student asking question

Can I use "cut" instead of "chop"? How different them?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

In this case, it would sound unnatural to use "cut" instead of "chop". This is because to "cut" something usually means to make an incision using something like scissors or a knife, but to "chop" implies a bigger force, using bigger tools. When talking about wood, "chop" is the usual verb to use because it requires the use of an ax, which is a very heavy duty tool. Ex: He chopped down the tree. Ex: I am chopping up the vegetables. Ex: The girl cut the paper with scissors.

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