in search of food vs on the search of vs in the search of

Status
Not open for further replies.

ostap77

Key Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Ukrainian
Home Country
Ukraine
Current Location
Ukraine
"When thinking about who we are we must remember that America was discovered by Europeans while on the search for food."
I think there is a mistake in this sentence. We say "in search of". Do we ever say "in the search of" or "on the search for"? I doubt them being correct.
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
"When thinking about who we are we must remember that America was discovered by Europeans while on the search for food."
I think there is a mistake in this sentence. We say "in search of". Do we ever say "in the search of" NO or "on the search for"NO(?) ? I doubt them being correct.

I suspect that the writer has conflated 'in search of' and 'on the hunt for'. I have put a question mark after my second NO above, because I feel we may use it. It is not a natural idiom to me, but it doesn't sound totally unnatural either.

I haven't any reference boks to hand to check, but your "I doubt them being correct" seems unnatural to me. I would say, "I doubt that/if/whether they are correct".

Comments from others on both points would be appreciated.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top