On it

Status
Not open for further replies.

notletrest

Senior Member
Joined
May 3, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
"... For the rest of us, the brain has its ways of working through bad feelings. Sleep-- or rather dream-- on it, and you'll feel better in the morning."

1. What does " it" refer to ? 2. What' s the meaning of " on it"?

Thanks !
 

jamiep

Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2007
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Scotland
Current Location
Thailand
It means think / dream about something that is on your mind / something you're thinking about. It may be clearer in the morning.
 

notletrest

Senior Member
Joined
May 3, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
It means think / dream about something that is on your mind / something you're thinking about. It may be clearer in the morning.

I guess your meaning is “Sleep -- or rather dream on it and you 'll feel better in the morning." Am I right? But has "on it" any relationship with "sleep"? Please give more explanation to "on it".

Thanks!
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
"To sleep on it" means to put off making a decision until the morning, or similar. Perhaps you are thinking about buying a car. You test drive the car. You really like it but it is about £500 more than you wanted to pay. You might say to the owner "Can I sleep on it and give you a ring in the morning to let you know my decision?"

The "it" refers to the subject that you want some more time to think about.
 

notletrest

Senior Member
Joined
May 3, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
"To sleep on it" means to put off making a decision until the morning, or similar. Perhaps you are thinking about buying a car. You test drive the car. You really like it but it is about £500 more than you wanted to pay. You might say to the owner "Can I sleep on it and give you a ring in the morning to let you know my decision?"

The "it" refers to the subject that you want some more time to think about.

Very good answer it is. By the way is there anything unusual in " You test drive the car."
Thanks a lot!
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic

notletrest

Senior Member
Joined
May 3, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
You test drive the car.

In my eyes “ drive‘ is a noun as object of "test" ,as verb of the sentence. But the car is the object of "drive ". How can a noun is used as an object of a noun itself? So we'd better say "driving the car or a drive of the car". Is it right? Please give the reason.

Suddenly, aother idea came to me." Test" is a noun ,used to modify the V of "drive" as an adverbial. Seldom do I read such a pattern. Is this right?
Thanks!
 

BobK

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 29, 2006
Location
Spencers Wood, near Reading, UK
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
"To sleep on it" means to put off making a decision until the morning, or similar. Perhaps you are thinking about buying a car. You test drive the car. You really like it but it is about £500 more than you wanted to pay. You might say to the owner "Can I sleep on it and give you a ring in the morning to let you know my decision?"

The "it" refers to the subject that you want some more time to think about.

:up:So 'dream...on' is not being used as a collocation. The author is saying 'sleep on it [but don't just put it off until tomorrow; the important thing about sleeping on something is that it gives you time to process it by the means that we call 'dreaming''. S/he tried to work all this in by simply adding 'dream', but ended up with a bad collocation. 'On' can mean 'about', so it probably didn't look too bad when s/he was writing it. ;-)

b

PS The 'test drive' thing ia a new topic. It needs a new thread. 5jj would usually say this, but hoped he could get away with a simple 'No'! If you want more than that, start a new thread.
 
Last edited:

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic

notletrest

Senior Member
Joined
May 3, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
I see both.
Thanks to all the teachers, indeed!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top