# Do you say "second grade" or "the second grade"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 23, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-say-second-grade-or-the-second-grade/464780 "2008-09-23T02:13:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lynxie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e99b99/32.png) [@lynxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lynxie)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-say-second-grade-or-the-second-grade/464780/21 "2008-09-23T09:40:30Z")
Another “grade two” here. But if I did use “second grade” I know I would skip the article because I say “in hospital”. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-say-second-grade-or-the-second-grade/464780/22 "2008-09-23T12:53:41Z")
Depends on the construction of the sentence. I can see myself saying it either way. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-say-second-grade-or-the-second-grade/464780/23 "2008-09-23T13:40:30Z")
My son is in second grade. It means he’s reached a certain grade level. My son is in the second grade. It means he’s part of the group of kids in that school that makes up a class. The second grade went on a trip. The word the makes the second graders an individual group called a class. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-say-second-grade-or-the-second-grade/464780/24 "2008-09-23T14:01:15Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I’d say “she’s in second class”. Yes, and in Australia for the high-school grades, I say, “She’s in year seven.” (My daughter is currently teaching year twelve drama, and is about to get a year twelve English class, in NSW). ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-say-second-grade-or-the-second-grade/464780/25 "2008-09-23T14:58:00Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > I’d say either one, and I wouldn’t notice which I was using. California. Ditto, from Louisiana. I posit that both uses are A-OK in any and all American English usages. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-say-second-grade-or-the-second-grade/464780/26 "2008-09-23T15:00:01Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Speaking of, standing _on_ line is something I’ve only heard in NYC. Are there other parts of the country where this is the standard phrasing? One of my friend’s mother, from Michigan, says “stand _on_ line”. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-say-second-grade-or-the-second-grade/464780/27 "2008-09-23T15:41:58Z")
I’m sure I have used both, but when I thought about it, it seemed more likely that I would use “the…” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-say-second-grade-or-the-second-grade/464780/28 "2008-09-23T15:57:33Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I’d say “she’s in second class”. That makes it sound like she’s a passenger on a boat, or something. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-say-second-grade-or-the-second-grade/464780/29 "2008-09-23T16:09:24Z")
She’s in second grade. I stand in line or stand on line; either one seems fine and I have used both. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-say-second-grade-or-the-second-grade/464780/30 "2008-09-23T16:18:19Z")
I always said “second grade”. Putting “the” in front of it sounds vaguely rural, as in “I had to plow the back forty back when I was in the second grade”. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-say-second-grade-or-the-second-grade/464780/31 "2008-09-23T19:17:06Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > One of my friend’s mother, from Michigan, says “stand _on_ line”. She’s a freak! 🙂 I have never ever EVER heard anyone around here say “stand ONline”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-say-second-grade-or-the-second-grade/464780.md?page=1)