Twice vs Two Times
Difference between twice and two times is something to do with the current trend of the English language. It is true that twice and two times are two expressions that are used in the English language with difference. Their difference has to be understood with precision. As said before, this difference is to do with the norm of the English language usage at the time. It has nothing to do with the meaning as both mean the same. Twice and two times both indicate double the quantity or double times of doing something. Let us see more information about the two terms.
What does Twice mean?
The word twice means double the amount already mentioned. For example,
I went to see my grandmother twice this week.
Here, you can see that the speaker has gone to see the grandmother more than one time and less than three times. That means he or she has gone two times. It is double the times than one time.
It is interesting to note that the expression, twice is used with ‘as…….as’ as in the sentence ‘I don’t want to play with a man who is twice as old as me’. In this sentence, you can see that the word twice is used with ‘as…..as’ as ‘twice as old as me’. Here is another example.
She has got twice as much money as her brother.
As you can see here, the sentence says that the brother has only half of the money she has.
‘I went to see my grandmother twice this week.’
As a matter of fact, the expression twice is sometimes followed by the preposition ‘of’ in the succeeding phrase as in the sentence ‘He is twice the height of Francis’. You can see the use of the preposition ‘of’ in the sentence and it is important to note that the preposition ‘of’ is included in the phrase that follows the part of the sentence with the word twice. It is interesting to note that the expression twice is more used in the formal way. Look at the following example.
This year, the government has made twice the contribution they made last year to education.
This sentence shows that this year the government has doubled the contribution they made last year for education. This seems like a formal declaration. In that context, the word twice is used. Specially, in writing, the use of the word twice is accepted. That is the current trend.
What does Two Times mean?
The word two times also means double the amount already mentioned. It means twice. For example,
I went to the temple two times today.
Here, the speaker is telling that he or she went to the temple more than one time. He or she has gone to the temple twice.
In the same way as twice, you can see that the expression two times is also used with ‘as……..as’ as in the sentence ‘I got two times as much of money as I expected’. In this sentence, you can see that the word two times is used with ‘as……..as’ as ‘two times as much of money’.
It is interesting to note that the expression two times is used more in the informal way. That is to say, the expression two times is normally used very much in our day to day work. For example,
I went to the grocery two times this week. I had to get more supplies for the shop.
In this example, the speaker is explaining his or her activities to someone. So, in speaking about that as this is a normal dialogue between him or her with an acquaintance, he or she uses the word two times.
‘I went to the grocery two times this week. I had to get more supplies for the shop.’
What is the difference between Twice and Two Times?
• When it comes to meaning both twice and two times carry the same meaning. That is doing something more than once but less than three times.
• It is interesting to note that the expression two times is used more in the informal way whereas the expression twice is more used in the formal way.
• In informal context, people tend to use two times more than telling twice. That is, when you speak with a friend or so, you use the word two times rather than twice. Using twice in this context is not wrong. However, in the formal context, as in books, reports and such, you will see the word twice mentioned. Using two times in these situations is not accepted.
These are the important differences between the two expressions, twice and two times.
Images Courtesy:
- Grandmother via Pixabay (Public Domain)
- Grocery by David Shankbone (CC BY-SA 3.0)
