"Open" is for doors, windows, and files; "turn on" is for electricity, lights, and electronic devices.
To make something go from closed to open — doors, windows, books, boxes, files, businesses.
Can you open the window? It is hot in here.
¿Puedes abrir la ventana? Hace calor aqui.
The supermarket opens at 8am and closes at 10pm.
El supermercado abre a las 8am y cierra a las 10pm.
Open your textbooks to page 45, please.
Abran sus libros de texto en la pagina 45, por favor.
To activate an electrical or electronic device. Switch on a light, TV, or air conditioner.
Can you turn on the light? I cannot see anything.
¿Puedes encender la luz? No puedo ver nada.
Turn on the TV — the game is starting in five minutes.
Enciende el televisor. El partido empieza en cinco minutos.
She turned on her laptop and started working immediately.
Ella encendio su laptop y comenzo a trabajar de inmediato.
Common mistake
The classic Spanish-speaker error: "open the light" — in some Spanish varieties "abrir la luz" is used, but in English you NEVER "open" a light. Lights are turned on (turn on) or turned off (turn off). Same error with the television: "open the TV" is wrong. "Turn on the TV" is correct. Only doors, windows, and containers are "opened".
Trick to remember it
Definitive trick: if it has a switch, power button, or electrical plug, use "turn on/off". If it has a hinge, latch, or lid, use "open/close". The only possible exception is a computer or tablet — but even there you say "turn on" (not "open") the computer.
Quick rule
Open = open (doors, windows, books, businesses). Turn on = switch on (lights, TV, electrical devices).
Did you know?
The "open the light" error is one of the most documented errors in English as a second language among Spanish speakers — and in other languages too: Hebrew, German, and many others use the equivalent of "open" for lights. Mandarin Chinese as well. It turns out that English is quite peculiar in using "turn" (to rotate) to switch on lights — likely from the rotating knob switches used in early electricity.
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
It is so dark in here. Can you _____ the lights?
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
Please _____ the door when you come in. There is a draft.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Open = open (doors, windows, books, businesses). Turn on = switch on (lights, TV, electrical devices).
The classic Spanish-speaker error: "open the light" — in some Spanish varieties "abrir la luz" is used, but in English you NEVER "open" a light. Lights are turned on (turn on) or turned off (turn off). Same error with the television: "open the TV" is wrong. "Turn on the TV" is correct. Only doors, windows, and containers are "opened".
Definitive trick: if it has a switch, power button, or electrical plug, use "turn on/off". If it has a hinge, latch, or lid, use "open/close". The only possible exception is a computer or tablet — but even there you say "turn on" (not "open") the computer.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy