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Park sang joon Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
The analyses of a text #1
The narrator recalls his childhood.
He was forced to work for his own living for Mr. Murdstone's friend Mr. Quinion at London by his stepfather.
He lodges at Mr.Micawber's and goes to his work Murdstone and Grinby's.
..............................
I was so young and childish, and so little qualified?how could I be otherwise??to undertake the whole charge of my own existence, that often, in going to Murdstone and Grinby's, of a morning, I could not resist the stale pastry put out for sale at half-price at the pastrycook's doors, and spent in that, the money I should have kept for my dinner. Then, I went without my dinner, or bought a roll or a slice of pudding, I remember two pudding-shops, between which I was divided, according to my finances.
[David Copperfield by Charles Dickens]
I was wondering why though the author used the word "often" just before, he used "of a morning," not "in the mornings."
I have been taught when the object of "spend" is a noun/pronoun, not a gerund, we use "on" as the preposition of the object, not "in."
So I was wondering whey it is "spent in that," not "spent on that."
Thank you in advance for your help.
He was forced to work for his own living for Mr. Murdstone's friend Mr. Quinion at London by his stepfather.
He lodges at Mr.Micawber's and goes to his work Murdstone and Grinby's.
..............................
I was so young and childish, and so little qualified?how could I be otherwise??to undertake the whole charge of my own existence, that often, in going to Murdstone and Grinby's, of a morning, I could not resist the stale pastry put out for sale at half-price at the pastrycook's doors, and spent in that, the money I should have kept for my dinner. Then, I went without my dinner, or bought a roll or a slice of pudding, I remember two pudding-shops, between which I was divided, according to my finances.
[David Copperfield by Charles Dickens]
I was wondering why though the author used the word "often" just before, he used "of a morning," not "in the mornings."
I have been taught when the object of "spend" is a noun/pronoun, not a gerund, we use "on" as the preposition of the object, not "in."
So I was wondering whey it is "spent in that," not "spent on that."
Thank you in advance for your help.
Top answer
Some of this is due to changes in grammatical usage between the author's time and ours. (We are talking about a good century and a half). To say "of a morning" (meaning "some time during the morning") is now informal or non-standard speech.
- Some of this is due to changes in grammatical usage between the author's time and ours.
- (We are talking about a good century and a half).
- To say "of a morning" (meaning "some time during the morning") is now informal or non-standard speech.
- We would also probably say "spent on that" (on the stale pastries).
- Unless Dickens wants to say that he spent the money in the pastrycook's shop (rather than on the pastries).
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1 Answers
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Some of this is due to changes in grammatical usage between the author's time and ours. (We are talking about a good century and a half).
To say "of a morning" (meaning "some time during the morning") is now informal or non-standard speech.
We would also probably say "spent on that" (on the stale pastries). Unless Dickens wants to say that he spent the money in the pastrycoo
To say "of a morning" (meaning "some time during the morning") is now informal or non-standard speech.
We would also probably say "spent on that" (on the stale pastries). Unless Dickens wants to say that he spent the money in the pastrycoo
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