Usage of 'at' in context
I'm using an application to improve my English. The app had the word 'fabric' and one of its meanings was:
The walls, floor, and the roof of a building.
The example used to explain the meaning was:
Decay and neglect are slowly eating away at the building's fabric
What I couldn't understand was why did they use the word at in the sentence. Shouldn't the sentence be Decay and neglect are slowly eating away the building's fabric?
syntax
edited 2 days ago
Lordology
1,454217
asked 2 days ago
Kartik ChauhanKartik Chauhan
112
New contributor
Kartik Chauhan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
I'm using an application to improve my English. The app had the word 'fabric' and one of its meanings was:
The walls, floor, and the roof of a building.
The example used to explain the meaning was:
Decay and neglect are slowly eating away at the building's fabric
What I couldn't understand was why did they use the word at in the sentence. Shouldn't the sentence be Decay and neglect are slowly eating away the building's fabric?
syntax
edited 2 days ago
Lordology
1,454217
asked 2 days ago
Kartik ChauhanKartik Chauhan
112
New contributor
Kartik Chauhan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
Eat in the sense of erode, wear away can be used in various phrases such as eat away, eat up, eat at. mnemonicdictionary.com/word/eat%20at
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
Your comment doesn't give any viable explanation. What's wrong with "eating away the building's fabric"?
– Kartik Chauhan
2 days ago
It isn't wrong. However, eat when used in this sense is more commonly followed by at.
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
add a comment |
I'm using an application to improve my English. The app had the word 'fabric' and one of its meanings was:
The walls, floor, and the roof of a building.
The example used to explain the meaning was:
Decay and neglect are slowly eating away at the building's fabric
What I couldn't understand was why did they use the word at in the sentence. Shouldn't the sentence be Decay and neglect are slowly eating away the building's fabric?
syntax
edited 2 days ago
Lordology
1,454217
asked 2 days ago
Kartik ChauhanKartik Chauhan
112
New contributor
Kartik Chauhan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I'm using an application to improve my English. The app had the word 'fabric' and one of its meanings was:
The walls, floor, and the roof of a building.
The example used to explain the meaning was:
Decay and neglect are slowly eating away at the building's fabric
What I couldn't understand was why did they use the word at in the sentence. Shouldn't the sentence be Decay and neglect are slowly eating away the building's fabric?
syntax
syntax
edited 2 days ago
Lordology
1,454217
asked 2 days ago
Kartik ChauhanKartik Chauhan
112
New contributor
Kartik Chauhan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 2 days ago
Lordology
1,454217
asked 2 days ago
Kartik ChauhanKartik Chauhan
112
New contributor
Kartik Chauhan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 2 days ago
Lordology
1,454217
edited 2 days ago
Lordology
1,454217
edited 2 days ago
Lordology
1,454217
1,454217
asked 2 days ago
Kartik ChauhanKartik Chauhan
112
New contributor
Kartik Chauhan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 2 days ago
Kartik ChauhanKartik Chauhan
112
asked 2 days ago
Kartik ChauhanKartik Chauhan
112
112
New contributor
Kartik Chauhan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Kartik Chauhan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Kartik Chauhan is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
Eat in the sense of erode, wear away can be used in various phrases such as eat away, eat up, eat at. mnemonicdictionary.com/word/eat%20at
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
Your comment doesn't give any viable explanation. What's wrong with "eating away the building's fabric"?
– Kartik Chauhan
2 days ago
It isn't wrong. However, eat when used in this sense is more commonly followed by at.
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
add a comment |
1
Eat in the sense of erode, wear away can be used in various phrases such as eat away, eat up, eat at. mnemonicdictionary.com/word/eat%20at
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
Your comment doesn't give any viable explanation. What's wrong with "eating away the building's fabric"?
– Kartik Chauhan
2 days ago
It isn't wrong. However, eat when used in this sense is more commonly followed by at.
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
1
1
Eat in the sense of erode, wear away can be used in various phrases such as eat away, eat up, eat at. mnemonicdictionary.com/word/eat%20at
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
Eat in the sense of erode, wear away can be used in various phrases such as eat away, eat up, eat at. mnemonicdictionary.com/word/eat%20at
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
Your comment doesn't give any viable explanation. What's wrong with "eating away the building's fabric"?
– Kartik Chauhan
2 days ago
Your comment doesn't give any viable explanation. What's wrong with "eating away the building's fabric"?
– Kartik Chauhan
2 days ago
It isn't wrong. However, eat when used in this sense is more commonly followed by at.
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
It isn't wrong. However, eat when used in this sense is more commonly followed by at.
