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Rommel Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Is it fine?

I wonder if the modifier staring at the plain white ceiling is properly included in my sentence as follows...Is it fine?

When he got home, he walked straight to his room, took off his jacket, and lay in bed, staring at the plain white ceiling.
  

Top answer

Rommel I wonder if the modifier staring at the plain white ceiling is properly included in my sentence It's fine. But did you mean, perhaps, 'lay on the bed'. What you wrote means he got into bed and drew the covers up over him as he would do to go to sleep at night.

— CalifJim

  • Rommel I wonder if the modifier staring at the plain white ceiling is properly included in my sentence It's fine.
  • But did you mean, perhaps, 'lay on the bed'.
  • What you wrote means he got into bed and drew the covers up over him as he would do to go to sleep at night.
  • CJ
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10 Answers
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RommelI wonder if the modifier staring at the plain white ceiling is properly included in my sentence
It's fine. But did you mean, perhaps, 'lay on the bed'. What you wrote means he got into bed and drew the covers up over him as he would do to go to sleep at night.

CJ
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CalifJimBut did you mean, perhaps, 'lay on the bed'. What you wrote means he got into bed
Yes, I did. You know, I noticed that many natives would rather say lay in bed instead of lay on the bed when somebody got into bed.
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Rommel I noticed that many natives would rather say lay in bed instead of lay on the bed when somebody got into bed.
That's because the two expressions mean different things.
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But to non-natives, those two expressions can be interchanged.
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RommelBut to non-natives, those two expressions can be interchanged.
Well, yes, if you want to make mistakes.
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When should I use in bed? When should I say on the bed? I'm confused.
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Here's the very broad idea.

eg Tom is in bed. He is under the blanket.

eg Tom is on the bed. He is on top of the blanket.

Clive
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CliveHere's the very broad idea.eg Tom is in bed. He is under the blanket.eg Tom is on the bed. He is on top of the blanket.
Ah... I see. Thank you, Clive.
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By the way. Clive, this sentence of mine is well-written, right? Lying on the bed, I tried hard to sleep; I really had to. I used the modifier lying on the bed. Could I also say my instead of the before bed? It's because I refer to my bed, not someone else's.
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By the way. Clive, this sentence of mine is well-written, right? Lying on the bed, I tried hard to sleep; I really had to.
It's not great, in my opinion.

Do you mean that you really had to try hard, or do you mean that you really had to sleep?

Following a semi-colon wit
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