CAN vs. TIN

Good morning everyone.

We will use the rest of the week to answer a question that was sent to us by Miquel M.:

Good Morning Matthew. I am a member of ZigSpace and I would be very grateful if you could post a Daily Vitamin explaining the differences among CAN, TIN and JAR, as I find it very difficult to know which word I should use in every case. Thank you.
Sincerely, Miquel M.

Today we look at Can and Tin, and tomorrow and Thursday we will look at Jar.

Meaning of Can/Tin: a metal container in which food and drink is sold.

These nouns are synonyms. Can is more common in the US and Tin is more common in the UK, but there is lots of variation. Use the one you feel most comfortable with. It won't cause miscommunication.

This use of tin comes from the metal that tins (or cans) are sometimes made of. Tin is a soft silver-white metal that is often mixed with other metals or used to cover them to prevent them from rusting.

We can also say a tin can, in both dialects, which indicates that the can is made out of the metal tin. Of course, aluminium cans also exist.

Example 1:
For dinner he had a tin of beans and a tin of soup. It wasn't very fresh, but he enjoyed it.

A tin/can is also used for non-food products, such as paint and chemicals.

Example 2:
We needed four tins/cans of paint in order to paint the bedroom thoroughly.

Thanks for the question Miquel. I hope this explanation was helpful. If not, please post your comments by clicking on the "Add a Comment" button in the Daily Vitamin section on our website (www.ziggurat.es/es/lecciones_ingles/index.asp).

Have a relaxing day.