gurpreetgill4u
Member
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2010
- Member Type
- Other
- Native Language
- Tamil
- Home Country
- India
- Current Location
- India
I'd really appreciate if someone could shed some light on it.
He ran away with my purse.
He ran off with my purse.
Sped on. The meaning is that the car continued along a route already
begun. There is a suggestion that movement had just been interrupted or hindered
or nearly hindered. Perhaps, for example, the car had had to stop or slow down
because of something lying in the road. Or maybe a policeman had just signaled
the driver to stop.
– Sped along. along signifies progressive, linear movement. Unlike on2,
it never implies a prior pause or a (potential) hindrance. Rather, it connotes free
cruising.
– Sped off : Recall that off is the opposite of on1 rather than on2. So, we should ask,
“’Of ’ what?” Th answer is, “of the spot the car had been stopped or parked on”.
But, unlike on2, off does not imply that the car was resuming or continuing a
journey already in progress.
– Sped away. Like off, and unlike on2, away is neutral about whether a route is
(was…) being resumed after a pause or continued despite a (potential) hindrance.
away is unlike both on2 and off in that it is neutral about whether the car was
actually ever even exactly at the scene which is the focus of attention – the scene
of a crime, for instance.
Based on this run away with a purse does not mean that the thief was actually at the spot of crime which off clearly does.So how come both run away with and run off with implies the same meaning?
BTW these lines are from "English prepositions by Seth Lindstromberg.
He ran away with my purse.
He ran off with my purse.
Sped on. The meaning is that the car continued along a route already
begun. There is a suggestion that movement had just been interrupted or hindered
or nearly hindered. Perhaps, for example, the car had had to stop or slow down
because of something lying in the road. Or maybe a policeman had just signaled
the driver to stop.
– Sped along. along signifies progressive, linear movement. Unlike on2,
it never implies a prior pause or a (potential) hindrance. Rather, it connotes free
cruising.
– Sped off : Recall that off is the opposite of on1 rather than on2. So, we should ask,
“’Of ’ what?” Th answer is, “of the spot the car had been stopped or parked on”.
But, unlike on2, off does not imply that the car was resuming or continuing a
journey already in progress.
– Sped away. Like off, and unlike on2, away is neutral about whether a route is
(was…) being resumed after a pause or continued despite a (potential) hindrance.
away is unlike both on2 and off in that it is neutral about whether the car was
actually ever even exactly at the scene which is the focus of attention – the scene
of a crime, for instance.
Based on this run away with a purse does not mean that the thief was actually at the spot of crime which off clearly does.So how come both run away with and run off with implies the same meaning?
BTW these lines are from "English prepositions by Seth Lindstromberg.
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