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Guest Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

Which is correct??

In using the word "impaled", is it correct to say "He was impaled by the pole." or "He was impaled on the pole."?? Thanks.
  

Top answer

Hello Guest You would say: 'he was impaled on the pole'. You could say 'impaled by the pole'; but it has a slight air of emotional distance from the incident. ' Or even: 'He was impaled on the pole by the Pole' – if the vampire-slayer was Polish.

  • Hello Guest You would say: 'he was impaled on the pole'.
  • You could say 'impaled by the pole'; but it has a slight air of emotional distance from the incident.
  • ' Or even: 'He was impaled on the pole by the Pole' – if the vampire-slayer was Polish.
  • (Poles are not ideal for impaling purposes, as they tend to be quite blunt.
  • 'Stakes' are more suitable.
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1 Answers
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Hello Guest

You would say: 'he was impaled on the pole'.

You could say 'impaled by the pole'; but it has a slight air of emotional distance from the incident. And it's more usual to use 'by' for the impaler:

'He was impaled on the pole by the vampire-slayer.'

Or even:

'He was impaled on the pole by the Pole' – if the vampire-slayer was Polis

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