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
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votes
There's nothing wrong with just eating away the building's fabric.
In fact, all of these are acceptable variations:
Decay and neglect are slowly eating away at the building's fabric.
Decay and neglect are slowly eating away the building's fabric.
Decay and neglect are slowly eating at the building's fabric.
Decay and neglect are slowly eating the building's fabric.
The use of the preposition, with our without away, is simply a method of adding a kind of metaphorical description to the action.
For instance, when I think of eating away at, I have a brief mental image of a mouse—or even of something like the titular character from the Pac-Man video game. It also, perhaps with the associated visual, makes me think of nibbling rather than eating in a generic sense.
I suspect I have this visual because the use of at implies something or someone being somewhere. So, not only is there something that is being eaten, but it more strongly enforces the (visual) idea that there is something else present doing the eating.
Similarly, the use of away implies a more long-term effect, one that's taking some time, rather than something that's just quickly swallowed. Of course, the use of slowly in the example sentence also conveys that meaning, but away reinforces it.
Grammatically, there's nothing wrong with any of these sentences. It's just a matter of style, personal preference, habitual language use, and, perhaps, implied imagery, that's determining the verbiage used.
answered 2 days ago
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
19.2k32245
I agree with this answer - I'd add another the difference that "at" makes is how much of the building's fabric is being eaten. "Eating the building's fabric" implies sooner or later all the building will be gone. "Eating at the building's fabric" means the building is big and will never fully disappear due to the decay.
– Binney
2 days ago
@Binney I see where you're going with that, but my interpretation would be that something eventually will be fully eaten unless the action stops. That it's slow (in this sentence anyway) means that you still have time to repair the damage—there's no urgency; however, you can't ignore it altogether. If it weren't something to worry about, I might instead say something like ineffectively gnawing at.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago
add a comment |
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1 Answer
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1 Answer
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active
oldest
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active
oldest
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active
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votes
There's nothing wrong with just eating away the building's fabric.
In fact, all of these are acceptable variations:
Decay and neglect are slowly eating away at the building's fabric.
Decay and neglect are slowly eating away the building's fabric.
Decay and neglect are slowly eating at the building's fabric.
Decay and neglect are slowly eating the building's fabric.
The use of the preposition, with our without away, is simply a method of adding a kind of metaphorical description to the action.
For instance, when I think of eating away at, I have a brief mental image of a mouse—or even of something like the titular character from the Pac-Man video game. It also, perhaps with the associated visual, makes me think of nibbling rather than eating in a generic sense.
I suspect I have this visual because the use of at implies something or someone being somewhere. So, not only is there something that is being eaten, but it more strongly enforces the (visual) idea that there is something else present doing the eating.
Similarly, the use of away implies a more long-term effect, one that's taking some time, rather than something that's just quickly swallowed. Of course, the use of slowly in the example sentence also conveys that meaning, but away reinforces it.
Grammatically, there's nothing wrong with any of these sentences. It's just a matter of style, personal preference, habitual language use, and, perhaps, implied imagery, that's determining the verbiage used.
answered 2 days ago
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
19.2k32245
I agree with this answer - I'd add another the difference that "at" makes is how much of the building's fabric is being eaten. "Eating the building's fabric" implies sooner or later all the building will be gone. "Eating at the building's fabric" means the building is big and will never fully disappear due to the decay.
– Binney
2 days ago
@Binney I see where you're going with that, but my interpretation would be that something eventually will be fully eaten unless the action stops. That it's slow (in this sentence anyway) means that you still have time to repair the damage—there's no urgency; however, you can't ignore it altogether. If it weren't something to worry about, I might instead say something like ineffectively gnawing at.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago
add a comment |
There's nothing wrong with just eating away the building's fabric.
In fact, all of these are acceptable variations:
Decay and neglect are slowly eating away at the building's fabric.
Decay and neglect are slowly eating away the building's fabric.
Decay and neglect are slowly eating at the building's fabric.
Decay and neglect are slowly eating the building's fabric.
The use of the preposition, with our without away, is simply a method of adding a kind of metaphorical description to the action.
For instance, when I think of eating away at, I have a brief mental image of a mouse—or even of something like the titular character from the Pac-Man video game. It also, perhaps with the associated visual, makes me think of nibbling rather than eating in a generic sense.
I suspect I have this visual because the use of at implies something or someone being somewhere. So, not only is there something that is being eaten, but it more strongly enforces the (visual) idea that there is something else present doing the eating.
Similarly, the use of away implies a more long-term effect, one that's taking some time, rather than something that's just quickly swallowed. Of course, the use of slowly in the example sentence also conveys that meaning, but away reinforces it.
