Talk:2390: Linguists

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Revision as of 02:26, 26 November 2020 by 108.162.216.191 (talk)
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"Fell in a hole" sounds wrong, from a (possibly) Rightpondian perspective. If it was "...into...", then that'd be better. (Falling down a hole would probably imply total inholation, while into one might mean no more than a foot getting snagged. Though the former also separately implies starting from partial or imminent holedness, the latter indicates the hole was not previously a problem but then became a novel issue to deal with. Falling 'in' a hole could mean "I was already at the bottom of a hole, minding my own business, and then I tripped on something/lost my balance and fell over..." Edit: as it might also be for "Fell down a hole", thinking more about it. A comma after "Fell" would make that more definite.) I also have problems with "Lit on fire", for something that is set fire to, but I know that's definitely a transatlantic issue. 162.158.155.216 02:01, 26 November 2020 (UTC)

I suppose "in a hole" is probably technically wrong (except for those cases where the individual in question was in a hole and then fell), but I would probably use it in speech (though maybe not more formal writing). There is a distinction between 'in' and 'down' however. When something falls down a hole, no part of it remains outside the hole. If it falls in(/to) a hole, at least some -- possibly most -- of the object remains outside the hole. 108.162.216.191 02:26, 26 November 2020 (UTC)