How to spell put on or put on. Correct use of the verbs “put on” and “dress”

The verbs “put on” and “dress” are so criminally similar that most people use them without even thinking about the nuances they convey. And yet they exist. So, “put on” or “dress” - which is correct? In fact, both of these forms have a right to exist. But their use in a particular sentence is determined by the noun to which they refer.

What is the difference?

Let's figure out the meaning of these verbs in order to decide once and for all what is correct - “put on” or “dress”.

It's very simple: we put on something, and we dress someone. Thus, in order to make sure that the verb is used correctly, we need to check whether it refers to an animate or inanimate noun - and everything will immediately fall into place.

For example, we put on a hat (what?). But we dress the child (who?).

Let's make sure again different meaning the words “put on” and “dress”, choosing synonyms for them. Synonyms for “put on” are the words “attach”, “pull”. Synonyms for “dress” can be considered the words “cloth”, “equip”.

Thus, the principles of using these words immediately become clear - and you don’t even have to go into the lexical jungle.

A little catch

Every rule has an exception. The girl dresses the doll, despite the fact that the doll is an inanimate object. The store clerk will also dress, rather than put on, a mannequin.

Easy to check

If you doubt the correct use of the verbs “put on” or “dress”, there is a sure-fire way to check: select antonyms for them, i.e. words with opposite meanings. The antonym of the word “put on” is “take off.” The antonym of the word “dress” is “undress.”

That's all the wisdom. Agree, “taking off your hat” sounds ridiculous.

Well, to consolidate the rule, remember a funny saying that will make it easier for you to remember: “They put on Hope, they put on clothes.”

Anastasia Sorokko

Verb to dress

This verb denotes an action that is performed by someone in relation to someone or to any inanimate object. For example, it is worth giving the following expressions:

1. Dress the child

2. Dress the old man

3. Dress the doll

4. Dress up the girl

If you look closely at these sentences, you can see that between the word “dress” and the word, for example, “doll” can I ask who? or what? Let's give a few more examples.

1. Dress (whom?) brother in clean clothes

2. Dress (whom?) girl in a fashionable fur coat

3. Dress (What?) stuffed animal in an old dress

There is another way to determine which word should be used - put on or dress. The verb “to dress” refers to verbs that are called reflexive. That is, it can be used with a particle - sya. Again, here are a few examples:

1. Dress for the season

2. Dress in a fashionable salon

3. Dress only in new clothes

Verb to put on

The verb to put on, in contrast to the verb “to put on,” denotes an action that is directed towards oneself. For example:

1. You need to put on a new suit

2. I'll put on something warmer

3. I put on my best Nice dress

However, there are also sentences in which the use of the verb “to dress” would be simply illogical. Here you should definitely use only the verb “put on.” Examples include the following sentences:

1. Put a gown on the patient

2. Put glasses on your nose

3. Put the cover on the chair

4. Put tires on wheels

What do all these proposals have in common? Yes, indeed, the verb put on is used here only in relation to inanimate objects (except for the sick person). And each such sentence has a short word “na”. That is, to “put on” to put something on someone or put it on something.

There is another very simple tip that will help you decide how to write correctly - to put it on or dress it down. So, we remember - they put something on themselves or on something else, but they dress someone and dress themselves. Example:

1. The girl put on her mother’s earrings and looked in the mirror

2. The man put the bait on the hook and cast the fishing rod

3. The girl hastily dressed her brother in a new jacket and walked with him to the door

4. The boy woke up and reluctantly got dressed

So what do you do with the ring? Do they wear it or do they still put it on? Now you know in which case you need to say and write “dress”, and in which case – “put on”.

It has been hurting my ears for a long time now when people confuse two simple Russian words: dress and put on. Or rather, they don’t know how to use them correctly in their speech.
Sometimes it’s even infuriating when seemingly literate people constantly “put something on” themselves and others. Especially when it comes from the TV screen, where even many media figures do not know the rules of the Russian language.
So, how to dress and put on - how to do it correctly, read below.

Question
How to correctly: dress or put on a dress?

