-
Side
Are these correct? What do they mean?
1. Only the side of my truck went over the curb. (
2. Only one side of my truck went over the curb. (Does this make sense? If I say one side, so does that mean my car has two sides? Is that right?)
What is the difference in meaing between #1 and #2?
Are these correct? What do they mean?
3. Only a part of my truck went up.
4. Only part of my truck went up.
-
Hi Jack,
Re 1 & 2: Both mean essentially the same thing-- not all of the truck went over the curb, but just the two wheels on one side or the other.
Re 3 & 4: Both are grammatically correct, but neither is semantically meaningful to me. If we finished the sentence thus: 'only (a) part of my truck went up over the curb', then they would have about the same meaning as 1 & 2.
-
'only (a) part of my truck went up over the curb', then they would have about the same meaning as 1 & 2.
So I can either use 'a' or leave it out? Why can I do that? Isn't 'part' countable? Don't I need an article there?
-

Originally Posted by
jack
So I can either use 'a' or leave it out? Why can I do that? Isn't 'part' countable? Don't I need an article there?
'Part' is one of those words that can be countable or non-count, Jack, considered to mean either 'a section of' or 'some of'.
Swan (Practical English Usage) expresses it more tentatively, saying " 'A' is usually dropped before 'part' if there is no adjective':
'Part of the roof was missing.'
'A large part of the roof was missing.' "
Similar Threads
-
By RonBee in forum English Idioms and Sayings
Replies: 368
Last Post: 21-May-2010, 11:07
-
By NewHope in forum Ask a Teacher
Replies: 3
Last Post: 15-Sep-2004, 04:13
-
By Tombraiders in forum Ask a Teacher
Replies: 8
Last Post: 03-Aug-2004, 05:50
-
By Joe in forum Ask a Teacher
Replies: 1
Last Post: 18-Feb-2004, 16:42
-
By whl626 in forum Ask a Teacher
Replies: 4
Last Post: 28-Oct-2003, 14:46
Posting Permissions
- You may not post new threads
- You may not post replies
- You may not post attachments
- You may not edit your posts
-
Forum Rules

Search Engine Optimization by
vBSEO 3.6.1