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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
Usage

The second shelf from/to the top

At supermarkets or libraries, if I want to tell people an item is on the second shelf counting from the top or bottom shelf, are both of these expressions correct?
the second shelf from the top/bottom.
the second shelf to the top/bottom.
If both are correct, is one more preferred than the other for Americans?
  

Top answer

[nq:1]At supermarkets or libraries, if I want to tell people an item is on the second shelf counting from the top or bottom shelf, are both of these expressions correct? the second shelf from the top/bottom. [/nq] It's "from": "to the top" isn't idiomatic in either AmEng or BrEng.

— Usenet

  • [nq:1]At supermarkets or libraries, if I want to tell people an item is on the second shelf counting from the top or bottom shelf, are both of these expressions correct?
  • the second shelf from the top/bottom.
  • [/nq] It's "from": "to the top" isn't idiomatic in either AmEng or BrEng.
  • Cheers, Harvey Ottawa/Toronto/Edmonton for 30 years; Southern England for the past 21 years.
  • (for e-mail, change harvey to whhvs)
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3 Answers
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[nq:1]At supermarkets or libraries, if I want to tell people an item is on the second shelf counting from the top or bottom shelf, are both of these expressions correct? the second shelf from the top/bottom. the second shelf to the top/bottom.[/nq]
It's "from": "to the top" isn't idiomatic in either AmEng or BrEng.

Cheers, Harvey
Ottawa/Toronto/Edmonton for 30 years;
Southern
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[nq:1]At supermarkets or libraries, if I want to tell people an item is on the second shelf counting from the top or bottom shelf, are both of these expressions correct? the second shelf from the top/bottom. the second shelf to the top/bottom.[/nq]
Only 'from' is correct.
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[nq:1]At supermarkets or libraries, if I want to tell people an item is on the second shelf counting from the top or bottom shelf, are both of these expressions correct? the second shelf from the top/bottom. the second shelf to the top/bottom.[/nq]
As others have said, only the first is correct. Another option is "the second-highest shelf" or "the second-lowest shelf", respectively.
Mark
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