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Magic79 Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
next him or next to him
I have read this in chapter 18 of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens:
Biddy sat at her needlework before the fire, and Joe sat next Biddy, and I sat next Joe in the corner opposite my sister.
When I first read "next Biddy," "next Joe", I thought it wrong because this is the first time I see this and I have always learned to use "next to" for locations. Now, there is "next door" but this is not, in my opinion, the same as "next Joe."
Great expectations was written in 1860, ten years before the death of its author Charles Dickens. That was a long time ago. Has language changed regarding the use of "next to". I appreciate some light on this. By the way, Google search showed around 200,000 hits for "next him" but 300,000 for "next to him" indicating that the two forms are almost equal in popularity.
Looking for some feedback on this. Thanks.
Biddy sat at her needlework before the fire, and Joe sat next Biddy, and I sat next Joe in the corner opposite my sister.
When I first read "next Biddy," "next Joe", I thought it wrong because this is the first time I see this and I have always learned to use "next to" for locations. Now, there is "next door" but this is not, in my opinion, the same as "next Joe."
Great expectations was written in 1860, ten years before the death of its author Charles Dickens. That was a long time ago. Has language changed regarding the use of "next to". I appreciate some light on this. By the way, Google search showed around 200,000 hits for "next him" but 300,000 for "next to him" indicating that the two forms are almost equal in popularity.
Looking for some feedback on this. Thanks.
Top answer
I get 166,000 for "next him" and 92 million for "next to him". That's about what I'd expect. Usage has changed since the time of Dickens.
- I get 166,000 for "next him" and 92 million for "next to him".
- That's about what I'd expect.
- Usage has changed since the time of Dickens.
- Clive
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3 Answers
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I get 166,000 for "next him" and 92 million for "next to him".
That's about what I'd expect. Usage has changed since the time of Dickens.
Clive
That's about what I'd expect. Usage has changed since the time of Dickens.
Clive
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Thanks Clive.
You are right about the Google search hit numbers.
I also did a search of "next him" using Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) and got 4 hits whereas "next to him" turned 2534 hits.
Here are the concordance lines for the 4 hits of "next him"
You are right about the Google search hit numbers.
I also did a search of "next him" using Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) and got 4 hits whereas "next to him" turned 2534 hits.
Here are the concordance lines for the 4 hits of "next him"
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The writers probably just didn't give much thought to what they were writing.
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