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catch the bus or catch a bus

Alex_108

Senior Member
Ukrainian
Hello.
Could you please explain to me the difference between "catch the bus" and "catch a bus"?

Many students catch the bus to school, which is usually the easiest way of getting there.

Is it because they catch the same bus every day (there's only one bus for picking up children)?
But it is not the same bus for everyone. It's not one specific bus. It's the regular bus for that person.

"Most of the school children in the city ride the bus to school."

This is normal. There might be 20 different buses picking up children from 20 different neighborhoods, but it's "the bus" for every single one. They are not walking or riding in cars, they are riding "the" school bus to school. It's the one that comes to pick them up.
But it is not the same bus for everyone. It's not one specific bus. It's the regular bus for that person.

"Most of the school children in the city ride the bus to school."

This is normal. There might be 20 different buses picking up children from 20 different neighborhoods, but it's "the bus" for every single one. They are not walking or riding in cars, they are riding "the" school bus to school. It's the one that comes to pick them up.
Wow! I've never heard about it.

If I can get to school by three buses (#516, #707, #105), which phrase should be used here?

I have a feeling that "catch a bus" is the correct answer (as we have a group of objects here).
The way school buses work in the U.S. is they only carry schoolchildren, and one bus is assigned to one neighborhood. There is never another bus.

In my case, the bus had a number, 40, and I had a bus pass with the number 40 on it. I could only get on the bus with the number 40. That's the one that was assigned to my neighborhood. Buses with other numbers went to other neighborhoods.
The bus is normal in a reference to a specific bus.
But it is not the same bus for everyone. It's not one specific bus. It's the regular bus for that person.
Even if we were speaking more generally, I think we could still talk about the bus:

A: I don't have a car.
B: Really? How do you get around the city?
A: Sometimes I bike, and if it's raining I take the bus.

This refers to buses in general - it doesn't necessarily meaning that A always takes the same bus.
The use of "the" implies familiarity with the bus or buses in question.

"Catch a bus" would imply any bus, whichever one will get you there. Choosing one article over the other expresses speaker attitude as much as it does a rule.
Does this mean that I can use either article in the following situation?
Every morning Kevin catches the/a bus to work.

Here I want to tell somebody about Kevin's routine, introduce this information for the first time during the conversation.
Yes.
The bus = the usual bus; the same bus; the bus on that route; that bus which he always catches
A bus = an example of a bus; a bus whose exact identity is unimportant; one bus from several possible busses;
In Every morning Kevin catches the/a bus to work, particularly in the "first mention" context, "... catches a bus ..." is also possible.
The difference is in the contextual meaning. "Catches a bus" identifies a particular means of transport (a bus, not a train, not a helicopter etc.) with no reference to any specific connection between the bus (timetable, route, regularity) and his work. Does he walk? Does he run? Does he fly? Does he swim? Does he rollerblade? No, he catches a/the :tick: bus. A :tick: bus as opposed to any other means of transport; the :tick: (particular, definite) bus that runs on his route to work.
So "catches the bus" is more likely in the sense that PaulQ describes in #13.

Here's an example (source - paper.sc, question 2)
To get to the central bus station I could catch a bus from the end of my street (which I can get to in 2 minutes). This bus service runs every 15 minutes starting at 06:00 and takes 34 minutes toget from my street to the central bus station.

In this example, "I could catch the bus" is also possible because the context goes on to tell us that it's a definite/known/regular bus service.
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A: I don't have a car.
B: Really? How do you get around the city?
A: Sometimes I bike, and if it's raining I take the bus.
ame bus.

Some Japanese teachers of English explain that the phrase "take the bus" in such contexts means "to choose the bus as a means of transportation." What do you think of this explanation?
"Take the bus" is ok in your example too, because we know that buses have regular routes in cities so they are "definite" buses, and speaker A takes/catches the bus that (he knows) will take him where he wants to go. He doesn't just get on the first bus that comes along. He takes the (particular/specific/definite) bus he needs.
Some Japanese teachers of English explain that the phrase "take the bus" in such contexts means "to choose the bus as a means of transportation." What do you think of this explanation?

How do you get to work?
--I take the train.

