"Call an Ambulance"

Baron Holbach · Post by **Baron Holbach** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 12:32 pm

Hi, I was asked an interesting question today. A native Japanese speaker and very advanced student of English asked me if it's better to say "Call an ambulance" or "Call for an ambulance".
My immediate reply (I was away from my desk at the time) was some sort of disorganized rant about how either phrase is fine for any situation, but the nuance is that "Call an ambulance!" sounds more natural in the case of an emergency, whereas "Call for an ambulance" sounds more like an imperative statement when deciding to use an ambulance in the face of other options- as in, "What should we do? Call the fire department?" No, we should call for an ambulance."
Is there anything here that I'm missing in the meaning of each of these phrases?

Andrew Patterson · Post by **Andrew Patterson** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 12:54 pm

Generally, phrasal verbs are generally more informal and laid back.

Then there's the stupid response:
A Call me an ambulance.
B OK, you're an ambulance.

Baron Holbach · Post by **Baron Holbach** » Tue Sep 20, 2005 2:07 pm

Andrew, thanks for the concise clarification. It definitely appears to be true. Maybe informal, but in most situations, I doubt saying "Call an ambulance!" would be best described as "laid back". But I would like the chance to be called an ambulance, just once.

Baron Holbach · Post by **Baron Holbach** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 2:24 am

Andrew, on second thought, I'm a little confused about your explanation. I agree that phrasal verbs are generally not as formal in situations where they can be replaced with, for example, bigger words, but in this case, "Call for an ambulance" definitely sounds like the result of deliberation, perhaps in a more formal setting, whereas simply "Call an ambulance" sounds like the colloquial usage. It would not strike my ears as awkward to hear someone say "Call an ambulance" in any situation, whereas I would feel strange hearing someone say "Call for an ambulance" in an emergency situation. As I said, I'd expect someone to use that phrase in a more formal setting. "What should we do?" "We should call for an ambulance." It's just intuition; maybe there's no difference at all. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 4:51 am

My take on it is, why (add) the extra word? I like the brevity of the imperative 'Call an ambulance', to which I would contrast - in my mind rather than directly to the student - 'This calls for (=is a job for, requires the assistance of etc)...Captain Stupendous!' (that is what Calvin called his superhero alter ego, right?). In the event that person did add the extra word, I'd probably not call attention to it or give it too much thought - I'd be too busy thinking of how to contextualize 'calls for' notionally (e.g. should it be part of the syllabus's treatment of e.g. 'Suggesting'?) than cluttering up any "Imperative" activities.

Baron Holbach · Post by **Baron Holbach** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 5:33 am

fluff, thank you for the response. To my defense, this was not asked by a student in class. It was actually asked by a Japanese doctor who has been studying English for more than 30 years (and is convinced that he knows English even better than he does- I guess a certain amount of confidence can be helpful). He suddenly asked me this question when I was leaving an elevator. It is true that simply saying "call an ambulance" will avoid any ambiguity with the actual phrasal verb "calls for," meaning "requires", or "suggests". In the end, though, I guess there's really very little difference.
By the way, I believe you're thinking of the notorious Stupendous Man, a personal favorite.

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 5:50 am

Aha, yes, Stupendous Man! Thanks!

BTW I wasn't imagining you stroking your resplendent moustache as your class twiddled its thumbs: I was in fact picturing you much like you indeed were, talking informally to a cleverer student as some elevator doors clanged repeatedly against either side of your head (making your eyes bulge intermittently, and you look not unlike Stimpson C. Cat aka Stimpy) - uncanny, eh!