Dress v Wear v Put On
Source: Photo by Nick de Partee on Unsplash
Let's start with put on. This verb is always used with an object.
- I put on my glasses to read the small print.
- You should put on a jumper. It's getting cold.
- I took off my black shoes and put the brown ones on. They're much more comfortable.
- Why aren't you wearing your seat belt? Put it on before the police catches us.
You can see from the last example that you have to put something on before you can say you are wearing it. (Does that make sense?)
It's the opposite of take off.
You could say that put on is to start wearing and take off is to finish wearing something.
Both put on and take off are separable phrasal verbs. This means that the object can go between the verb and preposition or come after the preposition. However, if you use a pronoun, it must be in the middle.
- She forgot to put her earrings on. 😍
- She forgot to put on her earrings. 😍
- She forgot to put them on. 😍
- She forgot to put on them. 😡
- I took my tie off as soon as I left the office. 😍
- I took off my tie as soon as I left the office. 😍
- I took it off as soon as I left the office. 😍
- I took off it as soon as I left the office. 😡
Put on can have the sense of applying something.
- The moment I wake up, before I put on my make up, I say a little prayer for you.
- I have to put on sunscreen every half hour or so.
Now wear (i.e. you have the clothes on).
- She usually wears a skirt but today she is wearing trousers.
- I wore my kilt to my cousin's wedding.
- I haven't worn this shirt for ages.
Be careful how you translate sentences with wear.
- Lleva puesto vaqueros. - He is wearing jeans. 😍 He wears jeans. 😡
- Mira como va vestido. - Look at what he is wearing. 😍 Look at what he wears. 😡
And finally dress. It is not used with an object.
- Why does she always dress in black? (dress in + colour / specific clothes)
- He is always dressed in a striped shirt.
- You'll have to dress smartly tonight. No trainers. (dress + adverb)
- I don't dress very well. I have no interest in clothes.
Get dressed / Dress is when you put clothes on yourself or others.
- Hurry up and get dressed. We have to leave in five minutes.
- My wife usually dresses the children.
- Don't come in. I'm not dressed. (not wearing any clothes)
- You have to dress up to go to that restaurant. (wear formal clothes)
- Little girls love dressing up. (wearing special clothes)
- I dressed up as a clown for the party. (wear a fancy dress costume)
Have you ever realised that you had put on the wrong clothes for an occasion?
What are you wearing right now?
What do you usually wear to work? At the gym? At weekends?
Do you usually dress in the same colour or style?
How long does it take you to get dressed for a special occasion?
Do you think the Spanish dress well / are well-dressed?
Which nationality is the best-dressed?
Have you ever been to a fancy dress party? What did you dress up as?
Comments
1.- Really, I have never realised that myself had put on the wrong clothes, but my wife so. After I got married, she saw me if I was wearing my socks in the same colour. Then, I made big decision, I bought every sock in the same color. Since then, I had no trouble because I always dress combining.
2.- I am wearing my suit as always. When I began to work, my company told me that I have to wear suit to work and since then I wear the same suit, I don´t know now what was its colour.
3.- My colleagues told me that they go to the gym and they usually wear tracksuit, but it is false because they go to physical therapy. It said gym because it sounds more fashion.
However, I wear indescribable clothes when I go to my village at weekends. It is my revenge. My family doesn´t recognise me.
4.- So. I usually dress in the same colour and style, that is, suit and dark tone because I am boring.
5.- My last special occasion where I got dressed well was in Mexico. It was in the wedding of my nephew.
6.- In my opinion, Spanish woman, who are people what I look at, dress very well. The majority of Spanish men in my office, dress like me, so seriously, that is, boring.
7.- I think the French are the best-dressed, but it´s possible that this wasn´t as much as they think.
8.- No. Perhaps, when I was in Melilla, every day I was a fancy dress party.
See you.
I have never seen you wear anything but a suit. I, on the other hand, can seldom be found wearing one.
1.- Really, I have never realised that I had put on the wrong clothes, but my wife has. After I got married, she would notice if I was wearing different coloured socks. Then, I made a big decision, I bought every sock in the same color. Since then, I have had no trouble because I always dress the same.
2.- I am wearing my suit as always. When I began to work, my company told me that I had to wear a suit to work and since then I have worn the same suit, Even now I don't know what colour it is.
3.- My colleagues told me that they go to the gym and they usually wear a tracksuit, but its false because they go to physical therapy. They say gym because it sounds more fashionable.
However, I wear indescribable clothes when I go to my village at weekends. It is my revenge. My family doesn´t recognise me.
4.- So. I usually dress in the same colour and style, that is, because I am boring.
5.- My last special occasion where I got dressed well was in Mexico. It was at my nephew's wedding.
6.- In my opinion, Spanish woman, who are people (that) I look at, dress very well. The majority of Spanish men in my office, dress like me, so seriously, in other words, boring.
7.- I think the French are the best-dressed, but possibly not as much as they think.
8.- No. Perhaps, when I was in Melilla, every day I was in fancy dress.
Did you wear flares in the seventies? From decades previous to that, men and boys wore smart jackets and flat caps. Those days are gone - what a pity!
When I was little, my mother used to dress me. Sometimes my mother combed my hair and other times my father did it. My mother gave me a more casual hairstyle. My father used to put fixative / a gummy substance in my hair.
When I was in/at boarding school, I wore sports shoes a lot because I was doing sports all day.
When I was in my 20s, I really liked cross country. I liked to wear white shorts, a green T-shirt and good brown trainers. I remember thos times fondly. Sometimes I liked to wear a suit and tie to go dancing. What a happy time! I now (currently is too formal) like to dress in a casual style. I like comfortable clothes, I don't care much about brands and I prefer to have short hair.