student asking question

What's the difference between "await" and "wait"? If "wait" is used here, how would the sentence change?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

It would be unnatural to use the word "wait" instead of "await" as Malaysia is not actually physically waiting for you to come, instead the word "await" here implies that all these beautiful things will still be there when you visit Malaysia one day. "To wait" and "await" both mean to be in a state of expecting something to happen in the future. But you don't do any action to make the event come sooner. But they both have specific grammar rules attached to them. While "wait" can be used without an object, "await" always needs an object , but this object must be inanimate. You can say "I am waiting for you" but you cannot say " I am awaiting you" as 'you' is a living thing and not inanimate. Along with this, "wait" is also often used to talk about how much time was spent waiting. Ex: wait We sat and waited for our food. I've been waiting for you to send me a message. Ex: await He was arrested and is now in prison awaiting trial. Her long-awaited new novel is finally being published.

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