I can never know for sure which word to use outside foresting and foraging.
I've always thought them to be interchangeable most of the time.
However, when it comes to berries or fruit we use gather and can't use collect. And when speak we about items or stuff like coins we use collect.
What about these cases:
- I need to gather/collect information.
- If you gather/collect everyone we will start the meeting.
- He went there to gather/collect junk.
So, in which case do we use collect and in which gather?
Best Answer
Collect X basically implies you will keep or contain X after obtaining X. Gather X may not necessarily have this implication, you usually have to express it or suggest it via context.
Because we usually don't force people against their will or put them in containers, gather is often used with people, unless we are transporting them.
If the X's you are wanting to aggregate exist over a wide area, gather helps to suggest that.
Using collect in this situation implies there is only a few or exact known number of X.
Collect X can also mean "to keep X as part of a collection" or "to receive something as payment, especially to repay a debt."