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Shinji Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
Cross vs Cross over
Hi there. A tourist asked me for directions on the street and I wanted to communicate the person that he needed to use a pedestrian bridge to get to the other side of the street in order to reach his destination.
In this situation, which one of the following possibilities is preferable in terms of clarity and brevity.
1. Cross the pedestrian bridge.
2. Cross over the pedestrian bridge.
3. Cross the street using the pedestrian bridge.
What I said to the person was "Use the pedestrian bridge to get to the other side of the street," which I believe contains no grammatical errors but felt unnecessarily long.
I think I'm mostly confused by the use of the word "cross" when it is used as a transitive verb vs intransitive.
Any tip is appreciated; thanks!
In this situation, which one of the following possibilities is preferable in terms of clarity and brevity.
1. Cross the pedestrian bridge.
2. Cross over the pedestrian bridge.
3. Cross the street using the pedestrian bridge.
What I said to the person was "Use the pedestrian bridge to get to the other side of the street," which I believe contains no grammatical errors but felt unnecessarily long.
I think I'm mostly confused by the use of the word "cross" when it is used as a transitive verb vs intransitive.
Any tip is appreciated; thanks!
Top answer
1, 2, and 3 are all okay. " The word "over" acts like an intensifier to emphasize the you are to go over the bridge.
- 1, 2, and 3 are all okay.
- " The word "over" acts like an intensifier to emphasize the you are to go over the bridge.
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5 Answers
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1, 2, and 3 are all okay. However, the most descriptive sentence is 2, with "cross over." The word "over" acts like an intensifier to emphasize the you are to go over the bridge.
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Shinjiconfused by the use of the word "cross"There is the implication of a passageway that goes over something when you think of a bridge, so it is natural to include the word "over" even though you don't have to. But a street or road is flat against the surface of the ground; these structures are not elevated. So we would more naturally say "cross t
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This is what I woud say:
In order to get to the other side of the street....
you have to cross the pedestrian bridge. ----meaning moving from one point to another over something.
Crossover - is usually used as a noun, but could be used in some way as a verb. So in # 2, the actual meaning is relatively the same as # 1.
For # 3 ( which we see a lot in Calif free
In order to get to the other side of the street....
you have to cross the pedestrian bridge. ----meaning moving from one point to another over something.
Crossover - is usually used as a noun, but could be used in some way as a verb. So in # 2, the actual meaning is relatively the same as # 1.
For # 3 ( which we see a lot in Calif free
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Thank you for your comment! I was in favor of #2 myself so I'm glad you think the word "over" emphasizes the action.
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Thank you for your response, CalifJim! Elevation is an interesting point and certainly helped me understand the subtle difference between the sentences with and without the word "over."
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