Gift or present?
The words
"gift" and "present" mean the same thing, but which one to
use depends on the occasion. These are the most common collocations (word
combinations) for each holiday:
a
Christmas present
a
Birthday present
a
wedding present
a
Valentine's Day gift
a
Mother's day gift
an
anniversary gift
Gift wrapping
"Wrapping" a gift means
wrapping colorful paper around it.
The paper you use is called "wrapping
paper". You can "put a bow on it" or
"tie a ribbon around it". If something is too hard
to wrap, you can put it in a "gift bag" instead.
When you go to certain stores around the holiday
season, the cashier may ask you, "Would you like this
gift-wrapped?"
Taking the gift out of its wrapping is called "unwrapping"
it.
Giving and receiving gifts
Here's an
example of a conversation between two friends around Christmas time:
A:
Hey, I got you a little
something.
B:
What? Oh! You didn't have
to do that! I'm so sorry, I
didn't get you anything.
A:
Don't worry, it's nothing
big. Go ahead and open it.
B:
(unwraps the gift) Wow! A coffee grinder! It's just what I wanted!
A: I
remembered you saying that you wanted one of these.
B: That's so thoughtful of
you. Thank you so much.
Things to do with a gift
When someone gives you a really thoughtful and
meaningful gift, you may "cherish" it for a long
time. This means to keep it and treat it as something important.
A gift which is not very useful might sit around your
home and "gather dust". Or, if
it's something small, you might decide to "regift"
it, which means to give it to someone else. Just make sure that the person who
gave it to you doesn't find out!
If someone gives
you clothes which don't fit or don't match your style, you can "return"
or "exchange" the gift. Returning it means that you
get money back, and exchanging it means that you just get another item from the
same store. Sometimes the gift-giver will include a "gift receipt"
for this purpose. Since it's rude to show someone the price of the gift you
give them, a gift receipt allows someone to exchange the gift but doesn't have
a price listed on it.