http://www.englishforums.com/English/GeneralEnglishVocabularyIdiom-Questions/Forum29.htmHelp with defining words and idioms, and new words and idioms that you've learntenXMOD (Build: 3607.32596)http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#133719Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:133719Anonymous0http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#133719http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-133719.xmlRocks and Stones. In their natural state (such as a cliff) it is called rock. Once it is removed and used, for say building materials or to be put in a garden, it is then called stone. i.e. the pyramids were built with stone, but those stones were cut from a rock face. Regards.http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#132011Sun, 22 Feb 2009 11:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:132011paco20041http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#132011http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-132011.xmlMy definitions about rocks and stones are: (1) Rocks are big stones and stones are small rocks. (2) You can find rocks in mountains and stones in riverbeds. (3) If you bring a rock into your garden, it is now a big stone. (4) If you cut a rock into pieces, each of them is a stone. (5) If you cut a stone into pieces, each of them is still a stone. (6) Some rolling stones can play rocks. pacohttp://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#132004Fri, 22 May 2009 10:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:132004LanguageLover2http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#132004http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-132004.xmlTo me, as you know I'm not a native speaker and so I do not have the right to say anything on this subtle matter, I think of material when I hear that the statue is carved out of stone, rather than metal or something else; however, the replacement by the rock doesn't give me this feeling, it only means out of a piece of rock to me!http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#131934Sun, 22 Mar 2009 11:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:131934Anonymous3http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#131934http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-131934.xmlrock is bigger than stone loooooooooooolhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#131318Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:131318khoff4http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#131318http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-131318.xmlI think it's a great theory - a rock is rough and ragged; a stone is smooth and circular.http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#131235Sun, 22 Mar 2009 11:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:131235davkett5http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#131235http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-131235.xmlGenerally, Khoff, I'd agree, (on the smooth/irregular connotation), and earlier in the thread, I think MrPedantic hinted at the same, (at least between 'rock' and 'pebble'). I'm going to venture a guess that such usage is the result of the type of sounds the words make in speaking them. Though speech sounds is not any area of expertise for me at all, I will suggest that 'rock' is a harder, clipped, chipped, or rough sound, than 'stone', which is resonant and smooth. It makes some sense to me that when two words are this close in meaning it could be the sound of the words that will influence their usage over time. What do you think?http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#131124Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:131124khoff6http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#131124http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-131124.xmlI think if you are talking about a building or sculpting material you would be somewhat more likely to use "stone" - The statue was carved out of stone; there was a stone wall around the property. If you pick up a rock/stone on the beach, you can use either word. Another difference in the way I use the words occured to me today, and it seemed so obvious I was surprised I had not thought of it when this question first arose. I would tend to call something a rock if it was rough and irregular, and call it a stone if it was smooth and rounded (either deliberately by people, or naturally by a river or ocean). I don't mean to suggest that it's really a "rule" -- I would never "correct" someone by saying, "oh, that's not a rock, it's a...http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#129713Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:129713davkett7http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#129713http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-129713.xmlYes, that's a good one, too, May. 'Martini on the rocks' = a martini poured into a glass containing chunks of ice.http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#129706Sun, 22 Feb 2009 11:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:129706May L.8http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/2/bjdqv/Post.htm#129706http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-129706.xmlAnd in Martini on the rocks do rocks mean pieces of ice?http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htm#129341Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:129341Clive9http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htm#129341http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-129341.xmlHi Mr.P, All of the above sound normal in CanE, to me. Other off the cuff ramblings and idioms about rock/stone: Let he who is without sin among you 'cast the first stone' Rock of ages A headstone on a grave Stone the crows (although rock the boat, ha-ha) Maybe in BrCanE. stone cold a stone killer (because he has a heart of stone, I suppose) dead as a stone get blood from a stone a rock, to suggest that a gem-stone like a diamond is very big a rolling stone ... (the USA has a beer called Rolling Rock) Clivehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htm#129187Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:129187davkett10http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htm#129187http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-129187.xmlMrP, from the American side of Niagara Falls-- Your nos. 1 - 6: all familiar. Then-- rock hound, rock climber, rock candy, bedrock, sheet rock, rock band, rock drawings and, The Rock: http://visibleh20.com/ipw-web/b2/index.php?p=275 versus-- stone mason, stone cold, stone jar, Stone Age, stoned and, The Stones: http://www.gasolinealleyantiques.com/celebrity/images/Rock/stones-grooves.JPGhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htm#129133Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:129133MrPedantic11http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htm#129133http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-129133.xmlInteresting. I think we have 'gemstone' in BrE. This is how I hear the other words – do AmE/CanE ears differ? 1. 'That wall is solid rock' – a geological feature. 2. 'Stone walls do not a prison make', 'heart of stone' – 'stone' is the material. 3. 'I picked up a rock' – suggests something large, and perhaps quite rough. 4. 'I picked up a piece of rock' – suggests something rough and irregular, that derives directly from a geological feature (e.g. a cliff). 5. 'I picked up a pebble' – suggests something small, smooth, and with a regular rounded shape. 6. 'I picked up a stone' – suggests something smaller, and perhaps quite smooth, though with an irregular shape. Also 'boulder' – a very large piece of rock, that...http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htm#129086Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:129086TeacherJoe12http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htm#129086http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-129086.xmlClive wrote: To me, a stone sounds smaller than a rock. In BrE, you have a stone in your shoe. In AmE, you have a rock in it. Hi Clive, Perhaps there are regional differences within North America as well. Growing up in the northeastern United States, I never heard anyone say they have a rock in their shoe. Rock sounds larger to me, too. Teacher Joehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htm#129072Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:129072davkett13http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htm#129072http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-129072.xmlYeh, Clive, the other day I told my wife I found the Rosetta stone in one of my hiking boots. She said I must have rocks in my head.http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htm#129068Fri, 22 May 2009 10:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:129068Clive14http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htm#129068http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-129068.xmlHi, Although I don't live in the UK anymore, I'd say that there are differences between BrE and AmE. To me, a stone sounds smaller than a rock. In BrE, you have a stone in your shoe. In AmE, you have a rock in it. Best wishes, Clivehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htm#129036Fri, 22 May 2009 10:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:129036khoff15http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htm#129036http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-129036.xmlI think if you are talking about a building or sculpting material you would be somewhat more likely to use "stone" - The statue was carved out of stone; there was a stone wall around the property. If you pick up a rock/stone on the beach, you can use either word.http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htm#128885Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:128885davkett16http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htm#128885http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-128885.xmlThese are generally interchangeable terms. Even when used as idiomatic for a gem like a diamond, called 'a stone' or 'a rock'. 'Gemstone' is not idiomatic. You won't normally hear 'Gemrock'.http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htmThu, 22 Jan 2009 11:09:51 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:128881My Celine17http://www.englishforums.com/English/RockAndStone/bjdqv/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments29-128881.xmlWhat is the difference between rock and stone? In my native language, they are more or less the same in meaning. So I am very confused.