on on

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Do228

Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2017
Member Type
Other
Native Language
Esperanto
Home Country
Philippines
Current Location
Europe
Is it OK to use "on" twice in a row? For example in sentences like this:

You're dead on on this topic.
I like that you're taking on on this.
 
Re: on

Do228 said:
Is it OK to use "on" twice in a row? For example in sentences like this:

You're dead on on this topic. :tick: It's OK if you're using "dead on" to mean "absolutely right".
I like that you're taking on on this. :cross: Do you mean "I like that you're taking this on"?
Click to expand...

See above.
 
I've edited your thread title to reflect the whole point of the thread..
 
Do228 said:
I like that you're taking on on this.
Click to expand...
Is the following sentence possible?

I like it that you're talking on on this topic.

[talk on = to continue to talk]
 
YAMATO2201 said:
Is the following sentence possible?

I like it that you're talking on on this topic.

[talk on = to continue to talk]
Click to expand...

It's not impossible but it's hard to imagine a context where it could occur.
 
I wouldn't use "to talk on" to mean "to continue to talk".
 
I didn't say it was wrong. I said I wouldn't use it. I might use "to talk on and on and on" to refer to someone droning endlessly on about a topic.
 
GoesStation said:
it's hard to imagine a context where it could occur.
Click to expand...
Yes, I can't think of a context in which I'd use it.

Incidentally, how would you pronounce "You're dead on on this topic"?

I'd pronounce the blue part as /άn ən/.
 
Last edited:
YAMATO2201 said:
Incidentally, how would you pronounce "You're dead on on this topic"?
Click to expand...

Particles of phrasal verbs (the first on here) are always stressed.
 
YAMATO2201 said:
Incidentally, how would you pronounce "You're dead on on this topic"?

I'd pronounce the blue part as /άn ən/.
Click to expand...
I don't think I use different vowels, but I stress the first "on" because it's part of the phrasal verb.
 
jutfrank said:
Particles of phrasal verbs (the first on here) are always stressed.
Click to expand...
How would you pronounce "make up for"? Would you stress "for"?
 
YAMATO2201 said:
How would you pronounce "make up for"? Would you stress "for"?
Click to expand...

No, you would stress up (the particle). Always stress the particle.
 
jutfrank said:
No, you would stress up (the particle). Always stress the particle.
Click to expand...
I think the "for" in "make up for" is also a particle. When I use a phrasal verb with one particle, I always stress the particle.
 
YAMATO2201 said:
I think the "for" in "make up for" is also a particle. When I use a phrasal verb with one particle, I always stress the particle.
Click to expand...

No, up is the particle of the phrasal verb make up. for is a preposition—usually part of a preposition phrase. Look:

I'm trying to make up for lost time.

So you stress up, and for is unstressed.
 
jutfrank said:
So you stress up, and for is unstressed.
Click to expand...
That's exactly the way I pronounce "make up for", and I think your analysis of "make up for" is reasonable.

make up for sth ---> make up (phrasal verb) + for sth (preposition phrase)

However, the definition I use of 'particle' is:

(grammar) an adverb or a preposition that can combine with a verb to make a phrasal verb. (OALD)

Also, in my favorite Macmillan Phrasal Verbs Plus Dictionary, the verb phrase make up for is classified as a 'three-part phrasal verb'.

Thus, I was unconsciously assuming the "for" was what you call 'particle'. I apologize.
 
Last edited:
YAMATO2201 said:
That's exactly the way I pronounce "make up for", and I think your analysis of "make up for" is reasonable.
Click to expand...

Thanks. The fact that you pronounce like that is a good sign that you have a natural way of speaking.

However, the definition I use of 'particle' is:

(grammar) an adverb or a preposition that can combine with a verb to make a phrasal verb. (OALD)
Click to expand...

Right. That's no different to my definition, though. This doesn't mean that a phrasal verb can have two particles (it can't).

Also, in my favorite Macmillan Phrasal Verbs Plus Dictionary, the verb phrase make up for is classified as a 'three-part phrasal verb'.
Click to expand...

I think that's misleading. I wouldn't call it a 'three-part phrasal verb' but rather a 'three-part chunk'. The 'chunk' consists of a phrasal verb (stem+particle) and a collocated preposition phrase head (preposition). (By 'collocated', I mean to say that it is very likely that the phrasal verb make up is followed by a preposition phrase with for as the head, within a particular semantic framework (i.e., to give a certain meaning). It's precisely the strength of this collocational bond that makes it a chunk. It's neither useful nor sensible to think of the preposition as an actual part of the verb itself.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top