English problem.

Hey guys!

I have a problem and I need your help!

English teacher has an English question for us and I couldn't find the answer on my books. Please, for those who are English/Americans/Canadians or others help me.


What is the different between Old / Ancient / Elder ?

Hmm, this is what I can offer:

Old + Elder = Still alive
Ancient = Technically in some form of 'dead', or passed away, gone

Old in terms of age usually means just generally around for a long time, most people consider 70-80 yrs to be an old age for humans, but that isn't true for every culture. (Some cultures consider 50-60 yrs to be old).

Elder usually refers to someone not only old, but also with some kind of 'respect', or 'power/authority'. In asian countries (like Japan and China), grandparents often have the title of 'Elder' due to their age and also that people believe old people generally have much wisdom and knowledge -- which is part of the reason why they are called 'Elders'.

Ancient can be used in a similar way to Elder, but ancient would be more along the lines of words like 'myths', 'legendary', and 'legends'. Some fiction stories use 'Ancient' as a name for very, very old humans, in real life sense, 'Ancient' is usually used for describing artifacts found in civilizations from a long time ago, like Egypt, and Rome. People find stuff from Roman or Egyptian times and they call these objects 'Ancient', because they are so old and go way back in history.

Erm, that's my opinion on it. I'm not that good at describing/explaining things clearly, and I could be completely wrong about my definitions/explanations. That's as far as I know it though, and that is how I use the words when I talk to people. (Generally)

Thanks! I understand!

Can you give me 3 sentences, 1 of those words in each sentence ?

(I feel like I'm doing homework for you, tut tut! Gotta learn to understand this on your own Adam! =D)

Lets see....

1) That is an old tree that has grown here in my backyard from the days my grandfather planted it.

2) My grandpa has been around for so long in the community that my family and all our neighbours respectfully call him a wise elder.

3) Today I found an ancient scroll that was written during the times of Egypt and Ramses the Great!

Ahhh now I get it In a 100% !

I just wanted you to make the sentences so I understanded at 100 %

Thanks, I will make my own sentences!

Here is another way of thinking about it.

1.) Old: Old is just the adjective for someone that is older than you, it can also mean an old person.

2.) Elder: An Elder is an old person. normally above 65, in English there is a saying that you must "listen to your elders" The elder of the town is the old wise person.

3.) Ancient: This means very very old. An example would be egyptian pyramids. As TN said, Ancient is the only one which can be used for a dead person. One would say their Ancestors are Ancient.

Hope that helped! ^^

Im oldschool TH
TN is elderschool TH
and Hunty is ancientschool TH

Edit: OMG Its true and I havent even think about it!
Im oldschool - Ive been here for a long time
TN is elderschool - he is the wise leader that has been here even longer
and Hunter is ancientschool - he was the wise leader but he has died (MWAHAHAHAHAHA)(JK temporary retired* )

Edit by TNaismith: Added orange part to correct the sentence. =D
Edit by Tomilion: GET OUT OF MY COMMENT!!!!!!!

Yeah! Thanks for the explanations!

Ai wil help yu wif watever yu nid.

Yeah, your a gangster Tomilion. Your write with mistakes, your a gangsta, Tomy. GJ

wow, nice explanation. It was very interesting to me either.

Ai now dat aim a gangster. Ai em veri sceri.

Cool style ov writing^^ Nice explanation btw, and you ARE good in explaining things.