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Debpriya De Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Hang in there
I have heard the expression "hang in there". It means "to persevere".
Can it be modified to "hang in here" when we are referring to the place we are at, at the very moment of saying the expression ?
For example, if someone asks us "What are you doing here in the physics class ?" , can we say "I am just hanging in here" ?
Can it be modified to "hang in here" when we are referring to the place we are at, at the very moment of saying the expression ?
For example, if someone asks us "What are you doing here in the physics class ?" , can we say "I am just hanging in here" ?
Top answer
yes....
- yes....
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5 Answers
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As a native English speaker in the mid-Atlantic region of the US, I'd still expect to hear this exchange:
"Man, that last test in this class was really hard. How're you doing?"
"Yeah, it was a real bear. I'm just barely hanging in there."
even when it happened in the class being referred to. For whatever reason, we really don't like to change the idiom.
"Man, that last test in this class was really hard. How're you doing?"
"Yeah, it was a real bear. I'm just barely hanging in there."
even when it happened in the class being referred to. For whatever reason, we really don't like to change the idiom.
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Debpriya DeCan it be modified to "hang in here"No. Absolutely not. Once a group of words reaches the status of "idiom", not a single word can be changed. Native speakers find modified idioms very comical and see them as the mark of someone who has not yet mastered the English language, so you use modified idioms at your own peril.
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ok, I get it.
That is what I thought, too. I just wanted native speakers to confirm it.
Thanks a lot.
That is what I thought, too. I just wanted native speakers to confirm it.
Thanks a lot.
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