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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

Took on my back?

I read somewhere "the boy took the old lady on his back".

is that right? shouldn't it be "put the lady on his back"?
  

Top answer

The first version is the more idiomatic of the two. " It's understood (implied) that he did it in the proper way. "

— Avangi

  • The first version is the more idiomatic of the two.
  • " It's understood (implied) that he did it in the proper way.
  • "
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4 Answers
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The first version is the more idiomatic of the two. It describes a process, as does "he took the hammer in his hand." It's understood (implied) that he did it in the proper way.

If you say, "He put her on his back," we may well ask, "What's to keep her from falling off??"
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I find the original quite natural. [He took his girlfriend in his arms; he took the pencil in his hand; she took the valentine to her chest.]
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so you are saying it's ok to say took someone on my back??? never heard that one before...
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Yes, it's common. Actually, it can have two senses:

(1) I mounted him on / onto my back, making sure he had a good grip around my neck, and that I had a good grip on each of his legs.

(2) I took him on my back to the hospital. (That's the way I took him to the hospital.)

I took him down the ladder on my back, using the fireman's carry, which I had learned in the Boy S
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