Near to thee

[Dimandja]

Panini was born in Shalatula, a town near to Attock on the Indus river in present day Pakistan.

Why can't it be simply:

Panini was born in Shalatula, a town near Attock on the Indus river in present day Pakistan.

What does the to in "near to" add here?

Dimandja

 

[SantaMufasa]

Dimandja,

I prefer the second writing. One of the rules of Precision Writing is "If you can omit a word without changing the meaning of a sentence, then remove the word."

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

Do you use Oracle and live or work in Utah, USA?
Then click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips.

 

[sleipnir214]

I agree with SantaMufasa's opinion, but for different reasons. In that sentence, "near" is a preposition, which would make for two prepositions in a row.

In a sentence like "A lives nearer to Btown than Ctown", "nearer" is an adverb, and "to" is the preposition.


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[CorBlimeyLimey]

... but you can say "a town close to Attock"

& all the best.

 

[SilentAiche]

add here

Why, it adds stickiness ([blue]"adhere"[/blue]).

Seriously, you're right - it adds nothing in your example.

But there are times when it is meaningful: I think "near my heart" and "near to my heart" have very different meanings.

Tim



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[tsdragon]

But are those different meanings inherent in the words used, or is it customary usage that imbues the different phrases with different meanings?


Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[GwydionM]

Both versions are valid. The longer way of saying it is also more elegant.

Why do we keep rushing at things?

------------------------------
An old man who lives in the UK

 

[hotfusion]

Near my heart"
"Near to my heart"

I consider the second version to be poor grammar.
It would read better as "Close to my heart"

Regards, Andy.
**************************************
My pathetic attempts at learning HTML can be laughed at here:

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/andyspatch/index.htm

 

[CajunCenturion]

Both are equally correct.

Good Luck
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[elanor]

To me, "near my heart" means my lungs or my ribs, while "near TO my heart" means dear to me, although I'd agree with hotfusion that "close to my heart" is a better phrase.
Thanks!
Elanor

 

[Stella740pl]

The topics seem to repeat after a while, don't they?
thread1256-952650

Stella

 

[Dimandja]

>The topics seem to repeat after a while, don't they?

Yup.

 

[CajunCenturion]

Well, language does evolve, and it's possible that today's answer might be different from the one provided when the question was first asked.

Good Luck
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To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[elanor]

OK...and I'll admit that I frantically scanned the other thread, hoping that I hadn't contradicted myself!
Thanks!
Elanor

 

[cwsstins]

One of the rules of Precision Writing is "If you can omit a word without changing the meaning of a sentence, then remove the word."

Here's a bit of nostalgia along those same lines:

"Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very'; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be."

-Mark Twain, author and humorist (1835-1910)

 

[SantaMufasa]

Stinsman, now that is a damn fine observation.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

Do you use Oracle and live or work in Utah, USA?
Then click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips.

 

[earthandfire]

I was reading the letters page of one of the PC magazines the other day, and one of the letters including the phrase "I have written countless people over the years".

I had to re-read this three or four times before I understood. But on reflection, I realised tht I have head this type of expression many times before - but only from Americans.

Surely the author of the letter had written to countless people? He had not actually written the people themselves, had he?

 

[tsdragon]

You're right, we Yanks do have a bad habit of dropping significant little words like "to". It's a habit I try to avoid.


Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[columb]

This can be a US/GB thing. For example I beleive the Americans 'meet' whilst the British 'meet with'. There again, I think this comes from a le Carre book (Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy) so its provinance is dubious.

Columb Healy

 

[SilentAiche]

It's a habit I try to avoid.

You're lucky, Tracy. It seems the best I can do is "try avoid."

Tim


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