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Tuongvan Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
at / to the mercy of
Hi teachers,
Last time Optilang told me that I could say:
When the ship sank they left their fate to the mercy of the waves.
and that I could not say:
When the ship sank they left their fate at the mercy of the waves.
But today I see the these sentences on the internet:
We cannot leave our own brothers and sisters at the mercy of their fate
We cannot leave our brothers and sisters to the mercy of fate .
I am very confused and don't know when to use "at the mercy of " and when to use "to the mercy of ".
Please help me use these phrases correctly.
Thank you in advance
Last time Optilang told me that I could say:
When the ship sank they left their fate to the mercy of the waves.
and that I could not say:
When the ship sank they left their fate at the mercy of the waves.
But today I see the these sentences on the internet:
We cannot leave our own brothers and sisters at the mercy of their fate
We cannot leave our brothers and sisters to the mercy of fate .
I am very confused and don't know when to use "at the mercy of " and when to use "to the mercy of ".
Please help me use these phrases correctly.
Thank you in advance
Top answer
The preposition depends on the verb it is collocating with, but at is generally a preposition of place or condition, while to is a preposition of direction or action: Are we at the mercy of our emotions? We live now at the mercy of events. consumers are left at the mercy of rising food prices = The consumers are abandoned in a position where they are dependent on food prices .
- The preposition depends on the verb it is collocating with, but at is generally a preposition of place or condition, while to is a preposition of direction or action: Are we at the mercy of our emotions?
- We live now at the mercy of events.
- consumers are left at the mercy of rising food prices = The consumers are abandoned in a position where they are dependent on food prices .
- This is the usual use of at , and Ms Google supports it: 2,890,000 for "at the mercy of" .
- John Paul appeals to the world to turn to the mercy of *** An anarchistic society would be exposed to the mercy of every individual appropriately she was not left to the mercy of sales people = Here, ' leave to ' is idiomatic: she was let to remain in a location where there would be no interference.
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2 Answers
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The preposition depends on the verb it is collocating with, but at is generally a preposition of place or condition, while to is a preposition of direction or action:
Are we at the mercy of our emotions?
We live now at the mercy of events.
consumers are left at the mercy of rising food p
The preposition depends on the verb it is collocating with, but at is generally a preposition of place or condition, while to is a preposition of direction or action:
Are we at the mercy of our emotions?
We live now at the mercy of events.
consumers are left at the mercy of rising food p
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Hi Tuong van,
You have:
Be at the mercy of :The ship was at the mercy of the storm
Put sb/st at the mercy of: I am not going to put myself at the mercy of the bank.
Leave sb/st to / at the mercy of :The rudder of the ship split apart leaving us at the mercy of the waves.
Best wishes
You have:
Be at the mercy of :The ship was at the mercy of the storm
Put sb/st at the mercy of: I am not going to put myself at the mercy of the bank.
Leave sb/st to / at the mercy of :The rudder of the ship split apart leaving us at the mercy of the waves.
Best wishes
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