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first class / grade

qay

Senior Member
German
is there a difference between class and grade?

Does first class only refer to 'upper' e.g. when I travel by train, or could I also attend the first class of elementary school?
We need more context to provide a well-reasoned reply. What is this in reference to? Please use it in a sentence.
So two sentences I can think of are e.g.:

I always travel first class. (here I think I know that only class works)
I go to first class elementary school. (here I don't know if class is correct or if grade is the only word that works)

thanks.
Class can mean both an schoolroom in which children learn and a division based on quality or rank.
In your two examples, it would be a division based on quality or rank.

And it really should be "I go to a first class elementary school.

In regards to your first post:

"...or could I also attend the first class of elementary school?"

This would cause the reader to think perhaps you are attending the first day of a classroom at an elementary school.
Thank you.
Could I then also say: I go to THE first class elementary school.

I don't understand what you want to say about my first post. Do you mind reexplaining it to me?
Well you see, in english we'd not assign "the" to "a" first class school. It might be comparable to die schule vs. eine schule.

The only time you'd really use "the" would be for a specific first class school.

Such as: I attend the first class school, Oakwood High. You would use "the" because you are referring to a particular first class school.

This would hardly be said or heard though. 99% of the time you'd hear someone say "I attend a first class school" or "my school is a first class school" or "my school is first class!"
Thank you.
Could I then also say: I go to THE first class elementary school.

I don't understand what you want to say about my first post. Do you mind reexplaining it to me?

In the sense of first school year.
Thanks you helped me a lot!!!

But now something else came into my mind: are the verbs 'grade' and 'form' synonyms of 'class'? Could you give me an example of how to use them?
Well......not necessarily.

Grade and form can be both nouns and verbs. Class cannot be a verb. Classify is a verb.
Grade (quality) and class as nouns could be synonyms.
"What is the grade of this diamond?"
"What class would you rate this diamond?"

Using classify in the verb sense here:
"What grade would you classify this diamond?"

Grade as a verb and a noun: I will grade (verb) your paper. After I've done so, you will receive a grade (noun).
Thanks you helped me a lot!!!

But now something else came into my mind: are the verbs 'grade' and 'form' synonyms of 'class'? Could you give me an example of how to use them?
In BE, to grade, to form and to class are all verbs.

To grade and to class both describe judging something and putting it with similar objects/animals/persons

You grade something by size or quality
You class something by any criterion/criteria you choose.

However, both verbs often depend on the final selection is normally described - e.g. First grade diamonds, second class apples.

To form has nothing to do with to grade or to class; to form is to create, or mould, "He formed a house out of Lego." "He formed a man out of plasticine."
I've learned a lot.
- Could I use these verbs also reflexively, e.g. I grade myself (give myself a grade/mark; I estimate myself). Or should then the verb 'I rate myself' be used?
- And if these words are used as nouns, could the following work (I retake the sentence from post 8):
I attend first class of elementary school.
I attend first grade of e.s.
I attend first form of e.s.
I've learned a lot.
- Could I use these verbs also reflexively, e.g. I grade myself (give myself a grade/mark; I estimate myself). Or should then the verb 'I rate myself' be used?
Much depends what you are going to say next, but "Yes, it is possible."

- And if these words are used as nouns, could the following work (I retake the sentence from post 8):
I attend first class of elementary school.👁 Cross :cross:

I attend first grade of e.s.👁 Cross :cross:

I attend first form of e.s.👁 Cross :cross:
You do not attend a form, class or year. You are in a form, class or year:

I am in the first class of the/at elementary school.👁 Tick :tick:

I attend first grade of the/at e.s.👁 Cross :cross:
This is wrong in BE as we do not have "grades"
I am in the first form of the/at e.s.👁 Tick :tick:


You are in a class/form/year at a school
You go to/attend a school.
qay

I suggest that you tell us if you are interested in American-English or British-English terminology. They can be very different.
The word 'form' isn't used much in English state schools these days. We talk about 'Year One', 'Year Two' and so on up to 'Year Twelve'. If you use the WR dictionary, you will often find previous threads on topics. We don't talk about elementary schools either - we mostly have primary schools (5-11 year olds), and secondary schools (11- 16 or 11-18 years).

I don't know anybody who talks about 'attending' school. It is most unnatural in speech, used formally and in certain sorts of writing. It's useful to know as passive vocabulary.

It would also be useful to know how you are using these sentences, in other words the broader context.

Hermione
Ohhh I see. In this sense, it would be "I go to the first class of elementary school.
I've never heard anyone say that. In AE I've only heard "first grade" and in Canadian English it's usually "grade one." If I heard "I go to the first class of elementary school" I wouldn't know what it meant, and I'd guess it meant a couple other things before "first grade."
I read his post incorrectly. I thought he asked about attending the first day of class. Granted, it seemed odd to me, but I thought that was what he had asked in the prior post. I'll go edit it now.
Actuually I'm interesten in both systems, American and British, and the differenece (in the words form, grade, class) between both.

