I was swimming "on" the lake.

[sitifan]

1. I was swimming on Lake Windermere. (A Student's Grammar of the English Language, by Sidney Greenbaum and Randolph Quirk, page 192)
2. I was swimming on the lake. (My sentence.)

Is #2 acceptable to native speakers?

 

[emsr2d2]

A Student's Grammar of the English Language, by Sidney Greenbaum and Randolph Quirk, page 192)

In what year was that book published?

 

[tedmc]

"On" means "on top of", so skating is possible on the lake, not swimming.

 

[sitifan]

In what year was that book published?

1990.

https://books.google.com.tw/books/a...nglish_Langu.html?id=WzYNAQAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y

 

[Rover_KE]

What is the context of the sample sentence? I find it hard to believe that Greenbaum and Quirk say it's good English.

 

[Rover_KE]

originally posted by sitifan

https://www.oposinet.com/temario-de-...uncion-y-usos/
​

I can see no attribution of the authorship of that screed – let alone the names of the distinguished grammarians you mention.

Among other errors, we read

To who (sic) did you sell your house? (formal).

I've never lived Lincoln.

Where places are regarded as pints (sic) on a route or as institution (sic) to which ones (sic) is attached ...

 

[sitifan]

u999...@my-deja.com
Jul 31, 1999, 3:00:00 PM

I read the following items in the " A student's grammar of the English
language" by Sidney Greenbaum, Randolph Quirk. Please explain the
following questions in detail.
1) I was swimming on Lake Windermere.
2) I'll lie on the bed for a few minutes.
3) There was a child asleep in the bed.
In the first sentence, why do we use on (the dimension type 1
preposition ) in that sentence in spite of swimming surrounded water?
In the second & third sentences, why do we use on (the dimension type
1) and in (the dimension type 3) in front of the same word "bed"
https://groups.google.com/g/alt.usage.english/c/zPmabI9p7DU

 

[jutfrank]

I agree that it's a poor example, but the idea of I was swimming on Lake Windermere is to illustrate the use of the preposition on as a dimension-type 2 preposition. That is, Lake Windermere is seen as two-dimensional surface.

Replacing Lake Windermere with the lake produces no change of meaning.

A better example would be: I was sailing on Lake Windermere.

 

[jutfrank]

1) I was swimming on Lake Windermere.

In the first sentence, why do we use on (the dimension type 1
preposition ) in that sentence in spite of swimming surrounded water?

It's actually a dimension-type 2 preposition in this particular example, not type 1. The idea is not that I was surrounded by water, but that I was attached to the lake's surface.

 

[jutfrank]

If you think of 'on Lake X' as your location, it is possible to 'swim/walk/etc on Lake X'. I don't recommend that learners use this, but i would not say it was not possible.

You can of course walk/sail/skate on a lake.

The problem here seems to be that when we imagine swimming, we tend to think of the body as partially submerged.

 

[emsr2d2]

u999...@my-deja.com
Jul 31, 1999, 3:00:00 PM

I read the following [STRIKE]items[/STRIKE] in [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] "A Student's Grammar of the English Language" by Sidney Greenbaum, Randolph Quirk. Please [STRIKE]explain[/STRIKE] answer the following questions in detail.

1) I was swimming on Lake Windermere.
2) I'll lie on the bed for a few minutes.
3) There was a child asleep in the bed.

In the first sentence, why do we use "on" (the dimension type 1 preposition) in that sentence in spite of swimming surrounded by water?
In the second [STRIKE]&[/STRIKE] and third sentences, why do we use "on" (the dimension type 1) and "in" (the dimension type 3) [STRIKE]in front of[/STRIKE] before [STRIKE]the same word[/STRIKE] "the bed"?

[Hyperlink pointless as it requires the reader to log in to their Google account.]

I'm not sure quite what's going on here. Did you quote a 21-year-old question from a random person who happened to claim that those sentences came from that book? As you can see, the post needed multiple corrections.

You'll find several threads, some quite recent, about the difference between "in bed", "in the bed" and "on the bed". We're not going to discuss them again here.
All I can say about sentence 1 is that, except for Piscean's explanation earlier in the thread, it's unnatural.

 

[kadioguy]

u999...@my-deja.com
Jul 31, 1999, 3:00:00 PM

I read the following items in the " A student's grammar of the English
language" by Sidney Greenbaum, Randolph Quirk. Please explain the
following questions in detail.
1) I was swimming on Lake Windermere.

I am sorry but that person made a mistake.

(Quoted from A Student's Grammar of the English Language, p. 191 )

 

[sitifan]

 

[kadioguy]

I went to the library to consult the book this morning. I have taken three pictures (see post #15). I am afraid that you were wrong.

I am afraid that that is a typo in your version of the book. Considering the explanation above, the "on" doesn't make sense here.