old
old — adjective
1. having lived for many years, or having been around for many years; the opposite
having lived for many years, or having been around for many years; the opposite of young or new.
Roya's grandmother is ninety-two and still drives her old red car to the market.
modifying both a person and an object
The wooden bridge is too old to carry trucks across the river.
predicative use after 'be'
An old man with a white beard sat reading on the park bench.
Eitan replaced the old batteries in his torch before the camping trip.
The library keeps very old books in a special locked room.
用法筆記
Covers both people and things. For people, 'older' is often softer and more polite than 'old'; many speakers say 'an older woman' instead of 'an old woman' to avoid sounding rude.
常見錯誤
2. not right for someone because the thing was made for people of a higher age grou
not right for someone because the thing was made for people of a higher age group.
That cartoon is too old for my four-year-old nephew; it has scary monsters.
pattern: too old for + person
Meera said the novel felt a bit old for her ten-year-old daughter.
softened with 'a bit'
The teacher chose a film that was not too old for a class of seven-year-olds.
Ryo loved the museum, but the science labels were a little old for him at age six.
- young
as in 'too young for' the same audience
用法筆記
Almost always paired with 'too' or 'a bit', and with 'for + person'. Distinguish from sense 1: here the thing itself is not aged — it is simply pitched at an older audience.
常見錯誤
3. of a stated age, or used in questions to ask the age of a person, animal, or thi
of a stated age, or used in questions to ask the age of a person, animal, or thing.
Caleb, how old is the brown puppy your sister just adopted?
question pattern: How old + be?
Tuan turned six years old last Tuesday and blew out every candle himself.
number + years old
The painting is almost four hundred years old.
My twin sisters are both nine months old this week.
How old do I have to be to apply for a driver's licence?
文法句型
number + years old
How old + be + subject?
用法筆記
The pattern is fixed: 'number + years/months/weeks + old' (never 'old + years'). For babies, use 'months' or 'weeks' old. Also used in compounds before nouns: 'a six-year-old boy' (with hyphens, no plural 's' on year).
常見錯誤
4. belonging to your own past — something you once used, owned, lived in, or had a
belonging to your own past — something you once used, owned, lived in, or had a role in, and now no longer do, such as a former school, job, address, or pair of shoes you have replaced.
Mauricio still keeps an old letter from his first piano teacher in his desk drawer.
before noun: 'old letter'
Anya bumped into an old classmate from primary school at the supermarket.
former relationship
We sold our old apartment in Berlin before moving to the countryside.
Hiroshi found a box of his old school reports while clearing out his parents' attic.
Eric ran into his old boss at the conference and they shared a coffee.
用法筆記
Subject is a person whose past the noun belonged to — typical objects are roles ('old boss', 'old teacher'), places ('old flat', 'old neighbourhood'), and personal possessions ('old jeans', 'old phone'). The marker for this sense is a possessive determiner ('my old', 'her old', 'our old') signalling that the speaker has since moved on from that thing.
常見錯誤
5. used with the name of a language to mean its earliest recorded form, spoken many
used with the name of a language to mean its earliest recorded form, spoken many centuries ago.
Zuri is studying Old English so she can read the original poem 'Beowulf'.
Old + language name (capitalised)
The professor read a passage in Old Norse to the class.
Petra's professor showed the class a parchment manuscript written in Old High German.
Noor's thesis compares Old French verbs with their Latin roots.
- Ancient
used with some languages: 'Ancient Greek' rather than 'Old Greek'
- Modern
as in 'Modern English', 'Modern Greek'
用法筆記
Used as a fixed prefix to a language name and almost always written with a capital O: Old English, Old Norse, Old French. Refers to a historical stage roughly before AD 1200, depending on the language. Distinguish from sense 4: an 'old book' is just a book of any considerable age; an 'Old English' text is from a specific historical period.
常見錯誤
6. describing a person or place you have known well over many years, usually with w
describing a person or place you have known well over many years, usually with warm or affectionate feelings.
Adina met an old friend from university for lunch in the same café they used to visit.
old friend collocation
Walking through her old neighbourhood, Élise recognised every shop and tree.
old + place noun
Lucía and Christopher are old colleagues who first worked together in 2010.
The pub on the corner is an old favourite of ours on rainy Sundays.
- long-standing
more formal; works for friendships, agreements, traditions
- lifelong
stronger; lasting an entire life
- longtime
common in American English; written as one word
- new
as in 'a new friend' — recently met
用法筆記
Always used directly before the noun. The age of the person is irrelevant — an 'old friend' can be twenty years old, as long as the friendship itself is long. To stress age instead, say 'an elderly friend' or 'a friend who is getting old'.
常見錯誤
7. placed before someone's name, or before a word like 'man' or 'chap', as a way of
placed before someone's name, or before a word like 'man' or 'chap', as a way of expressing friendly feelings or, occasionally, mild irritation toward them.
Good old Liam — he always remembers everyone's birthday.
good old + name (warm)
Poor old Caleb missed the bus again and walked all the way home.
poor old + name (sympathetic)
Cheer up, old chap — the weather will clear by tomorrow.
Silly old me, I left my keys in the office again.
- dear
warmer, more old-fashioned: 'dear old Aunt May'
用法筆記
Highly informal and emotional, not literal — the person can be young. Almost always inside fixed frames: 'good old X', 'poor old X', 'silly old X', 'old chap', 'old boy'. 'Old chap' and 'old boy' are mainly British and now sound dated; safer for learners to recognise than to use.
常見錯誤
old — noun
1. the old: elderly people thought of as one group, especially when discussing thei
the old: elderly people thought of as one group, especially when discussing their needs or rights in society.
The new clinic offers free flu shots to the old and the very young.
the old (+ the young)
In many villages, the old are cared for at home rather than in nursing centres.
plural verb agreement: are
Government policy must protect the old from rising heating costs this winter.
Volunteers deliver hot meals to the old who live alone in this district.
- the elderly
more polite and more common in everyday speech
- senior citizens
neutral; common in official or American contexts
- older people
softest and most respectful in modern usage
- the young
young people as a group
文法句型
the old
用法筆記
Always 'the old' (with 'the'), takes a plural verb, and never takes a plural 's'. Common in news articles, policy writing, and pairs like 'the old and the young', 'the rich and the poor'. In everyday speech, many speakers prefer 'older people' or 'the elderly' as a more respectful alternative.