# run out of power/battery



## aha123

My sentence:
Sorry, my cell phone seems to be running out of power/battery and I almost can't hear what you said.


Do run out of power and run out of battery mean the same here?


----------



## PaulQ

Yes, you should use, run out of power. 

Run out of battery is more colloquial/informal.

PS: and I almost *could*n't hear what you said.
or
and I almost can't hear what you *are saying*.


----------



## aha123

Thank PaulQ.


----------



## Parla

We would not say "run out of battery" in AE. We'd say, "I'm running out of power" or "my battery needs charging".


----------



## ribran

As Paul said, "run out of battery" is colloquial.

_My phone is running out of battery.  _Best avoided_
My phone is running out of juice. - _informal but fairly common_
My battery is dying. 
My phone is running out of power.  
_


----------



## Bevj

My phone's battery is running out. (BrE).


----------



## sinkya

Can I say "I ran out of the phone's battery.", or "run out" is almost always used passively, such as "The power of this phone *is* run out"?

Thank you.


----------



## Florentia52

Both "I ran out of the phone's battery" and "The power of this phone is run out" sound very odd.


----------



## sinkya

Florentia52 said:


> Both "I ran out of the phone's battery" and "The power of this phone is run out" sound very odd.



Thank you Florentina52. 

I mainly want to know whether  "run out" is almost always used passively or not, but if you are still reading this thread, could you tell me why they sound odd? Could it be that in AE you usually say "...is running out" and you don't say "...is run out / I run out" when the battery is dead? Or, is it the use of "battery" combined with "run out" that is informal in AE which could contribute to them sounding odd?

I'd appreciate it if any native speaker could tell me about whether  "run out" is almost always used passively or not.

Thank you.


----------



## Wodwo

As a BE speaker I would never say "my phone has run out of power". I'd say, "My phone has run out of battery", "my battery is dead", "I've got no battery on my phone", "I've / My phone has run out of charge".

For some reason British phones seem to have either a battery or charge, but not power.

On "run out", it can't be used passively at all. The very particular context of cricket aside, it's the subject of the sentence that actively runs out every time. But, at least for BE speakers, in many contexts that subject may be the person ("I have run out of battery") or the device itself ("my phone has run out of battery").

"I ran out of the phone's battery" is weird primarily because in this sentence the battery belongs to the phone rather than "I", so it's not "I" who ran out of battery. Also, in this instance we'd say "my phone". "My phone's battery ran out" is ok.

"The power of this phone / this phone's power *has* run out" is ok, or at least it's correct. "Is" is the wrong auxiliary verb to use with "run out".


----------



## ain'ttranslationfun?

Innthe US we can also say "I'm almost out of bars." because the amount of charge/power you have left is indicated by bar symbols on the phone's screen.

EDIT: In some models of phones (ta, sdg).


----------



## nh01

Wodwo said:


> My phone has run out of charge".



Would it be incorrect to say "I used her phone because the charge of mine was over"?
Thanks.


----------



## GreenWhiteBlue

nh01 said:


> Would it be incorrect to say "I used her phone because the charge of mine was over"?



Yes, it would be incorrect.  We do not speak of a charge as being "over."


----------



## nh01

GreenWhiteBlue said:


> Yes, it would be incorrect.  We do not speak of a charge as being "over."



Thank you but is it possible to say "Mine was out of charge" without using the verb "to run"?


----------



## Wodwo

"Mine was out of charge" is fine in the UK.


----------



## MattiasNYC

"out of charge" sounds very odd to my Americanized ears...


----------



## English nerd

Parla said:


> We would not say "run out of battery" in


So won't "battery" be ever used in AmE?

1.)I'm almost out of *battery/power*.

2.)My phone's *power/battery* has run out.

3.)The *power/battery* is almost out.

4.)My *battery/power* ran out.

What will be preferred in AE "battery/power"?


----------



## GreenWhiteBlue

Of course we use the word "battery".  However, we do not use it as a synonym for its charge.   In AE while your phone may have run out of power, it certainly hasn't run out of "battery", because while your battery may be dead, it is still a battery, and it is still right there in your phone.


