Word-for-word phrase

Open the light / close the light

Open the light

Switch on the light (and 'close the light' = switch it off).

It's getting dark, Kabir. Open the light, please.

Switch on / turn on the light

Make the light start working; 'switch off' stops it.

It's getting dark, Kabir. Switch on the light, please.

Remember: Heard in parts of India, alongside 'on the light' and 'close the fan'. Clear in India; outside India 'open' suggests a door or box. Say 'switch on' and 'switch off'.

Short lessonPhrases that don't translateSome Indian English phrases are word-for-word translations. Listeners in India get them at once; international listeners may not.

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