Can you tell me all possible ways of saying:
1. I am in the first class of (the) elementary school. (what can be used instead of t, what instead of prepositions?)
2. I go to / attend (the) high school of name of town.

Really appreciate your help.
Most English schoolchildren start primary school at the age of four, and spend the first year in the reception class. This is commonly abbreviated to "reception". Therefore, in the unlikely event of a child of that age actually voicing it, they would probably say, "I'm in reception".

The following year, they move into "Year 1", so would say "I'm in year 1".

I can't think of a natural alternative to "I'm in ..." for expressing this, but the averagechild would probably use their teacher's name in place of the words "reception" or "year ...": "I'm in Mrs Brown's class".
Actuually I'm interesten in both systems, American and British, and the differenece (in the words form, grade, class) between both.

Can you tell me all possible ways of saying:
1. I am in the first class of (the) elementary school. (what can be used instead of t, what instead of prepositions?)
2. I go to / attend (the) high school of name of town.

Really appreciate your help.
I don't think you have many options, in AE at least.

1. "I am in (the) first grade (at [name of school])." There's no need to say "first grade of elementary school." Everyone knows first grade is part of elementary school and nobody would ever say "the first grade of high school" to mean ninth grade.
You could also say "I am in elementary school" or "I go to elementary school" if you don't want to say the exact grade or school.
In Canada we say "grade one" instead of "first grade," and I think some Americans say that too, but it's much less common.

2. "I go to (or 'I attend') [name of school]." Some high schools are named after towns but many are not. You could say "I go to (a) high school in [name of town]."
American schools are divided into sections in three ways (in different school districts):

(common, and increasing)
Elementary school: Kindergarden, first grade through sixth grade
Middle school or junior high school: seventh grade through ninth grade
High school (or senior high): tenth grade through twelfth grade (or sophomore, junior, senior)

(common, but decreasing)
Elementary school: Kindergarden, first grade through eighth grade
High school: ninth grade through twelfth grade (or freshman, sophomore, junior, senior)

(extremely rare; only in very small and isolated schools)
Kindergarden through twelfth grade (possibly even in a single classroom - the so-called One-Room Schoolhouse)
(I once attended a school in which all grades from kindergarden through eighth grade were combined in two rooms with two teachers; there were nineteen students.)

To speak of all these grades collectively, sometimes the abbreviations "El-Hi" or "K-12" are used. (This is educator-speak, and not much used by others.)

I would say "He is in the second grade," "He is a second-grader," or "He is in elementary school." I would not combine the two: "He is in the second grade in/of elementary school."
(When giving just the grade, the reader/listener is expected to understand what school is implied. Where there is ambiguity {7th - 9th} the listener should ask, if interested: "Is that in a Junior-high system?")

I would say "He is a junior," "He is an eleventh-grader," or "He is in the eleventh grade." I might also say "He is in high school," or "He is a junior in high school," but not "He is in the eleventh grade in/of high school."
Note that the named grades (freshman, etc.) are the only ones that can be combined with the type of school. (I suspect that this is to avoid confusion with the similarly-named "grades" in college.)

Class is generally only used to describe the year of graduation from a school: "He is in the Class of 2013."
(Formerly only used in reference to college and high school, but recently used for middle school and even elementary school.)

First class would only be used to describe the quality of a school. "I am sending my child to a first-class high school."
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Are these sentences correct and common to hear in English?

What grade are you in at school?
What class are you in at school?
Cengizhanbasyayla said:
Are these sentences correct and common to hear in English?


What grade are you in at school?
What class are you in at school?

Hi, Cengizhanbasyayla. There are some previous threads on this topic, so I've merged your question with one of these. You might find your answer in this thread - though it's complicated because, as you'll see, usage varies depending on the kind of English you're trying to write. But if your questions aren't answered, you're welcome to add questions to this thread.

JustKate
English Only moderator
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Are these sentences correct and common to hear in English?

What grade are you in at school?
What class are you in at school?


Which English are you referring to? Or rather which English-speaking country's educational system are you referring to and at what level (age range)?
I'm referring to Turkey's educational system, secondary school students (between 10-13 ages and 5th-8th grades). What I mean by class is for example, we have two classes for 6th Graders: 6A and 6B. So, I want to ask a question to find out which class the student attends: 6A or 6B?
In that case (at least in AmE), we would use class. The students are in 6th grade, but the specific group they belong to that differentiates them from the other 6th graders would be a class.
Are these sentences correct and commonly heard in English?

What grade are you in at school? Not in the UK (BE does not speak of 'grades'), but it is usual in AE.
What class are you in at school? Yes, this is the usual question.
In American English, the usual question is, "What grade are you in?"

"What grade are you in at school?" is also correct, and may be said. However, it is usually considered unnecessary to specify 'at school' because in most cases that would be understood.
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