What's the main difference between "rip" and "tear"? Are they interchangeable?
Native speaker’s answer
Rebecca
They are interchangeable! I'd say the one difference is that rip has more of a violent or harsh action connected to it. "Tear" can also be violent and harsh, but it's also used for less violent and smaller actions. Ex: I tore off a piece of paper from your notebook for the shopping list. Ex: My jeans are ripped from riding my skateboard every day. Ex: I'm going to tear up all my letters from him when I get home! Ex: Martin already ripped up the document. What do we do now?