|
|
 #2 (permalink) Sat Aug 04, 2007 2:24 am difference between on my mind and in my mind? |
|
|
Hi Torsten
Your second sentence would be the typical one. It means that you are spending a lot of time thinking about the person.
You can also have something such as a problem 'on your mind', and again, it suggests that it is something you are thinking about often or regularly.
I would say that people might use 'in my mind' to refer to a sort of location or storage area for an idea, a mental image, etc, but not to indicate that they are spending spending a lot of time thinking about the thing that is 'in their mind'.
.
_________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln |
|
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8316
Location: USA
|
|
| #3 (permalink) Sat Aug 04, 2007 13:36 pm difference between on my mind and in my mind? |
|
|
Hi Amy,
To me the sentence "you are always in my mind" also sounds pretty odd but I heard it in a movie called "Unfaithful". Conny (Diane Lane) says it when she is talking to her lover Paul (Olivier Martinez). I listened to the dialog several times and even the subtitle reads "in my mind". Quite strange, isn't?
TOEIC listening, photographs: Studio interview |
|
Torsten
Learning Coach
Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Posts: 14503
Location: EU
|
 |
| #4 (permalink) Sat Aug 04, 2007 14:00 pm difference between on my mind and in my mind? |
|
|
Hi Torsten,
The refrain I know is: You were always on my mind as warbled by the inimitable Elvis - hinting at treasuring and nurturing the memory of the loved one but not necessarily remaining faithful to the individual concerned. On the misery, sort of unromantic side, we say: He's a lot on his mind at the moment to explain the eccentricity of someone or their eccentric behaviour because they're worrying about something. The other expression with 'mind' is using it without the article as in: What I have in mind is to sell up and move to the country, hinting at what you intend to do or are thinking about doing.
Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple |
|
Alan
Co-founder
Joined: 27 Sep 2003
Posts: 13891
Location: UK
|
|
| #5 (permalink) Sat Aug 04, 2007 17:09 pm difference between on my mind and in my mind? |
|
|
| Torsten wrote: |
Hi Amy,
To me the sentence "you are always in my mind" also sounds pretty odd but I heard it in a movie called "Unfaithful". Conny (Diane Lane) says it when she is talking to her lover Paul (Olivier Martinez). I listened to the dialog several times and even the subtitle reads "in my mind". Quite strange, isn't? |
Hi Torsten
No, I wouldn't call it odd or strange. It's just not the most typical expression. As I suggested earlier, I can think of possible reasons that someone might choose to use 'in' rather than 'on'. One reason might be that Conny wants to say that Paul's image is always with her (in her mind) and therefore she can call up that image whenever and as often as she wants.
Saying that something is 'on your mind' suggests that you can't help thinking about it constantly.
Depending on the rest of the context and the tone of voice, there might be other possible interpretations for 'You are always in my mind' (for example, Conny might be complaining to Paul that he is always getting into her mind -- i.e. "messing with her mind").
Or, it might have simply been a slip -- i.e. maybe Conny meant to say 'on' but actually said 'in'.
You know, I seem to remember someone on this forum once stating that "language is a living organism" and that it's possible "to do what you like with it".
Well, that may be precisely the case here. Conny may have had a specific reason in mind when she chose her preposition. :lol: And I have attempted to tell you what I think that reason might have been.
Speaking of "doing what you like", Americans generally don't contract the verb 'have' when it is the main (only) verb in the sentence -- not even in spoken English. We Americans do what we prefer with the language, just as Alan has done what he apparently prefers in saying "he's" rather than "he has" ("He's a lot on his mind at the moment.") :wink:
.
_________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln |
|
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8316
Location: USA
|
|
|
| Is it possible to learn a whole oxford english dictionary? | what does "to its core" mean in this sentence... |
