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 #32 (permalink) Fri Apr 25, 2008 13:16 pm Usage of 'bit' |
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So you would find no problem in saying such as this, Yankee?
"You've been coming in so late recently. Can you come in a bit early tomorrow?" |
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Molly
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| #33 (permalink) Fri Apr 25, 2008 13:29 pm Usage of 'bit' |
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Sounds weird to me, Molly.
Alan
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| #34 (permalink) Fri Apr 25, 2008 15:28 pm Usage of 'bit' |
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| Alan wrote: |
Sounds weird to me, Molly.
Alan |
And to me. |
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Molly
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| #35 (permalink) Fri Apr 25, 2008 16:19 pm Usage of 'bit' |
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This is because in Russian (most people speak in Belarus) we don't have such combination - a bit early - in such sentences. I may be wrong, but I simply can't accept this because I compare it with my language.
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 Inga
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| #36 (permalink) Fri Apr 25, 2008 17:05 pm Usage of 'bit' |
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| Molly wrote: |
So you would find no problem in saying such as this, Yankee?
"You've been coming in so late recently. Can you come in a bit early tomorrow?" |
No, Molly. I would probably use 'a bit earlier' or 'on time' there. As I said, it depends on the context.
Let's say I have planned a party. The festivities are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Maybe I think I'll need a bit of extra help with the final preparations just before the planned beginning of the party. I might say this to my best friend, for example:
"Could you come a bit early?"
In other words, I would be asking my friend to arrive a little bit before the scheduled time.
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Yankee
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| #37 (permalink) Fri Apr 25, 2008 17:15 pm Usage of 'bit' |
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| Alan wrote: |
Sounds weird to me, Molly.
Alan |
Thank God for small favors.  |
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Yankee
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| #38 (permalink) Fri Apr 25, 2008 17:32 pm Usage of 'bit' |
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.
For those of you who can't quite believe that "a bit early" is and can be used, look at the results that a search of the British National Corpus provides:
http://sara.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/saraWeb?qy=a+bit+early
You don't have anything against the British National Corpus, do you, Alan? |
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Yankee
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| #39 (permalink) Fri Apr 25, 2008 18:00 pm Usage of 'bit' |
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Now I see...
Too many examples prove your point. 
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Inga
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| #40 (permalink) Fri Apr 25, 2008 18:23 pm Usage of 'bit' |
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Hi,
Quotations from the BNC do not really help with reference to the original sentence -
| Quote: |
| Can you come in a bit early tomorrow? |
| Quote: |
| it depends on the context. |
- absolutely.
Alan
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| #41 (permalink) Fri Apr 25, 2008 18:32 pm Usage of 'bit' |
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| Alan wrote: |
Hi,
Quotations from the BNC do not really help with reference to the original sentence. |
Exactly. We were not provided any context in the original sentences. Therefore, the usage can not simply be called "wrong".
Thank you for agreeing, Alan.
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Yankee
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| #42 (permalink) Fri Apr 25, 2008 18:57 pm Usage of 'bit' |
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| Inga wrote: |
| This is because in Russian (most people speak in Belarus) we don't have such combination - a bit early - in such sentences. . |
Why?
Приди завтра немножко(a bit) раньше(earlier) - sounds perfect to me
Though Russian is beside the point, but nevertheless. |
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Lost_Soul
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| #43 (permalink) Fri Apr 25, 2008 19:01 pm Usage of 'bit' |
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Who said it was 'wrong'? I said it was weird!
Alan
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| #44 (permalink) Fri Apr 25, 2008 19:44 pm Usage of 'bit' |
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| Alan wrote: |
Who said it was 'wrong'? I said it was weird!
Alan |
.Yes, I agree that Molly's example was indeed weird.
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Yankee
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| #45 (permalink) Sat Apr 26, 2008 6:27 am Usage of 'bit' |
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Why?
Приди завтра немножко(a bit) раньше(earlier) - sounds perfect to me Smile
Though Russian is beside the point, but nevertheless.
But: Приди немножко (a bit) рано (early) sounds weird.
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