Learn four meanings of the word ‘experience’.
Sam
How much experience do you have with the word experience?
As a countable noun, experience can be used to talk about ‘something that happens to us that affects how we feel’.
Meeting my favourite actor was one of the best experiences of my life!
It can also mean ‘the way something happens to us’ which, again, affects how we feel.
Please complete this short survey about your experience today.
When it’s an uncountable noun, experience means ‘the knowledge or skill we get from doing something’.
I don’t have any experience of working with children (so I probably shouldn’t be a nanny).
If we experience something – as a transitive verb – ‘it happens to us’, or ‘we feel it’.
We experienced long delays on our journey home, but we hope this lesson was a positive experience for you.
Experience
When we use experience as a countable noun, it’s for talking about ‘something that happens to us that affects how we feel’.
- Meeting my favourite actor was one of the best experiences of my life!
Experience can also mean ‘the way something happens to us’ which also affects how we feel.
- Please complete this short survey about your experience today.
When it’s an uncountable noun, experience means ‘the knowledge or skill we get from doing things’.
- I don’t have any experience of working with children.
If we experience something, ‘it happens to us’, or ‘we feel it’. This is a transitive verb.
- I’m experiencing pain in my right knee.