Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
turn off a lamp or turn a lamp off
English answer:
both are possible
Added to glossary by
TesCor -
Jul 25, 2005 13:34
18 yrs ago
2 viewers *
English term
turn off a lamp or turn a lamp off
Non-PRO
English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Ok,I realize that this must sound like a crazy question, and I would't have otherwise given it a second thought; but someone has brought it up and has now got me thinking.
Do we turn off/on a lamp or do we turn a lamp off/on?
Do we turn off/on a lamp or do we turn a lamp off/on?
Change log
Jul 25, 2005 13:39: Trudy Peters changed "Language pair" from "French to English" to "English"
Jul 25, 2005 13:43: Agnieszka Hayward (X) changed "Field (specific)" from "Livestock / Animal Husbandry" to "Linguistics" , "Field (write-in)" from "hamster food" to "(none)"
Jul 25, 2005 13:43: writeaway changed "Field (specific)" from "Linguistics" to "General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters"
Responses
+17
21 mins
Selected
both are possible
As a phrasal verb it can either be turn on/off the lamp or turn the lamp on/off.
However, if you replace lamp with 'it' you can only say 'turn it on/off'
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Note added at 25 mins (2005-07-25 14:00:52 GMT)
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this site may help
www.miguelmllop.com/grammars/mygrammar/adpreps.pdf
However, if you replace lamp with 'it' you can only say 'turn it on/off'
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Note added at 25 mins (2005-07-25 14:00:52 GMT)
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this site may help
www.miguelmllop.com/grammars/mygrammar/adpreps.pdf
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Robert Donahue (X)
8 mins
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thanks Robert
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| agree |
Vicky Papaprodromou
16 mins
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thanks Vicky
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| agree |
Kevin Kelly
22 mins
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thanks Kevin
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| agree |
Andrey Belousov (X)
32 mins
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thanks Andrey
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| agree |
Elizabeth Lyons
: I agree but turn the lamp off sounds better to me.
36 mins
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Mmmm, it's true but 'can you turn off the lamp, please?' also works OK
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| agree |
Cilian O'Tuama
43 mins
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thanks Cilian
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| agree |
Armorel Young
: I'd suggest a slight tendency for "turn off" to be more formal and "turn... off" more conversational. Notice in office washroom""Please turn off the light"; shouted to teenager leaving the room: "Turn the light off!"
45 mins
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Excellent point. Thanks!
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| agree |
moya
55 mins
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thanks Moya
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| agree |
Gabrielle Lyons
55 mins
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thanks Gabrielle
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| agree |
Can Altinbay
1 hr
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thanks Can
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| agree |
Clauwolf
: one may alternatively destroy the bulb and replace it with a new one! :)
1 hr
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| agree |
Sinziana Paltineanu (X)
2 hrs
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| agree |
nlingua
: liked armorel's comment too
2 hrs
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| agree |
Johan Venter
: This is a good example of a transitive multi-word verb, in other words, both options are possible as indicated.
3 hrs
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| agree |
RHELLER
: also, commands begin with the imperative...Turn the light off
13 hrs
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| agree |
Philippe Maillard
19 hrs
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| agree |
John Bowden
: With Armorel - some people still think you "shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition", so think "turn off the lamp" is more "correct" (not true, but old myths die hard!)
2 days 1 hr
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks Suezen."
8 mins
Pierre POUSSIN
France
France
Works in field
France
Fast and accurate.
Native in: French (Variant: Standard-France) 
Works in: English to French, French to English, Latin to French, and 2 more.
turn the lamp off
I'd rather have this one, but can't tell you why!
15 mins
Saleh Chowdhury, Ph.D.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Works in field
Bangladesh
NAATI Accredited 21 yrs in Medical Trans
Native in: Bengali 
Works in: English to Bengali, Bengali to English, Bengali, and 1 more.
turn off/on a lamp
-
+3
14 mins
turn on/off the lamp
Xounds the most natural to me (NA English), and supported by google hits for the alternatives "turn on the lamp" and "turn the lamp on". However, 'turn the lamp on/off' would certainly be understood, and it would be more natural in certain situations (e.g. for emphasis in an instruction or direct order: 'Turn the lamp on!').
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Note added at 15 mins (2005-07-25 13:50:29 GMT)
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Sorry, \'Sounds...\'
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Note added at 15 mins (2005-07-25 13:50:29 GMT)
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Sorry, \'Sounds...\'
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Vicky Papaprodromou
23 mins
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| agree |
Cilian O'Tuama
: 1st Hippie: Hey man, turn the radio on. 2nd Hippie: Hey radio, I love ya! (sorry)
25 mins
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| agree |
RHELLER
: sounds like Cilian is working too hard :-)
13 hrs
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-1
1 hr
Balasubramaniam L.
India
India
India
Fast, accurate, elegant translation
Native in: Hindi
Works in: English to Hindi, Hindi
Related KudoZ points
:
28
the tonal meanings are different in each case
Both are correct but they have tonal differences:
Turn off the lamp. (A request)
Turn the lamp off. (An order)
Turn off the lamp. (A request)
Turn the lamp off. (An order)
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
RHELLER
: they are both orders
11 hrs
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| disagree |
John Bowden
: No, there's no difference in "severity", it's simply a matter of preference where to place the preposition
2 days 6 mins
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Discussion