Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[amahmood]

Hi

I always thought that keep the change means "keep the rest of what I give you" but recently I got in doubt.
Say I owe somebody $9 and I pay him $10, here "keep the change" clearly means "keep all the $10" but what if I pay $100? Does it still mean "keep all the $100 and don't bother giving back $91" or "keep $10 and give me $90"?
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Glasgow Hotels - Star - Cambridge - Blackpool

[Bob S.]

[Vin21]

Like what you said,keep the change means "keep the rest of what I give you"
You owe somebody $9 .If you give him $100,the change will be $91.
If you don't ask for the change and only say "keep the change",
that means "keep all the $100 and don't bother giving back $91" .
You give up the change or you regard the change as the reward or interest for him because he lended you money.
That's what I thought.

[amahmood]

Thanks for replies.
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Glasgow Hotels - Star - Cambridge - Blackpool