----------



## English nerd

So will only "power" be used in my sentences, since they mean "running out of charge"....


GreenWhiteBlue said:


> Of course we use the word "battery".  However, we do not use it as a synonym for its charge.   In AE while your phone may have run out of power, it certainly hasn't run out of "battery", because while your battery may be dead, it is still a battery, and it is still right there in your phone.


----------



## GreenWhiteBlue

English nerd said:


> So will only "power" be used in my sentences, since they mean "running out of charge"....



No.  It is uncommon in English to have only one possible way of saying something.  In this case, there are any number of other ways to express the concept, including "there's no juice in my battery", and "my battery died."


----------



## English nerd

So what sounds natural to you in those sentences "power" or "battery", since different people will have a different take on it.....


----------



## GreenWhiteBlue

I would say "my phone's battery is almost dead."


----------



## Roxxxannne

I use 'battery' if I'm talking about the device that supplies the power:
-- My phone's battery runs down so fast there must be something wrong with it.
-- I watched videos of cats in paper bags all day yesterday and drained my phone's battery completely.
Otherwise, I'd say "My phone's almost out of power."


----------



## English nerd

And what about this sentence:
My power/battery is almost out.

What sounds better "power/battery"?


Roxxxannne said:


> I use 'battery' if I'm talking about the device that supplies the power:


----------



## Andygc

Neither. Neither of those is normal English. Read the whole thread again. Then search for phone battery and read those threads.


----------



## English nerd

But I read "My battery is almost out" on Phrasemix, I didn't make it up...



Andygc said:


> Neither. Neither of those is normal English. Read the whole thread again. Then search for phone battery and read those threads.


----------



## Andygc

I didn't suggest that you made it up. I don't know anything about Phrasemix, and I don't know who wrote "My battery is almost out". If you have read the threads I suggested you should read you may have seen how popular that sentence is likely to be with native English speakers who use Wordreference.


----------



## Ashraful Haque

ribran said:


> As Paul said, "run out of battery" is colloquial.
> 
> _My phone is running out of battery. _Best avoided
> _My phone is running out of juice. - _informal but fairly common
> _My battery is dying.
> My phone is running out of power. _


I hope all of these are applicable for any device with a battery in it? For example:
_My laptop/tab/tesla(car) is running out of power._


----------



## Packard

I use "low", which is the same warning that I get when my IPhone battery is low.


----------



## Wodwo

For cars I'd say, "My car battery needs charging" or maybe "My car battery is low/dead". In fact "The battery needs charging / is dead" will do for any situation, including phones, laptops etc.


----------



## Ashraful Haque

Packard said:


> I use "low", which is the same warning that I get when my IPhone battery is low.


You say "My battery is low?"


----------



## Packard

Ashraful Haque said:


> You say "My battery is low?"


That’s how I would say it.
Something drained my cell phone battery last night and this morning it is at 1%.
“My battery is too low to make a phone call. It is on the charger now and it should be good in an hour or so.”

This usage is borrowing from a sink or bathtub for the metaphor. It gets “filled” and is “full” and it gets“drained” and gets “low”.


----------



## Ashraful Haque

Packard said:


> That’s how I would say it.
> Something drained my cell phone battery last night and this morning it is at 1%.
> “My battery is too low to make a phone call. It is on the charger now and it should be good in an hour or so.”
> 
> This usage is borrowing from a sink or bathtub for the metaphor. It gets “filled” and is “full” and it gets“drained” and gets “low”.


I've never heard 'it's on the charger.' Usually the message that pops up on the screen is something like "please plug in your phone/computer."


----------



## sdgraham

Ashraful Haque said:


> I've never heard 'it's on the charger.' Usually the message that pops up on the screen is something like "please plug in your phone/computer."


It seems you're confusing screen notifications with what we humans say aloud. 
"It's on the charger" is quite normal to me (AE) if somebody asks about a telephone, or any other battery-operated device.


