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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Risky!
I am looking into the difference between "at risk of" and "at the risk of". I have checked the Corpus of Contemporary American English" and can state the following:
1. "at risk of" is three times more common than "at the risk of" in modern spoken and written American English.
2. "at the risk of" is overwhelmingly followed by ---ing. There are exceptions to this, but they are extremely rare.
3. "at risk of" is usually followed by ---ing, but about 30-40% of the time is followed by a noun phrase without ---ing.
This is all well and good, but I am interested in differences in the actual meaning of the phrases, so that I can advise a student how to choose which phrase to use.
Any help will be gratefully received.
1. "at risk of" is three times more common than "at the risk of" in modern spoken and written American English.
2. "at the risk of" is overwhelmingly followed by ---ing. There are exceptions to this, but they are extremely rare.
3. "at risk of" is usually followed by ---ing, but about 30-40% of the time is followed by a noun phrase without ---ing.
This is all well and good, but I am interested in differences in the actual meaning of the phrases, so that I can advise a student how to choose which phrase to use.
Any help will be gratefully received.
Top answer
Anonymous I am interested in differences in the actual meaning of the phrases, so that I can advise a student how to choose which phrase to use. There is none whatsoever. Tell your student to choose either and move on to something more important.
- Anonymous I am interested in differences in the actual meaning of the phrases, so that I can advise a student how to choose which phrase to use.
- There is none whatsoever.
- Tell your student to choose either and move on to something more important.
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4 Answers
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AnonymousI am interested in differences in the actual meaning of the phrases, so that I can advise a student how to choose which phrase to use.There is none whatsoever. Tell your student to choose either and move on to something more important.
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In an expression like At the risk of sounding cynical…, the article cannot be omitted.
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I agree that 'the' is usual there, but COCA's got three of 'em, Gus:
1 for a sunset barbecue. And, even though we're at risk of sounding like your mother (sometimes she does know best!), always remember to
2 1998 SPOK PBS_Newshour A B C night did too. We know it even more now. So at risk of sounding sentimental, a happy and grateful 25th anniversary to the vic
1 for a sunset barbecue. And, even though we're at risk of sounding like your mother (sometimes she does know best!), always remember to
2 1998 SPOK PBS_Newshour A B C night did too. We know it even more now. So at risk of sounding sentimental, a happy and grateful 25th anniversary to the vic
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Aspara Gus… the article is usually omitted.Corrected! (However, the first citation is different because of the preceding linking verb, so I count two citations.
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