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Rex Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

On the earth OR on earth

0As we lurched down the potholed road our convoy gathered speed. Soon the speedometer on the old Volga saloon was reading 160 km/h, that's 100 miles-an-hour, on a bumpy two-lane Chechen road. With mounting alarm I grasped for my seatbelt, only to find the buckle missing. 02br
00The Grozny I had expected, the one I'd seen on television, resembled Berlin in 1945. Just four years ago the United Nations still called Grozny the most destroyed city on earth. Ravaged by two wars, it had not a single building left undamaged. 02br
00But now right in front of me, on either side of Grozny's main street, stood rows of freshly painted blocks of flats. At the far end the soaring minarets of a huge new mosque. One of my colleagues who'd been in the city a year ago was even more stunned. 02br
02br
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00We say 01b00the origin of the earth02b00. We don't say01b00 the origing of earth.02b02br
00Is it correct to write '00Just four years ago the United Nations still called Grozny the most destroyed 01b00city on earth02b00.'?02br
00Shouldn't it be '00Just four years ago the United Nations still called Grozny the most destroyed 01b00city on the earth02b00.'?02br
00However, we say, for example, What 01b00on earth02b00 are have you done to something?. This is to add some intensity to the question.02br
00So my question is on the words 'city on earth'. Your comments, please.02br
00[ I have learnt the capitalization is optional here. You could write either '01b00on the earth02b00' OR '01b00on the Earth02b00'.]02br
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Top answer

0Hi,02br 02br 01font 00We say 01b 00the origin of the earth02b 00. 02b 00 True. 02font 02br 02br 01font 00However, we say, for example, What 01b 00on earth02b 00 are have you done to something?.

  • 0Hi,02br 02br 01font 00We say 01b 00the origin of the earth02b 00.
  • 02b 00 True.
  • 02font 02br 02br 01font 00However, we say, for example, What 01b 00on earth02b 00 are have you done to something?.
  • 02font 02br 02br 01font 00So my question is on the words 'city on earth'.
  • 02font 02br 02br 00The phrase 'on earth' is really used here to add emphasis.
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2 Answers
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0Hi,02br
02br
01font00We say 01b00the origin of the earth02b00. We don't say01b00 the origin of earth.02b00 True. We are talking about the planet Earth.02font02br
02br
01font00Is it correct to write '00Just four years ago the United Nations stil
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Rex12cite10We say 11b10the origin of the earth12b10. We don't say11b10 the origin11font11del10g12del12font10 of earth.12b12br
12blockquote
10You could say 01i00the origin of Earth, 02

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