Over/through

Either one can be used; the meaning is the same. Personally, I prefer "over".

I don't recall anyone saying, "through the internet." It sounds like the book comes out of a slot in the monitor.

I think the most common is:

He ordered the book online.

Hi Taka,

I usually hear that someone did something on the internet.

Or 'did it online',as already suggested.

Clive

why do we use the article "the" here.
can't was say "He ordered the book over/through internet"?

Hi,

It's just idiomatic to say 'the'.

Taka, the only time I might say 'over' or 'through' is if it is some unusual thing that is not commonly done on the internet.

eg Many people today do their banking on the internet.

But years ago, the first guy probably said to his friends, 'Gee, I did my banking yesterday over/through/via the internet. Isn't that great?'

TakaWhat do you native speakers think the difference is between these? Do you think these are exactly the same?

·He ordered the book through the Internet.
·He ordered the book over the Internet.

through implies the means by which the order was accomplished. The internet is conceived of as a tool.

CalifJim

TakaWhat do you native speakers think the difference is between these? Do you think these are exactly the same?

·He ordered the book through the Internet.
·He ordered the book over the Internet.

through implies the means by which the order was accomplished.  The internet is conceived

I wouldn't say "I ordered it through the Internet."

I would say "I did it through their online ordering system" in the right circumstance.

(In everyday conversation, I would say, as the others have suggested, "I ordered it online.")

TakaJim, do you think 'through the Internet' is that rare as the other people say here?

For some reason it seems all right to me, but we must take people at their word when they judge an expression to be unusual to their ear. I've heard tell (in some long-gone-by statistics course) that you need at least 30 randomly selected pieces of data before you can begi

CalifJim  I've heard tell (in some long-gone-by statistics course) that you need at least 30 randomly selected pieces of data before you can begin to discover a trend.