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Park sang joon Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

The battery is going out on [me]

Maybe the battery is going out on me. How long does a battery last on a car?

I'd like to know why "me" is used, not "my car."
Thank you in advance for your help.
  

Top answer

It looks like non-standard, colloquial speech.

— Anonymous

  • It looks like non-standard, colloquial speech.
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3 Answers
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It looks like non-standard, colloquial speech.
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park sang joonon me
This construction is sometimes called a "dative of interest". "me" is the interested party, the person on whom the misfortune falls.

My dog died on me.
My favorite plate broke on me.
Her dress got caught on a nail and tore on her.

CJ
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AnonymousIt looks like non-standard, colloquial speech.
It’s informal, but definitely standard American English.
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