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ESL forum > Ask for help > ´have long hair ´ vs ´wear long hair ´    

´have long hair ´ vs ´wear long hair ´



Nanex
Brazil

´have long hair ´ vs ´wear long hair ´
 
Hello everyone!

I have come across the following expressions  ´have long hair ´ and ´ ´wear long hair ´. Which one is correct or more correct? What is the difference between them?

Thank you for your help.

13 Mar 2011      





zailda
Brazil

Hi!
 
I ´ve heard "she has long hair", I have never heard the verb "wear" used when describing people´s hair style.

13 Mar 2011     



yanogator
United States

In the US, at least, we also say, "She wears her hair long".
 
Bruce

13 Mar 2011     



magneto
Greece

Hello!

I hadn ´t heard wear used to describe people ´s hair style, either, but, apparently it can be used in that context, too.

According, to the OALD, when wear collocates with hair, it means "to have your hair in a particular style". There is also a difference in the way it collocates with hair: We say She has long hair, whereas with wear the structure is She wears her hair long, i.e. there is a change in word order (have + adj. + n VS. wear + n + adj.). (see OALD, wear, meaning 2).

I can ´t quite define the difference in meaning (if any), though. Maybe a native speaker would be of more help on that.

Hope I ´ve helped a bitSmile

13 Mar 2011     



sweet hannah
Egypt


Hi Nanex,
I ´ve come across ´wear ´ with ´hair ´ before. I ´ve read them . I ´ve also seen " He wears a strong perfume. " Check the following links for further details.

http://www.yourdictionary.com/wear
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/wear

wish you the best

13 Mar 2011     



rockthevinyl
United States

I agree with what yanogator says; however, I would say it ´s more common to say "She has long hair."

"She wears her hair long" = indicates its her personal choice (in my opinion, anyway!)

13 Mar 2011     



Nanex
Brazil

Thank you very much!

13 Mar 2011     



Riphly
United States

Sooooo . . . ´have long hair ´ = ´wear (ones ´s) hair long ´ IF the hair is hanging down.
BUT, one can ´have long hair ´ and ´wear ones hair up in a bun ´, or some other style.
So, the expressions refer to different concepts. ´Have long hair ´ is the concept of possessing a characteristic. ´Wear ones hair ___ ´ is the concept of an electable style.

14 Mar 2011