wash the hands

Vincent Teo wrote:

Can I say, (a) We must wash our hands before and after eating. OK with 'our' instead of 'the'. (b)We must wash the hands before or after you eat. NO -- 'the' is incorrect, and to me, neither the use of 'or' nor the use of 'you' is logical. (c) We must wash the hands before you eat. NO (d)We must wash hands after / before eating. NO (e) Before you go to toilet, you must wash hands with soap and water.  NO, and even with grammatical corrections, this sentence wouldn't be particularly logical to me.  Please also note that we rarely use the expression 'go to the toilet' in such a context.  In the US we use expressions such as 'go to the bathroom' and 'use the powder room' instead.  I believe the Brits tend to be equally euphemistic.

The word "toilet" is pretty inoffensive to folks in the UK. Many "facilities" are actually labeled TOILET or TOILETS, although GENTS and LADIES are also common, along with MEN and WOMEN. The label WC ("water closet") is also found in public places, but rarely have I heard folks ask for the "WC."

After living in the US for 13 years, I sometimes find myself saying "Where's the restroom?" on my trips to the UK and that usually results in a raised eyebrow! I saw the same eyebrow-raising behavior when I first moved to the US and asked for "the toilets."

Siggy