hope this blog entry will help clarify how to use “dress” and “wear”.
In her essay, Kirsty wrote the following sentence:
“Nowadays more and more people dress casual clothing instead of suits.”
I corrected the sentence like this: “Nowadays, more and more people wear casual clothing instead of suits.”
Kirsty viewed my correction, and asked: “What’s wrong with my sentence? Dress is a verb and casual clothing is a noun, so why can I use "wear" casual clothing, but not "dress" casual clothing?”
Good question! For Kirsty and everyone else who is confused, let me try to explain!
1. Dress and wear as verbs
"Dress" (v.) means to put on clothing. It can be used without a direct object (intransitive verb), like this:
to dress casually / to dress casual
to dress for dinner
to dress for success
to dress up (means to dress nicely; example: She’s going on a date; that’s why she’s all dressed up.)
to get dressed (example: I can't answer the phone now, I'm getting dressed.)
If it is used with a direct object (transitive verb), the object is a PERSON, not a piece of clothing:
to dress a child (=to help a child put clothes on)
NOT: to dress a skirt
Correct: to wear a skirt
Another way to use “dress” is with the preposition “in”:
Examples:
He arrived at the party dressed in cowboy boots and a cowboy hat.
Who is the woman dressed in black?
"Wear" on the other hand, is always a transitive verb, which means it is followed by a direct object. The direct object is always a piece of clothing:
to wear a coat
to wear a hat
to wear glasses
to wear casual clothing
2. Dress and wear can also be nouns.
“Dress”, as a noun, has two meanings:
1. A piece of women’s clothing, usually consisting of a one-piece bodice and skirt.
In this meaning, “dress” is used with an article. Examples: an evening dress; a wedding dress; What a beautiful dress!
2. Clothing of a specific kind, normally worn on a specific occasion.
In this meaning, “dress” does NOT take an article. Examples: casual dress, formal dress, dress code
“Wear”, as a noun, can be used like “dress”, 2.: instead of casual dress, you can say casual wear. Example: a shop selling sports wear
Got it? Yes? No? As confused as ever? More confused than before?? Feel free to leave your comments!