One of the reasons lexical errors in modern speech, oral and written, - non-distinction of cognate words, in particular verbs dress (dress) — put on (put on) . And in live, direct communication between native speakers of the Russian language - in loose colloquial speech; and in book speech - in radio and television broadcasts, in speeches of politicians at rallies, with various kinds public statements, deputies in the State Duma, officials on one or another official occasion, quite often one can encounter incorrect, erroneous use of lexical units related from the point of view of word formation. For example, verbs are confused get used to it And get used to, loosen And let loose, adverbs objectivist And objectively... (see “From Monitoring violations of norms of speech in the media” // Gorbanevsky M. V., Karaulov Yu. N., Shaklein V. M. Don’t speak in rough language. On violations of norms of literary speech in electronic and print media / Ed. Yu. A. Belchikova, M., 2000, pp. 19-137 - based on materials from television, radio programs and newspapers), nouns portrait And self-portrait(in the program “Field of Miracles”, on the ORT channel, on August 30, 2002, a participant in the game presented the presenter with his “self-portrait, which was drawn by her seven-year-old son”).
When using cognates, verbs are most unlucky put on (put on) - put on (put on) (these verbs belong to paronyms - see the article “ Subscription, subscription, subscription»).
The TV presenter also uses these words incorrectly ( …what do you need dress to appear under the circus big top// “Don’t speak with a rough tongue,” p. 29), and radio program host ( He's on himself dressed… // Ibid., p. 40), and a TV correspondent (... there will be a good occasion dress dress uniform— NTV, August 29 2002), and journalist ( Winter has come, we must dress other shoes// Don’t speak in rough language, p. 28), and pop star ( I can't do anything dress from this collection. // Ibid., p. 106), see in the capital’s Nezavisimaya Gazeta: dated March 12, 1999: “ We put the modernized watch on the right hand».
Verbs dress And put on - polysemantic. The meanings in which actions towards a person are indicated are as follows:
Dress - who, what. 1. To clothe someone. to some clothes. Dress a child, the sick, the wounded; Wed dress a doll, mannequin…
Put on - What. 1. To pull, push (clothes, shoes, covers, etc.), covering, enveloping something. Wear a suit, skirt, coat, jacket, shoes, mask, gas mask…
Verb dress comes into combination with animate nouns (and with a small number of inanimate ones, denoting the likeness of a person: doll, mannequin, skeleton);put on - with the inanimate.
To complete the description of the lexico-syntactic connections of our verbs, it should be noted that the verb dress is included (within the 1st meaning) in combinations with inanimate nouns denoting parts of the body, but through mediation animate noun (whom) and always with a prepositional-case combination of an inanimate noun ( in what - in new uniform ) or with inanimate noun in the oblique case ( something - a blanket, a shawl) according to the principle of indirect control. Put on the same (within the 1st value) has syntactic connections according to the same principle with animate nouns: put on (coat) on whom: for grandfather, for child) and with inanimate: what to put on (on the hand, on the neck), on top of what(over the shirt) why(under the coat).
The difference in the semantics of these words is emphasized by the fact that they form different antonymic pairs: put on - take off, put on - undress.
The semantic originality of each of the verbs is especially clearly revealed when they occur within the same context. In this regard, poetic texts dedicated to the words in question are of great interest. One of the poems was written in late XIX century, by the now forgotten poet V. Krylov, another by our contemporary N. Matveeva.
Here is the first poem:
Dear friend, do not forget,
What dress does not mean put on;
There is no need to confuse these expressions,
Each of them has its own meaning.
You can easily remember this:
Verb "dress" we say when
We put clothes on something,
Or we cover something with clothes,
Otherwise we dress in clothes.
Do you want to dress yourself more elegantly?
This is how a new dress should be put on,
And you put on a glove on your hand,
When you put a glove on your hand.
You will dress the child in his dress,
When you put the dress on him.
To whom the native language is both sweet and dear,
He will not tolerate even a trace of mistakes,
And therefore, my friend, never
Don't make such reservations.
As we see, more than a hundred years ago the use of verbs put on And dress was for native Russian speakers big problem, and then the serious attention of the guardians of correctness was already paid to this native language. It is also obvious that these humorous (at the same time linguistically quite reasonable) poems are still relevant today.
This is confirmed by Novella Matveeva:
"Put it on", "put it on"… Two words
We confuse so stupidly!
It was a frosty dawn,
The old grandfather dressed in a fur coat.
And the fur coat, therefore, is on.
"Put it on", "put it on"... Let's take a look:
When to wear and what to wear.
I guess it's like my grandfather
Three fur coats can be worn.
But I don't think that grandfather
Can be worn on a fur coat!