----------



## Packard

Packard said:


> That’s how I would say it.
> Something drained my cell phone battery last night and this morning it is at 1%.
> “My battery is too low to make a phone call. It is on the charger now and it should be good in an hour or so.”
> 
> This usage is borrowing from a sink or bathtub for the metaphor. It gets “filled” and is “full” and it gets“drained” and gets “low”.


Sdgraham commented correctly  The sentence in quotation marks is as spoken; not as shown on a device screen.


----------



## Wodwo

I've not heard "on the charger" in the UK. We say "I'm charging my phone", "my phone's charging".


----------



## Packard

Wodwo said:


> I've not heard "on the charger" in the UK. We say "I'm charging my phone", "my phone's charging".


An effort to find the frequency of usage in this sense will be thwarted by other contexts.


_How quickly it will charge will depend on the charger being used._
_There should be a label on the charger telling you the rate of charge._
_If you leave your phone on the charger it will not damage the battery._


----------



## Ashraful Haque

Wodwo said:


> I've not heard "on the charger" in the UK. We say "I'm charging my phone", "my phone's charging".


"My phone's charging" sounds like it's charging by itself. Do we say this to mean that the 'phone's on the charger' as in AmE?


----------



## sdgraham

Ashraful Haque said:


> "My phone's charging" sounds like it's charging by itself.


I don't think this would occur to a native speaker.   
We assume an outside source where appropriate.
If I say, for example, "I'm driving to Seattle tomorrow," it's obvious there's a vehicle involved.


----------



## Wodwo

Ashraful Haque said:


> "My phone's charging" sounds like it's charging by itself. Do we say this to mean that the 'phone's on the charger' as in AmE?


It is charging by itself. I'm not charging it, it's plugged in and the current is flowing into the battery - or however it works! 
And yes, in the UK this is one of the ways we express this idea and no one bats an eyelid.


----------



## Packard

With induction charging, it almost seems like it does charge itself.  

Some things happen with our assistance and others without.  There seems to be no logic on that front.

_Is your phone charging?
I plugged it in; I hope so.

Are you growing a beard?
No.  I'm just not doing anything to discourage its arrival.  _


----------



## Ashraful Haque

Packard said:


> With induction charging, it almost seems like it does charge itself.
> 
> Some things happen with our assistance and others without.  There seems to be no logic on that front.
> 
> _Is your phone charging?
> I plugged it in; I hope so.
> 
> Are you growing a beard?
> No.  I'm just not doing anything to discourage its arrival.  _


Say there's only one plug and I want to charge my phone so I ask my friend:
"Is your phone charging?"

To me it feels more like I'm asking whether his phone is connected properly or not. I mean on several occasions after plugging in my phone I found out that it wasn't charging cause the plug was loose or something.


----------



## Packard

If I were waiting on the charger to charge my own phone, I would ask, "Is your phone _*still *_charging?"  I would expect a reply that indicated that it was, or that the charge was complete and that the charger was now available.

I have a 40 watt Apple charger at my desk.  My co-workers are constantly using it because it is so much quicker than the five and ten-watt versions that come with their devices.  

So I hear, "Eve, your phone is at 90 percent.  Can I cut in?"  Or, "Coretta, your phone is fully charged.  I'm unplugging it."

Or from Coretta, "You have plenty of charge." At which time she unplugs someone's device and plugs in hers.  Her definition of "plenty of charge" might not meet my definition.  But that does not stop her.


----------



## Wodwo

Ashraful Haque said:


> Say there's only one plug and I want to charge my phone so I ask my friend:
> "Is your phone charging?"
> 
> To me it feels more like I'm asking whether his phone is connected properly or not. I mean on several occasions after plugging in my phone I found out that it wasn't charging cause the plug was loose or something.


This is not a distinction that would ever occur to me. If someone asks me if my phone is charging (they never do, but it's an imaginable scenario), I'm not going to ask myself whether they mean is my charger working. If they wanted to know that, they'd have asked me if my charger's working. So if they ask if my phone is charging and it's plugged into the charger I'll say "yes". Subsequently discovering that the charger isn't working or the phone has already finished charging isn't going to change any of that.


----------

