choose

choose — verb

1. To look at the people or things available and make up your mind about which one

1.動詞及物 / 不及物A1
釋義

To look at the people or things available and make up your mind about which one to take, keep, or use, because it seems best or most suitable for your situation.

例句

Ravi spent ten minutes choosing a birthday card for his aunt at the shop.

choose + for + recipient (indirect object pattern)

The menu listed over forty dishes, so Priya asked Bao to choose for her.

同義詞
  • pick

    More informal and conversational; often used for quick decisions (pick a movie, pick a name).

  • select

    More formal; suggests careful choice based on specific criteria (select a candidate, select a product).

  • opt for

    Emphasises choosing one alternative over others after weighing options, often in travel or finance contexts.

  • decide on

    Places more weight on the conclusion stage of the process (after looking at three houses, we decided on the last one).

反義詞
  • reject

    To decide NOT to take or accept something that was considered.

  • discard

    To throw away or remove an option after considering it.

文法句型

choose + noun phrase

choose + between / among / from + options

choose + indirect object + direct object

用法筆記

Frequently used with between (for two options), among or from (for three or more), and for (to state the purpose). This is the only sense that takes a direct object referring to the selected item and can appear in 'choose someone something' structures, e.g. 'Choose me a good seat.'

常見錯誤

❌Yesterday I choosed a red dress.
✅Yesterday I chose a red dress.
💡Choose is irregular: present choose, past chose, past participle chosen.
❌She has choosen the blue paint.
✅She has chosen the blue paint.
💡The past participle is chosen (double 'o', single 's').
❌I need to choose between the three options.
✅I need to choose among the three options.
💡Between is for two items; among (or from) is for three or more.

2. To make up your mind to do a particular thing, rather than doing something else.

2.動詞及物B1
釋義

To make up your mind to do a particular thing, rather than doing something else.

例句

Yusuf chose to study engineering because he loved building things as a child.

choose + to-infinitive for intentional decision

The Watanabe family chose not to buy a new car this year to save money.

choose + not + to-infinitive (negative form)

同義詞
  • decide to

    Slightly more neutral; can be used with or without a prior set of alternatives ('I decided to go').

  • elect to

    More formal; suggests a deliberate, sometimes official choice ('The board elected to postpone the vote').

  • resolve to

    Stronger; implies firm determination ('She resolved to finish the marathon').

反義詞
  • decline

    To politely say no to an opportunity or offer ('He declined to comment').

  • refuse

    To say firmly that you will not do something ('She refused to leave').

文法句型

choose + to-infinitive

choose + not + to-infinitive

choose + whether + to-infinitive

用法筆記

Always followed by a to-infinitive or a not + to-infinitive. Cannot be followed by a bare infinitive or a gerund (*choose going, *choose go). Distinguish from sense 1: here the object is always an action (e.g. 'chose to stay'), never a thing ('chose a shirt').

常見錯誤

❌She didn't chose to come.
✅She didn't choose to come.
💡After did / didn't, the base form choose is required, not the past tense chose.
❌He choosed to stay home.
✅He chose to stay home.
💡The past tense of choose is chose, not choosed.
❌We choose staying in tonight.
✅We chose to stay in tonight.
💡Sense 2 requires a to-infinitive, not a gerund.

3. Used to say that two or more people or things are so alike that none is clearly

3.動詞不及物B2
釋義

Used to say that two or more people or things are so alike that none is clearly better than the others.

例句

Both candidates were so well prepared that there was little to choose between them.

fixed expression: there is little to choose between

The two hotels stand right next to each other, with little to choose between them on price.

反義詞

文法句型

there is little to choose between + people/things

there is not much to choose between + people/things

用法筆記

Only appears in the fixed sentence pattern 'there is little / not much to choose between X and Y.' The subject is always dummy there. This sense never takes a direct object and cannot be used with a person as the grammatical subject (*I chose between them little).

常見錯誤

❌There is little to choose among the two cars.
✅There is little to choose between the two cars.
💡This fixed expression always uses between, never among.
❌There is a little to choose between them.
✅There is little to choose between them.
💡Adding a changes the meaning from 'almost no difference' to 'a small difference.'