The question wants to know the mode of transportation (do you drive a car, take a bus, ride a bike) and the reply means "I go by train".

But in other contexts "the bus" can refer to a specific bus.

I see the bus coming down the street now.

The bus was late today.
In terms of article use, I would put "I take the bus to work" in the same category as "I go to the gym" or "I go to the pub". Or even phrases with "the bathroom/toilet".

In these situations, it goes without saying that you're referring to the usual or most convenient one: "I take the bus to work" clearly refers to the bus service that serves the route from your home to your workplace. Likewise, in the other sentences, we assume you're talking about the gym where you're a member, the pub (probably near your home) where you usually drink, and the bathroom/loo in your home or workplace, or wherever you happen to be.
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[...] In these situations, it goes without saying that you're referring to the usual or most convenient one: "I take the bus to work" clearly refers to the bus service that serves the route from your home to your workplace. [...]
So the following explanation is wrong, right?

In the sentence "Judy takes the bus to work", "the bus" refers to buses in general as a common and familiar means of transportation that both the speaker and listener can understand.​
​
So the following explanation is wrong, right?

In the sentence "Judy takes the bus to work", "the bus" refers to buses in general as a common and familiar means of transportation that both the speaker and listener can understand.
I would explain it this way. In essence, it's referring to the bus network. She uses the bus network to get to work. There is only one bus network in the city. She could actually use two buses and have to make a transfer halfway. We would still say she takes the bus to work. The specific bus she takes isn't really the main point. It's the fact that she's using the bus network as opposed to some other form of transportation. When you think of it as "the bus network", "the" makes sense. Every bus is part of the bus network.

It's not that much different from what they're saying but I think my version is a lot more focused.
So the following explanation is wrong, right?

In the sentence "Judy takes the bus to work", "the bus" refers to buses in general as a common and familiar means of transportation that both the speaker and listener can understand.​
​

I wouldn't say that the above statement is wrong, but it is imprecise.

As kentix said in #9, "the bus" usually means the bus system. That is, the public system of buses used in a given city. It is also used for the school bus system. In short, "the bus" refers to any bus that is part of a system of bus transportation. In Honolulu, where I live half the year, the official name of the bus system is TheBus (spelled as one word, and often pronounced as Da Bus). They surely chose that name because that is what every American calls the public buses in their own city.

This is difficult for Japanese speakers such as you because there are no articles in Japanese, and our use of them in English can sometimes seem hard to understand.
"The kids take the bus to school". This implies familiarity, and even emotional closeness, with the bus system on the part of the speaker, who is probably a parent or teacher.

"The kids take a bus to school". This implies more emotional distance from the bus system or any particular bus. To my ears it sounds like someone who might be complaining about the kids having to take the/a bus to school.

Speakers may have a variety of reasons for wanting to convey specificity and closeness (that is, background experiences they may have in common with the listener, and/or familiarity with the subject mentioned), versus more distance and generality.

- How do I get to my hotel?
- You need to catch a bus.

The implication is that there will be some bus that suffices, but we don’t know which bus.

- How do I get to my hotel?
- You need to take the bus.

The implication is that the bus system is a known entity, and the speaker probably has more useful information to share about the busses.

- How do I get to my hotel?
- You need to take bus 62 at the corner of Western Ave and Broad.

Here "bus 62" functions as the name of a particular vehicle, no article needed.

- How do I get to my hotel?
- You need to take the bus that stops at the corner of Western Avenue and Broad street.

Here we are specifying one particular bus, identified by where it stops.

- How do I get to my hotel?
- You need to take a bus that stops at Western Avenue and Broad.

This an unusual construction that conveys greater uncertainty on the part of the speaker: "In theory, there may be a bus that stops at Western Ave and Broad, but, good luck with that!" As the person asking for directions, this is not what I want to hear!

- How do I get to my hotel?
- You need to take one of the buses on the green line.

Here, "the green line" is introduced as a known entity, which is also known to have buses. We simply need to find a bus (any bus) that belongs to the green line to get back to our hotel.

...I hope that I may have helped and not confused you (and that you get back to your hotel safely and without too much trouble!) There is a lot of good advice already on this thread. I don’t believe I have any argument with the things already said here.
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