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 #32 (permalink) Thu Aug 21, 2008 11:43 am "What' s on your mind?" vs "What's in your mind?" |
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| Yankee wrote: |
You could begin by telling the poster that a search of both the BNC and COCA for the question What's in your mind? (as well as What is in you mind?) results in this this response:
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| Sorry, there are no matching records. |
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In doing that, what conclusions, if any, would you want the poster to draw?
BTW, there is one example in COCA. |
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Molly
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| #33 (permalink) Thu Aug 21, 2008 11:45 am "What' s on your mind?" vs "What's in your mind?" |
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| Molly wrote: |
| BTW, there is one example in COCA. |
Care to post it? (Or didn't you bother to actually look at it?) ;)
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Yankee
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| #34 (permalink) Thu Aug 21, 2008 14:59 pm "What' s on your mind?" vs "What's in your mind?" |
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| Yankee wrote: |
| Molly wrote: |
| BTW, there is one example in COCA. |
Care to post it? (Or didn't you bother to actually look at it?) ;) |
I posted it earlier. Did you miss it? |
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Molly
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Joined: 12 Feb 2008
Posts: 4017
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| #35 (permalink) Thu Aug 21, 2008 18:10 pm "What' s on your mind?" vs "What's in your mind?" |
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| Quote: |
| "Molly" Indeed they are. So what would be your reply to the thread poster? |
To me, "what's in your mind?" is equivalent to "what do you see in your mind's eye?". Personally, I'd avoid using it completely.
To answer the original poster, I'd say don't use "What's in your mind?" as a stand alone question. In context, it's OK, not by itself because like I said, it sounds unnatural even though I'd understand what you mean. |
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 Diverhank
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| #36 (permalink) Thu Aug 21, 2008 19:23 pm "What' s on your mind?" vs "What's in your mind?" |
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| Molly wrote: |
| I posted it earlier. Did you miss it? |
I haven't seen you post any actual usage examples of the question "What's in your mind?"
Do you know the difference between fact and fiction, Molly?
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Yankee
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| #37 (permalink) Thu Aug 21, 2008 22:16 pm "What' s on your mind?" vs "What's in your mind?" |
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| Molly wrote: |
MrP, look back and see just how many questions of mine you've "ignored".
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I must say, you're a very demanding stalkee. But if you list the questions I've "ignored", I'll see what I can do.
MrP |
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MrPedantic
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| #38 (permalink) Thu Aug 21, 2008 22:19 pm "What' s on your mind?" vs "What's in your mind?" |
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Seconded.
MrP |
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MrPedantic
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| #39 (permalink) Sat Aug 23, 2008 15:56 pm "What' s on your mind?" vs "What's in your mind?" |
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| Yankee wrote: |
| Molly wrote: |
| I posted it earlier. Did you miss it? |
I haven't seen you post any actual usage examples of the question "What's in your mind?"
Do you know the difference between fact and fiction, Molly?
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| Quote: |
Here's an example, in question form:
The survivor survives. Result: unity. You overvalue the idea of the self. " # " There's a real cosmic perspective. Dr. Tate, lay the child down by those carrots, will you? " # " Why should I do that? What 's in your mind ? " # " Thoughts, Dr. Tate.
Title One of Her Paths
Author Ian Watson
Source Fantasy & Science Fiction |
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Molly
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| #40 (permalink) Sat Aug 23, 2008 16:07 pm "What' s on your mind?" vs "What's in your mind?" |
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Thank goodness you found an example. :wink:
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Yankee
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| #41 (permalink) Sun Aug 24, 2008 1:23 am "What' s on your mind?" vs "What's in your mind?" |
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| Yankee wrote: |
Thank goodness you found an example. :wink:
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And you missed it, twice. |
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Molly
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| #42 (permalink) Sun Aug 24, 2008 1:27 am "What' s on your mind?" vs "What's in your mind?" |
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Well, I guess you probably know how tough it can be trying to find a needle in a haystack. :wink:
By the way, you never did answer my question about fact and fiction. :wink:
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Yankee
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| #43 (permalink) Sun Aug 24, 2008 9:05 am "What' s on your mind?" vs "What's in your mind?" |
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| Yankee wrote: |
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Well, I guess you probably know how tough it can be trying to find a needle in a haystack. :wink:
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I'd say you and needling seem to go together. |
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Molly
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| #44 (permalink) Sun Aug 24, 2008 13:02 pm "What' s on your mind?" vs "What's in your mind?" |
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| diverhank wrote: |
To me, "what's in your mind?" is equivalent to "what do you see in your mind's eye?". Personally, I'd avoid using it completely.
To answer the original poster, I'd say don't use "What's in your mind?" as a stand alone question. In context, it's OK, not by itself because like I said, it sounds unnatural even though I'd understand what you mean. |
Thanks for discussing this topic, everyone. So do you think we can close this thread here?
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