The difference between ‘hire’ and ‘ride’

The difference between ‘hire’ and ‘rent’ is sometimes confusing. Here is a quick and easy way to understand the difference in meaning between the two words.

hire (v)

‘Hire’ is used in relation to short period of time only. For example, you can hire a car, hire a bike and hire a DVD. However, we don’t speak of hiring an apartment or hiring a house. For this we use the word ‘rent’.

rent (v)

‘Rent’ is usually used in relation to long periods of time, that said, it can also be used with short periods of time. ‘Rent’ is the safe choice, when you don’t know which option to choose. Examples of ‘rent’ in reference to long period of time: ” I rent this house.” “My boss has  been renting this space.” An example of ‘rent’ refering to short periods of time: “We rented a DVD last night.”

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If you are still unclear on how to use ‘hire’ and ‘rent’, check out this explanation:

BBC World Service- Learning English

This pages discusses the difference between ‘hire’ and ‘rent’ but also provides explantations on teh difference between ‘rise’ and ‘raise’, ‘drive’ and ‘ride’.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv72.shtml