 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsEnglish UsageBritish EnglishESL Teaching Learnglish.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2010Knock at/on the door
1. Knock at the door. 2. Knock on the door. Are they perfectly interchangeable? I don't think so, but I'd appreciate feedback. -- Thanks. Marius Hancu >1. Knock at the door. >2. Knock on the door. > >Are they perfectly interchangeable? I don't think so, but I'd >appreciate feedback. A knock at the door: the perspective is from inside, meaning someone is out there, knocking. I hear it and locate it as being at the door. Knock on the door: the perspective is the knocker's, standing outside; what he does.  SignatureJohn > 1. Knock at the door. > 2. Knock on the door. > > Are they perfectly interchangeable? I don't think so, but I'd appreciate > feedback. You are correct: they are not. Preposition use can be wildly illogical and idiomatic, but in these cases is relatively rational. "Knock on the door" refers to the process of rapping on the door, and is not generally used unless there is a need to focus on the physical act. "Knock at the door" signifies the sound, or, in some contexts, going to the door to make the sound. I heard a knock at the door. The windows are shuttered, so I don't know if anyone's at home; I'd best knock at the door to find out. Go over and knock at the door. I hurt my hand because I knocked really hard on the door. Those are indications, not hard and fast rules, and others may have other ideas. SignatureCordially, Eric Walker, Owlcroft House http://owlcroft.com/english/ >> 1. Knock at the door. >> 2. Knock on the door. [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > other > ideas. I call them interchangeabele, but I tend to use "knock on", as does the old film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041555/quotes Knock on any Door...1949 film noir. Notable quotes: Nick Romano: (John Derek)Live fast, die young, leave a good-looking corpse. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Andrew Morton:(Bogart) Until we do away with the type of neighborhood that produced this boy, ten will spring up to take his place, a hundred, a thousand. Until we wipe out the slums and rebuild them, knock on any door and you may find Nick Romano. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dist. Atty. Kerman: Was there a floor show that night at the bar? Butch: There was a dame - a lady. Dist. Atty. Kerman: Was the lady a blonde or brunette? Butch: You think I was looking at her hair? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunshine: How can a guy be happy and broke at the same time? SignaturePat Durkin durkinpa at msn.com Wisconsin >> 1. Knock at the door. >> 2. Knock on the door. [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > Those are indications, not hard and fast rules, and others may have other > ideas. I would have to agree with you. In addition, John O'Flaherty is quite wrong. One possible difference between "at" and "on" that I see is that a knock at the door might be produced by a door-knocker, while a knock on the door is applied directly to the surface of the door whether by hand or stick. As you say, there are no "rules" and I'm sure some people use "on" where I would use "at" and vice versa. SignatureRob Bannister > 1. Knock at the door. > 2. Knock on the door. > > Are they perfectly interchangeable? I don't think so, but I'd > appreciate feedback. There's little practical difference, I'd say. 'On the door' is thinking of the door itself as an object. 'At the door' is treating the door as a place, representing something like 'at the entrance'. SignatureRegards John for mail: my initials plus a u e at tpg dot com dot au >> 1. Knock at the door. >> 2. Knock on the door. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >of the door itself as an object. 'At the door' is treating the door as >a place, representing something like 'at the entrance'. Yes, there's little difference, but it does depend on usage. If I was standing outside a house, with a friend, I might say to him, "Go on, knock ON the door." [A specific object?] Someone inside might think, "Was that a knock AT the door?" [An entrance?] But vice versa wouldn't be 'wrong'. SignatureIan >>> 1. Knock at the door. >>> 2. Knock on the door. [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > >But vice versa wouldn't be 'wrong'. A third possibility, at least in the British Isles, is the polite request, "Please knock me up". SignatureRegards, Chuck Riggs, An American who lives near Dublin, Ireland and usually spells in BrE >>>> 1. Knock at the door. >>>> 2. Knock on the door. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > A third possibility, at least in the British Isles, is the polite > request, "Please knock me up". But not at the door. SignatureRob Bannister > > 1. Knock at the door. > > 2. Knock on the door. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > of the door itself as an object. 'At the door' is treating the door as a > place, representing something like 'at the entrance'. That's what I had in mind. -- Thank you all. Marius Hancu Marius Hancu set the following eddies spiralling through the space-time continuum: > 1. Knock at the door. > 2. Knock on the door. > > Are they perfectly interchangeable? I don't think so, but I'd > appreciate feedback. "Please don't knock as the bell isn't working" - Sign at the delivery entrance of a shop Signatureξ:) Proud to be curly Interchange the alphabetic letter groups to reply |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2012 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.