A mark is a grade for a piece of work, and also a spot or stain on a surface. It isn't a brand or a stamp, even though a similar word, such as German Marke, covers those meanings: a postage stamp is a stamp, a car's manufacturer is its make, and the brand of clothes or a phone is a brand. Mark was also the name of Germany's old currency.
mark: will you get the meaning right?
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get/give a good/low mark (in + subject); full marks; a mark on + surface; leave a mark
- I got a good mark in my history test, so my parents were really pleased.
- The hot mug left a dark mark on the wooden table.
- Our teacher gave the whole group full marks for the presentation.
What changed
First versionWhat mark is your new car?
RevisionWhat make is your new car?
Mark may seem right for a car brand, but in English it's about grades or stains. The company that made a car is called its make: What make is it? — It's a Toyota. The specific version is the model.
In British English a grade for work is a mark; in American English it's a grade: I got a high grade in math. And for the brand of a product, the word is brand: Which brand of phone do you use?
Your turn
My grandfather keeps his ___ from different countries in a special album and never uses them for letters.
Show the answer
stamps — Grandfather keeps them in an album and doesn't use them on letters, so it's a collection of postage stamps. Marks here would mean grades or stains, and nobody collects those in an album.
Describe a mark you got for an exam or test. Name the subject and say what helped or got in the way.
I got a low mark in my chemistry exam last term because I missed three weeks of classes.
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