Tuesday, June 18, 2019

prepositions - "He fell (off / from / away / down) the ladder"


Consider:



He fell off the ladder.


He fell from the ladder.



He fell away from the ladder.


He fell down the ladder.



Are all these sentences acceptable? If so, any differences in meaning?



Answer



All of those lines are "correct".


The line "He fell off the ladder" suggests that that man slipped. Because he slipped (or fell), he is no longer "on" the ladder.


To use "from" means pretty much the same thing. Because the man has fallen, he is no longer attached to the ladder.


"Away" implies that the fall caused a lateral difference in direction. When the police found him, he was on the floor, several feet away from the ladder.


"Down" the ladder implies that the fall was largely in one direction. Gravity worked once again. After the fall, he was below where he was before the fall.



Either way, he has fallen. He should look at himself, bend and straighten his joints and just feel that he is OK before he goes on.


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