These verbs denote actions that apply to a specific person. And often we get confused when and which of these words is more correct to use. Everything is very simple! To teach children at school this wisdom, experienced teachers came up with a set phrase in a comic form, so that the rule would be etched into memory once and for all. “Put on clothes, put on Hope!”

We put it on ourselves

It's simple! That is, we put something on ourselves (a dress, a jacket, a coat), and we put it on someone else (or something similar to a person). For example, a favorite doll, a mannequin, a teddy bear. Put on headphones - dress up a child, put on a mask - dress up Margarita for a walk, put on a hat - dress up in the Snow Maiden's outfit.

Examples from life

The verb “to dress” is combined with animate objects to a greater extent, if the definition is clearer. Or with inanimate objects, but which represent animate ones. Or which were previously animate. Confused? Example! "Put a jacket on a human skeleton!" (Was it once animate, alive? Or did it imply that it was a person). “Dress a mannequin according to the latest fashion!”, “Dress a Barbie doll in a governess outfit!” These are the examples that will help you understand the essence of the differences.

Important!!!

The verb “put on” is used only with inanimate objects put on animate ones! "Put on your coat, it's cold there!" "Put on your gloves, it's winter already!"

For purity of speech

To put on or put on - correct use of these words emphasizes your education and self-discipline, which stops you from incorrect pronunciation, which distances you from the purity of speech.

“Put on a shirt, dress Natasha!”

Advice

It’s more clear and interesting to consider the antonyms for these unique words in pairs! So, for example, the word “put on” will always be “take off”, and the word “dress” will always be “undress”! “When to wear and what to wear, let’s remember and watch!”

Dictionary

The traditional differentiation of such verbs can be seen in the explanatory dictionaries of the Russian language by S. Ozhegov and Ushakov, but they are not always at hand, and it is not always possible to go to the Internet - there is plenty of space. That’s why we recommend using our tips and visual cues that stick in your memory. If you have plenty of time to think, use modern interactive dictionaries and make sure you use them correctly.

What's the difference?

Conclusion:

It is important, in a dialogue with your interlocutor, to quickly find your bearings: which of these verbs should be used, spending a fraction of a second on this choice! Without even showing that he was thinking about this choice. Think that it is easier to remember a dressed skeleton in a hat with a feather and a cloak, or a dressed Nadya-Nadezhda, a dressed shirt, or a dressed Natasha! Wearing clothes is like a quick check of the correct choice of verb or a method by contradiction. We are all different, the choice is yours! Which is easier for you to remember?

DRESS Natasha in fur!

Dress and put on

Question

Which is correct: “dress” or “put on a dress”?

Verbs dress And put on - polysemantic. The meanings in which actions towards a person are indicated are as follows:

Dress - who, what. 1. To clothe someone. to some clothes. Dress a child, the sick, the wounded; Wed dress a doll, mannequin…

Put on - What. 1. To pull, push (clothes, shoes, covers, etc.), covering, enveloping something. Wear a suit, skirt, coat, jacket, shoes, mask, headphones…

Verb dress comes into combination with animate nouns (and with a small number of inanimate ones, denoting the likeness of a person: doll, mannequin, skeleton); put on - with the inanimate.

The difference in the semantics of these words is emphasized by the fact that they form different antonymic pairs: put on - take off, put on - undress .

This is confirmed by Novella Matveeva:

"Put it on", "put it on"… Two words

We confuse so stupidly!

It was a frosty dawn,

The old grandfather dressed in a fur coat.

And the fur coat, therefore, is on.

"Put it on", "put it on"... Let's take a look:

When to wear and what to wear.

I guess it's like my grandfather

Three fur coats can be worn.

But I don't think that grandfather

Can be worn on a fur coat!

Distinguish

dress And put on.

. Yu. A. Belchikov, O. I. Razheva. 2015 .

See what “dress and put on” is in other dictionaries:

dress- put on. see: put on...

