To put on clothes is to "dress." This is a simple yet important verb to learn. The meaning of "dress" can change a little, depending on the situation in which it’s used.
Mary dressed and left the house for work. (She put on clothes.)
Mary got dressed and left the house for work at 7:30 a.m. (Notice that the verb "get" is often used with "dressed" for putting on clothes.)
Mary gets dressed up for work every day. (dress up = she wears formal, business attire.)
The verb "dress" is a regular verb. Following the "s" sound, the "ed" ending makes a "t" sound:
simple
past
past participle
dress
dressed
dressed
When one person assists another in putting on clothes, you can use "dress" as a verb:
She helped her granddaughter get dressed.
She dressed her granddaughter.
I dressed my children when they were babies.
Have you ever dressed a child?
The verb "dress" is also similar to the verb "wear."
How was she dressed? (What was she wearing?)
Is that how you dress for work? (Is that what you wear for work?)
Nathan is dressed in jeans and a t-shirt today. (He’s wearing jeans and a t-shirt today.)
He dresses very casually. (He wears casual clothes.)
By adding the preposition "up" after "dress," you describe the occasion or the reason for dressing:
We got dressed up for the wedding. The men wore suits and the women wore dresses.
Alan rarely dresses up for work. He usually just wears casual clothes.
What are you all dressed up for?
Tina dressed up as a witch for Halloween. (dress up as = put on a costume.)
You can use "dress" or "well-dressed" as an adjective to describe formal clothing:
I need to buy a pair of dress shoes that will match this suit.
That store sells men’s and women’s dress suits. (It’s not necessary to use "dress" in front of suit, but sometimes the word appears there as an adjective.)
A well-dressed man came into the store to buy a gift for his niece. (well-dressed = nicely dressed.)
He’s always very well dressed.
The word "dressy" can be used an adjective:
Lucinda wears clothes that are a little too dressy for the office. (The clothes don’t fit the situation–they’re too nice.)
Everyone looks so dressy today! What’s the occasion?
