English at the Movies, or English at the Films?

 

This week we answer a question from Quyunh.

Question:

Our reader Quyunh writes, “May I know what is difference between a film and a movie ? You have a program named 'English at a movie' why not 'English at a film' ?”

Answer:

Dear Quyunh,

Thank you for writing in with two good questions.

Film and movie mean the same thing. The word you use may help others guess where a person lives or is from.

First, let’s look at the word film. One definition¹ is the special material used for taking photographs. But you can also see a film in a theater. Used this way, film and movie mean the same thing.

And as a verb², to film means³ to record something with a video camera.

Here is an example:

“Do you want me to film the ceremony so you can remember it?”

Now let’s turn to movie. The word – a noun⁴ - comes from the phrase⁵ “moving pictures.”

Movies -- and films -- are recordings⁶ of moving images that tell a story.

Here are some example sentences with the word movie:

“Do you want to go to the movies tonight?”

“If you go to Hollywood⁷ in California⁸, you might see a movie star.”

In the United⁹ States, it is common to say “the movies” for when you talk about going to a movie theater.

Here is an example for you:

“Do you know what’s playing at the movies this weekend?”

Stephen Follows is a writer, producer and film data researcher who lives in England. He wrote that people who work in the film industry use ‘film’ more than ‘movie.’

People who live in the U.S., he found, usually say ‘movie’, while those in Britain use both. ‘Film’ is still popular in Europe and parts of Africa, but ‘movie’ is best in the Americas, as well as in Japan and India.

So -- that is why we say “English at the Movies” and not “English at the Films!”

And that’s Ask a Teacher!

I’m Anne Ball.

Words in This Story

phrase - n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence

producer – n. someone who is in charge of making and usually providing the money for a play, movie or record

1 definition   

n.定义；限定，确定；清晰度

参考例句：

• The book attempts a definition of his role in world politics.该书要阐明的是他在世界政局中的作用。
• I made a definition for this word.我给这个字下了定义。

2 verb   

n.[语]动词

参考例句：

• The sentence is formed from a verb and two nouns.这句子由一个动词和两个名词构成。
• These are the finite forms of a verb.这些是一个动词的限定形式。

3 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

4 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

5 phrase   

n.短语，词组；成语，习语

参考例句：

• The phrase was caught on and immediately became popular.这个短语被采用后很快就流行了。
• That's exactly the phrase I was looking for.这就是我一直找的那个短语。

6 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

7 Hollywood   

n.好莱坞；美国电影业

参考例句：

• She dreamed of becoming a Hollywood screen goddess.她梦想成为好莱坞的银幕女神。
• The film has a Hollywood happy ending.那部电影有一个好莱坞式的美满结局。

8 California   

n.加利福尼亚(美国)

参考例句：

• He was elected governor of the state of California.他当选为加州州长。
• We were driving on a California freeway.我们正沿着加利福尼亚的一条快车道驾车行驶。

9 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。