Look and put on... Dictionary of difficulties of the Russian language

put on- and put it on. In meaning “to clothe oneself, to dress, to put on something; fit something on yourself” put on. Put on a coat, suit. Wear a hat and gloves. Put on your boots. Put on glasses. In meaning “to clothe someone in some kind of clothing” to dress. Dress the patient... ... Dictionary of difficulties of pronunciation and stress in modern Russian language

DRESS- DRESS, dress, dress, lead. dress, really (to dress). 1. whom what into what or with what. Put on some clothes. Dress the child. || Cover, wrap with something for warmth. Dress the horse with a blanket. Cover the patient with a blanket. 2. translation, what than. Cover by,… … Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

WEAR- PUT ON, put on, put on, lead. put it on, really. (to put on). 1. what to whom what. To cover, to clothe someone with something, to attach something to someone or something, covering, clothing. Put a cover on the furniture. Put a hat on the child. Gave him... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

put on- Put on, put on, we strongly recommend that you remember the difference between the verbs put on and put on, otherwise you risk revealing your ignorance in the most inappropriate environment. We will dwell on this difference in more detail when we talk about... ... Dictionary of Russian language errors

dress- Cm … Synonym dictionary

DRESS- DRESS, yeah, yeah; yen; childish; Sovereign 1. whom (what) in what or with what. Cover who n. what n. clothes, bedspread. O. child in a coat. O. with a blanket (cover). Winter covered the fields with snow (translated) [not to be confused with putting something on someone (what)]. 2. whom (what) ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

put on- what and what to what. Put on your coat. Put on glasses. Place the ring on your finger. Place the tip on the pencil. Put the backpack on your back. Alyosha put on his jacket, Kovbysh put on his father’s jacket (Gorbatov). He put on all his insignia (Chekhov). Wed. dress... Control Dictionary

dress- whom what into what or with what. Dress the child in a fur coat. Winter covered the fields with snow. The grandmother was dressed in a silk shushun and a skirt and tied with a silk scarf (Aksakov). [Katerina] brought [Ordynov] to the bed, put him to bed and dressed him with a blanket (Dostoevsky). Wed. put on... Control Dictionary

Books

Russian without load, Yulia Andreeva, Ksenia Turkova. The book is deliberately conceived as a tool: Yulia Andreeva and Ksenia Turkova selected typical mistakes in speech, written and oral, explained them in simple language and packaged it in a way that is understandable to the reader...

There are rules in our rich Russian language that you seem to know, but still you constantly make mistakes when writing or pronounce them out loud with an error. These rules include treacherous soft sign in the ending -tsya and -tsya, the declension of the word “coffee”, the verbs “lay down” and “put” and the well-worn “put on” and “dress”.

If, for example, there is still some difference in “lay down” and “put down,” then it’s very easy to get confused in these two words. Sit and wonder what is the correct way: to put socks on or not?!

If you are one of those who often get confused about these words, let's figure out how to use them correctly. In addition, we have selected a couple of excellent reminders that will help you write and speak correctly and competently when using them.

Dress

What is the main difference between these very similar words? The rule is that in Russian you only dress someone, but not yourself. An exception is the expression “I am dressing,” which means that I am dressing myself. Agree, you never say “I’ll get dressed soon.” This sounds ridiculous.

Therefore, in order to use this pair of words correctly and competently, the first thing you need to remember is: according to the rules of the Russian language, only someone is dressed.

“I’m dressing a child/mannequin/doll.”

Let's use the word "socks" as an example. The phrase “putting on socks” sounds ridiculous - it turns out that you are dressing up socks, not yourself.

Here is the answer to the question of whether to put on socks or not.

Put on

Thus, the word “put on” is used when the speaker talks about how he throws on something, tries it on, pulls it on. The word is most often used in speech to refer to a specific thing. Here simple examples: he will never wear this suit; I'll wear these beautiful earrings.

This is where the fundamental difference between the two words emerged. When you use the word “dress,” you must indicate who you dressed. For example: a mother was dressing her son.

By using the word “put on,” you indicate that the thing is put on by a person. It is not at all necessary to specify who exactly. The emphasis is on the item of clothing: “Don’t wear a sweater, it will be hot!”

If you are talking about the fact that you put something on someone, then it sounds like this: the mother dressed her son; the son was putting on socks; Mom put socks on her son.

Rules memo

When analyzing this rule, teachers at school often use a simple example that makes it easy to speak competently:

We dress Nadezhda, put on clothes.

By learning this simple example, you will never get confused when deciding which word to use.

In addition, our contemporary wrote a wonderful funny poem, which, having learned, you will never forget how to dress or put on socks correctly. It sounds like this:

“Put on”, “put on”... Two words