How to talk about putting water in the freezer to become ice?

Question

I have to tell the child that I have put the water in the freezer and after some time it will convert into ice.

I say:

I have put water in the freezer for ice to set.

Does "for ice to set" make sense here?

What is a short way to convey the conversion process of ice to water?

A literal translation could be "I have put water in the freezer in order for ice to form." But it is in the passive voice, and the expression would more commonly be used in "ice forms when water gets very cold." — Nigel Touch, Dec 18 '15 at 15:20

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 18 '15 at 06:34

4

I have never heard of that phrase before.

Personally I would say "I put water in the freezer to make ice" or even "I put water in the freezer" (why else would you put water in the freezer?). I think "to make ice" is the best phrase, because that's what you're doing. You're making ice. Although including that phrase is unnecessary.

As a side note "have put" sounds a little weird here. Maybe someone can comment more formally why it's right or wrong. It's probably not technically ungrammatical, but it sounds stilted.

answered Dec 18 '15 at 06:34

2

The phrase "to set" doesn't apply to ice but certainly applies to all sorts of chilled things, such as jellies and pies. And there's nothing at all odd about "have put" if the present perfect makes sense, as it does in the described scenario. – chrylis -cautiouslyoptimistic- Dec 18 '15 at 11:15
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See http://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/76272/what-is-wrong-with-have-put-in-i-have-put-the-water-in-the-freezer if you'd like to follow up on the side note. – AndyT Dec 18 '15 at 13:06
i would explain 'I make the water very cold using the freezer'. That way you make a nice distinction between what causes ice (temperature) and what causes the temperature – Cor_Blimey Dec 18 '15 at 13:31

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 18 '15 at 09:58

The conversion of water to ice is called freezing. From dictionary.reference.com:

to become hardened into ice or into a solid body; change from the liquid to the solid state by loss of heat

This is why it is called a freezer: it freezes things and/or keeps them frozen.

Also, it is important to note that the water is what freezes: ice cannot become frozen, it is already frozen. Hence your sentence will need to be:

I have put water in the freezer for it to freeze (in order to make ice cubes).

(As an aside: I would say you are making ice cubes rather than making just plain ice. This is probably a British English variation, in the US I believe just referring to it as ice is more common.)

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 18 '15 at 06:54

There are ice makers that come with the fridge which you have to fill with water, but I assume you're talking about an ordinary ice tray.

You fill the ice tray with water (drawn from the faucet), and you stick the ice tray in the freezer. To make ice.

"Make some ice, why don't you. We're all out."
"How do you expect me to do that?"
"It's pretty simple. First, you get an ice tray. It's that plastic thing with compartments. That's how ice cubes are formed. You fill the tray with water. From the faucet. And you stick the tray in the freezer. And then you just wait until all that water freezes up and turns into cubes. You then remove the tray from the freezer and twist and squeeze and knock it until all the ice cubes are out."

I'm pretty sure you'll be able to construct something, well, constructive, from the above description.

How to talk about putting water in the freezer to become ice?

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