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Angliholic Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

worn down/out/away

0The surface of the desk was worn 01b00down/out/away02b00 by many years of use.02br
02br
00Hi.02br
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00Which of the above particles fits best in the above?02br
02br
00Besides, what does "by" refer to? Does it mean "because of?" Thanks.0-
  

Top answer

12br 12br 10Besides, what does "by" refer to? 02b 0-

— Yoong Liat

  • 12br 12br 10Besides, what does "by" refer to?
  • 02b 0-
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5 Answers
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1blockquote
01cite10Angliholic12cite12br
10The surface of the desk was worn 11b10down/out/away12b10 by many years of us.12br
12br
10Which of the above particles fits best in the above?12br
12br
10Besides, what does "by" refer to? Does it mean "because of?" Thanks.12br
12block
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0Logically, "by" refers to "use," but I suppose grammatically it refers to "years." Yes, "by" = "because of" in this context.02br
02br
00All of your choices work, with slightly different implications, but the best choice is, "was worn by many years of use." IMHO02br
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00Worn out would imply it's no longer usable.02br
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00Worn d
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1blockquote
01cite10Avangi12cite12br
10Logically, "by" refers to "use," but I suppose grammatically it refers to "years." Yes, "by" = "because of" in this context.12br
12br
10All of your choices work, with slightly different implications, but the best choice is, "was worn by many years of use." IMHO12br
12br

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0worn away: think particles leaving the surface of the desk02br
00worn down: think its thickness being reduced 0-
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01cite10Angliholic12cite10Now I know better, but what does you mean by "dimension" in your post? 11b10dimension = thickness, as Marius said.12b12br
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10Besides, "worn down" and "worn away" seem close to me still. So could you tell me their basic differences? 11b10Marius is clear on this.
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