confusing sentence..... pls help me....

[panicmonger]

This sentence is as follow:

We paid a supplement so that we could have a cabin on board the ship.

board & ship are nouns, how can they be joined with "the"?

Thank you.

 

[sato]

Nouns are commonly joined by their location, including one inside another.
For example:
"A book on the bookshelf."
"A passenger in a car."
"A cabin in the forest."

 

[Raymott]

This sentence is as follow:

We paid a supplement so that we could have a cabin on board the ship.

board & ship are nouns, how can they be joined with "the"?

Thank you.

It's possibly because "on board" has derived from 'onboard' (an adj. or adv.) or more likely from the preposition 'aboard'.
It does seem strange now that you mention it; I can't think of any other examples just off hand.

 

[Johnson_F]

It's possibly because "on board" has derived from 'onboard' (an adj. or adv.) or more likely from the preposition 'aboard'.
It does seem strange now that you mention it; I can't think of any other examples just off hand.

Interesting. Does 'on shore' = 'ashore' (used by nautical types, at least) fall into the same category, do you think?

 

[Raymott]

Interesting. Does 'on shore' = 'ashore' (used by nautical types, at least) fall into the same category, do you think?

Do you mean like "on shore the beach"?
The OP isn't worried about "on board", but "on board the boat".

 

[Johnson_F]

Do you mean like "on shore the beach"?
The OP isn't worried about "on board", but "on board the boat".

Right . Back to the drawing board.

 

[SoothingDave]

This sentence is as follow:

We paid a supplement so that we could have a cabin on board the ship.

board & ship are nouns, how can they be joined with "the"?

Thank you.

I think "the ship" is superfluous. "a cabin on board" says it all.

 

[Tdol]

I don't think it is simply two nouns- you have to look at on board as a single unit.

 

[Raymott]

I don't think it is simply two nouns- you have to look at on board as a single unit.

That would make "on board" a preposition. It's possible. Are there any analogies?