Actually, I learned English through imported Hong-Kong movies on vcd's and dvd's. Not a lot of swearing but seeing the quality of subtitles, I quickly learned how to speak "Engrish" :o)

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To others: thanks for your input ;)

I liked it :-)

Uh, doesn't "running on empty" mean that you're almost out of energy/gas/whatever but still going? Also, I've only ever come across that expression in a figurative sense ("I've been running on empty for weeks. I really need a vacation")...

Yes, good point. Running on empty is that time between the meter stating empty and the engine actually stopping, so it has a small amount of fuel left. I would stick with breakdown.

As another 'native' English speaker (although I'm Irish, so you can keep your Queen and her English :P) I agree with all of these. Though I would add that ' waiting to be picked up' seems perfectly acceptable for waiting for a tow truck. If your car or bike doesn't work (for any reason) then I think it's safe to use breakdown or broken down, though if asked for more details obviously telling them it's out of fuel is more accurate.

4: My phone says "Searching for signal" or "Entering Service area"

There is a movie about a severely dysfunctional family on the verge of total collapse called "Running On Empty" so we may have hit an extremely vague term here.

Couldn`t he just say: "My fuel/gas tank is empty!"?

Um,

<Completely missed English humor. xD

I think Australia is independent, the queen is still the queen though.

And yes, you might be right about the "running on empty", you would be running low on fuel, not completely out of fuel.

1. no, not broke down. When I hear broke down I think it needs to go to the mechanic. Ran out of gas is the better saying.
2. Waiting for help is better than picked up. Picked up means they are going to take you somewhere.
3. Stranded means you are stuck somewhere (anywhere, even a busy, crowded city), and have no means of getting out of there. For instance, you can be stranded at the bus station b/c you either a) don't have money for a ticket or b)your ride hasn't shown up to get you.
4. Out of service area.

I think thats the point we are discussing. In England, we do not call petrol/diesel Gas, there are gas powered vehicles that run on Hydrogen, hence the term "ran out of gas" may indicate to the call out people that they need to bring a hydrogen tank. Broken down is a generic, it just means that the device in question no longer functions.

1. I'd say "ran out of gas". The machine is not mechanically defective, add fuel and it will run.

2. You could use that phrase. I'd be more likely to say "waiting for help to arrive."

3. Yes.

4. Well, last weekend my phone said "No Network Available" when I was in the middle of a National Forest.

So, to put it all together:

You're stranded in the middle of nowhere because your motorcycle ran out of gas (or petrol, depending on the speaker's origin), and your cell phone is flashing "No Network" (again, actual message depends on your cell carrier/phone model), so now you're waiting for help to arrive in the form of a passer-by.

ah, i didn't know that with the hydrogen tanks. but if he/she were in the US, saying petrol would not work and Diesel is totally bad b/c if you get that put in your car and don't have a diesel engine, you are gonna be "broke down".

edit: and i was just giving my two cents as an American English speaker. I still say that when I hear "broke down" i think the car is not drivable due to mechanical failure, not an easy fix like filling with fuel.

Not a native speaker but hearing "my car broke down" I'd also expect some kind of mechanical or electronic failure. For an empty tank I'd just go with "I ran out of fuel" which I think is a generic expression that would be considered correct by all native speakers...

From the looks of things and how Mythbusters were sponsored to do a video where they make an electrolysis (separating oxygen/hydrogen), i get the feeling the US is about to switch over to non Petrol in the next 5-10 years (although probably they should have done that 10 years ago). Hybrid cars are avaliable which if you add enough batteries you can avoid using gas altogether, conversion kits... Even just compressed air if you have access to a sufficiently efficient motor.
Agreed... Maybe if we brought it down to a lower level. Let's say you are using a lawn mower, which has very low investment. If the engine breaks, it's doubtful you'd be able to repair it and you'd tell your friend/wife/coworkers that it 'broke' or 'broke down' and need to get a new one. On the other hand when it runs out of gas you never say it broke down, you almost always say 'ran out of gas', or 'tank's empty' or something of that nature. Although you can pick up the lawnmower with 1-2 hands (unlike say a car), very few people will have the technical knowledge to break it apart and repair it; And fewer will have the Patience and would just buy a new one. If you know it's out of gas, you'd never call it 'broke'.

edit: But someone unknowledgeable might call it broke, at least that's better than robbing a bank and using lemon juice as your disguise