Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[leon08]

HEllo,

I would like to know which is the correct form:

a) New York State,

or

b)The State of New York.

Whatever it is, Does it apply the same pattern for all the states of a country?

I will really appreciate your help.

SALUDOS CORDIALES,

LEON.

[Eric Thompson]

Dear leon08, The term 'State of New York' is more formal than 'New York State'. It is probably the 'official' name of the state. The reason you probably hear 'State of New York' and 'New York State' used a lot is that there is a big city also with the name 'New York' (of course). So, to remove any confusion about what you are talking about, you often need to use either 'New York City' or 'New York State'. They are quite different from each other, geographically and demographically. Another ambiguous case of city and state is 'Washington State' and 'Washington D.C.' (the city). Several other states have cities that have the name of the state and the word 'city' after it, like Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Oregon City. But, the 'city' is always used, which is not the case with New York....Concerning the states other than New York and Washington, you don't hear the name 'State' following them. Sometimes you hear 'The State of _____' , in more formal situations. OK? -- Eric

[CP]

In answer to your second question, for other states, we usually say "the State of X." I live in the State of California, and you never hear "California State" unless it is used as part of a longer term: the California State Lottery, the California State University system, the California State Highway Patrol, etc.

You will hear "Washington State" as well as "the State of Washington," referring to the state in the far northwest corner of the 48 contiguous states, probably to distinguish it from Washington, D.C., located between Maryland and Virginia. But the rest of the states follow the general "State of X" rule, I believe.

Massachusetts calls itself the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Virginia is the Commonwealth of Virginia. I don't know why.

Notice also that "X State" often is the name of a university or college. When, for example, the University of Florida plays football against Florida State University, it's a big deal in the State of Florida.
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