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Silak12 Posted 9 years ago
Grammar

Piece of work

Hi! everyone.
Could you tell me what "piece" means in the phrase "piece of work" below?
Context: But I regret to say that I will not be able to attend because, I have an urgent piece of work at home.
Is there any other synonymous phrase which can be used here?
Thanks!
  

Top answer

"piece" means an item or portion. If "work" (in the relevant sense) was countable rather than uncountable, then "a piece of work" would mean "a work" (which in reality is incorrect English, in the relevant sense). While "piece of work" is OK in itself, "I have an urgent piece of work at home" sounds slightly odd to my ear.

— GPY

  • "piece" means an item or portion.
  • If "work" (in the relevant sense) was countable rather than uncountable, then "a piece of work" would mean "a work" (which in reality is incorrect English, in the relevant sense).
  • While "piece of work" is OK in itself, "I have an urgent piece of work at home" sounds slightly odd to my ear.
  • The comma is incorrect too.
  • I would probably say "...
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3 Answers
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"piece" means an item or portion. If "work" (in the relevant sense) was countable rather than uncountable, then "a piece of work" would mean "a work" (which in reality is incorrect English, in the relevant sense). While "piece of work" is OK in itself, "I have an urgent piece of work at home" sounds slightly odd to my ear. The comma is incorrect too.

I would probably say "... because I ha
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GPYI will overlook the rather awkward repetition of "attend" that this would create in the sentence as a whole).
Thanks for your reply.
But I don't get the quoted part above. What kind of repetition?
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silak12But I don't get the quoted part above. What kind of repetition?
But I regret to say that I will not be able to attend because I have some urgent business to attend to at home.
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