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Laborious Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
On or at (the top/bottom of) AND On or at (the side of)
Hi,
Would you tell me the difference between these, please?
a). ON (the) top/bottom of and AT (the) bottom/top of.
b). AT the side (of something) and ON the side of (something)
Here are some examples;
- We are going to sit AT the back of the theater.
- We are going to sit ON the back of the theater.
- The coins are AT the bottom of the lake.
- The coins are ON the bottom of the lake.
- Can you see what's written ON the bottom / top of the page?
- Can you see what's written AT the bottom / top of the page?
- The books are AT the top of the shelves.
- The books are ON the top of the shelves.
- There is a big sign ON the side of the house.
- There is a big sign AT the side of the house.
Thank you all.
Would you tell me the difference between these, please?
a). ON (the) top/bottom of and AT (the) bottom/top of.
b). AT the side (of something) and ON the side of (something)
Here are some examples;
- We are going to sit AT the back of the theater.
- We are going to sit ON the back of the theater.
- The coins are AT the bottom of the lake.
- The coins are ON the bottom of the lake.
- Can you see what's written ON the bottom / top of the page?
- Can you see what's written AT the bottom / top of the page?
- The books are AT the top of the shelves.
- The books are ON the top of the shelves.
- There is a big sign ON the side of the house.
- There is a big sign AT the side of the house.
Thank you all.
Top answer
Here are some examples; - We are going to sit AT the back of the theater. ) - We are going to sit ON the back of the elephant . (You are going to ride an elephant.
- Here are some examples; - We are going to sit AT the back of the theater.
- ) - We are going to sit ON the back of the elephant .
- (You are going to ride an elephant.
- ) - The coins are AT the bottom of the lake.
- (OK.
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7 Answers
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Here are some examples;
- We are going to sit AT the back of the theater. (You are going to sit in a seat towards the back of the theater.)
- We are going to sit ON the back of the elephant. (You are going to ride an elephant. You sit on its back.)
- The coins are AT the bottom of the lake. (OK. Someone threw them from a boat and
- We are going to sit AT the back of the theater. (You are going to sit in a seat towards the back of the theater.)
- We are going to sit ON the back of the elephant. (You are going to ride an elephant. You sit on its back.)
- The coins are AT the bottom of the lake. (OK. Someone threw them from a boat and
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Heartily thanks to you, Alphecca Stars, for your reply. It is really very helpful. I took some of those examples from this http://www.english-the-easy-way.com/Prepositions/Place_Prepositions.htm, and I was wondering if we could use AT and ON in those ways. The link says that we can
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"The books are AT the top of the shelves" This is very unnatural to me. I have no idea what it means.
There is a man on the top of the roof. This is OK. The more natural way is: There is a man on the roof.
There is a man on the top of the roof. This is OK. The more natural way is: There is a man on the roof.
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Thank you once again, Alphecca Stars, for your precious help.
The preposition "on", in general, is used when something is physically in touch or contact with a surface (of something).
(This is a general rule for using the preposition "on". Am I right, Alphecca Stars?)
Could you please tell me what the general / rough usage for the preposition "AT"? When we are talking
The preposition "on", in general, is used when something is physically in touch or contact with a surface (of something).
(This is a general rule for using the preposition "on". Am I right, Alphecca Stars?)
Could you please tell me what the general / rough usage for the preposition "AT"? When we are talking
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LaboriousThe preposition "on", in general, is used when something is physically in touch or contact with a surface (of something).(This is a general rule for using the preposition "on". Am I right, Alphecca Stars?)That is a common usage, but there are others. http://di
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Hi. I know it is an old tread but please help. I think that as the sentence in your response shows it is okay not to specify which side of the house it is.
I think there are the left, right, front and back sides to a house. Maybe it is more idimatic not to specify which side and just use the words "the side" in sentences like one in your response. Is it so?
You wrote:
- There
I think there are the left, right, front and back sides to a house. Maybe it is more idimatic not to specify which side and just use the words "the side" in sentences like one in your response. Is it so?
You wrote:
- There
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Anonymousit is okay not to specify which side of the house it is.Correct.
AnonymousI think there are the left, right, front and back sides to a house.The front and back are not usually included when referring to "sides" of a building, so there are only two sides to consider in most cases.
AnonymousI
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