WE usually say “on a journey” but this advertisement (pic) – placed last month in a Chinese daily by a well-known hotel chain – appears different.

If the copy had said, “Are you on?”, what difference would that have made to the tone of the ad?

What do you think of this novel, implied use of the preposition? – SM

“Are you on?” would be the appropriate expression to use in the advertisement, but not because we say “on a journey”. “To be on” is a colloquial expression meaning “to be in favour of, or willing to be a party to, something.” (Oxford English Dictionary, definition 13d of “on” as an adverb). Here are two of the quotations used in the OED definition:

“This jamboree is slated for Monday week. The question is, Are we on?” (P.G. Wodehouse, Inimitable Jeeves, 1923)

“I’m on – if you want to play the equivalent of Twenty Questions.” (V. Gielgud, Necessary End, 1969)

So, the hotel advertisement would make better sense if it were to say: “Journey to Magnificence. Are you on?” “Are you on?” here would mean: “Are you willing to join us in this magnificent journey?”

“Are you in?” on the other hand sounds like a tame question asking someone if they’re in their house or room. I fail to see how that can be connected with the “Journey to Magnificence.”

d. to be on: to be in favour of, or willing to be a party to, something. colloq.

Safe driving

WHICH is correct:

1. Drive safely or drive safe?

2. Toward or towards?

3. Forward or forwards?

4. Farther distance or further distance?

– Balan

1. Normally, we would say or write “drive safely”, because “safe” is an adjective and not an adverb. But in campaigns for safe driving, for instance, we can see “Drive Safe” sometimes used (where the adjective is used as an adverb), because it is more catchy than “Drive Safely”. Below is an example from a webpage of Britain’s Department for Transport:

“Drive Safe, Cycle Safe”

www2.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/cyclingandmotorcycling/drivesafecyclesafe.html

2. “Toward” is more commonly used in American English and “towards” in British English.

3. “Forward” can be an adverb, an adjective, a verb or a noun. When used as an adverb meaning “towards a place or position that is in front”, British English sometimes uses “forwards” (online Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary).

For the different meanings of the word, go to oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary.com/.

4. Where distance is concerned, either “further” or “farther” can be used, with “further” being more common in British English. There are other meanings of “further”, though. “Further” can be an adverb, an adjective or a verb, while “farther” can only be an adverb or an adjective. For more details, see the above dictionary, and also the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, which is American. Make sure to read their usage notes carefully.

www.merriam-webster.com/

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