Grammatically, there's nothing wrong with any of these sentences. It's just a matter of style, personal preference, habitual language use, and, perhaps, implied imagery, that's determining the verbiage used.
answered 2 days ago
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
19.2k32245
I agree with this answer - I'd add another the difference that "at" makes is how much of the building's fabric is being eaten. "Eating the building's fabric" implies sooner or later all the building will be gone. "Eating at the building's fabric" means the building is big and will never fully disappear due to the decay.
– Binney
2 days ago
@Binney I see where you're going with that, but my interpretation would be that something eventually will be fully eaten unless the action stops. That it's slow (in this sentence anyway) means that you still have time to repair the damage—there's no urgency; however, you can't ignore it altogether. If it weren't something to worry about, I might instead say something like ineffectively gnawing at.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago
add a comment |
There's nothing wrong with just eating away the building's fabric.
In fact, all of these are acceptable variations:
Decay and neglect are slowly eating away at the building's fabric.
Decay and neglect are slowly eating away the building's fabric.
Decay and neglect are slowly eating at the building's fabric.
Decay and neglect are slowly eating the building's fabric.
The use of the preposition, with our without away, is simply a method of adding a kind of metaphorical description to the action.
For instance, when I think of eating away at, I have a brief mental image of a mouse—or even of something like the titular character from the Pac-Man video game. It also, perhaps with the associated visual, makes me think of nibbling rather than eating in a generic sense.
I suspect I have this visual because the use of at implies something or someone being somewhere. So, not only is there something that is being eaten, but it more strongly enforces the (visual) idea that there is something else present doing the eating.
Similarly, the use of away implies a more long-term effect, one that's taking some time, rather than something that's just quickly swallowed. Of course, the use of slowly in the example sentence also conveys that meaning, but away reinforces it.
Grammatically, there's nothing wrong with any of these sentences. It's just a matter of style, personal preference, habitual language use, and, perhaps, implied imagery, that's determining the verbiage used.
answered 2 days ago
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
19.2k32245
There's nothing wrong with just eating away the building's fabric.
In fact, all of these are acceptable variations:
Decay and neglect are slowly eating away at the building's fabric.
Decay and neglect are slowly eating away the building's fabric.
Decay and neglect are slowly eating at the building's fabric.
Decay and neglect are slowly eating the building's fabric.
The use of the preposition, with our without away, is simply a method of adding a kind of metaphorical description to the action.
For instance, when I think of eating away at, I have a brief mental image of a mouse—or even of something like the titular character from the Pac-Man video game. It also, perhaps with the associated visual, makes me think of nibbling rather than eating in a generic sense.
I suspect I have this visual because the use of at implies something or someone being somewhere. So, not only is there something that is being eaten, but it more strongly enforces the (visual) idea that there is something else present doing the eating.
Similarly, the use of away implies a more long-term effect, one that's taking some time, rather than something that's just quickly swallowed. Of course, the use of slowly in the example sentence also conveys that meaning, but away reinforces it.
Grammatically, there's nothing wrong with any of these sentences. It's just a matter of style, personal preference, habitual language use, and, perhaps, implied imagery, that's determining the verbiage used.
answered 2 days ago
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
19.2k32245
answered 2 days ago
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
19.2k32245
answered 2 days ago
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
19.2k32245
answered 2 days ago
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
19.2k32245
19.2k32245
I agree with this answer - I'd add another the difference that "at" makes is how much of the building's fabric is being eaten. "Eating the building's fabric" implies sooner or later all the building will be gone. "Eating at the building's fabric" means the building is big and will never fully disappear due to the decay.
– Binney
2 days ago
@Binney I see where you're going with that, but my interpretation would be that something eventually will be fully eaten unless the action stops. That it's slow (in this sentence anyway) means that you still have time to repair the damage—there's no urgency; however, you can't ignore it altogether. If it weren't something to worry about, I might instead say something like ineffectively gnawing at.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago
add a comment |
I agree with this answer - I'd add another the difference that "at" makes is how much of the building's fabric is being eaten. "Eating the building's fabric" implies sooner or later all the building will be gone. "Eating at the building's fabric" means the building is big and will never fully disappear due to the decay.
– Binney
2 days ago
@Binney I see where you're going with that, but my interpretation would be that something eventually will be fully eaten unless the action stops. That it's slow (in this sentence anyway) means that you still have time to repair the damage—there's no urgency; however, you can't ignore it altogether. If it weren't something to worry about, I might instead say something like ineffectively gnawing at.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago
I agree with this answer - I'd add another the difference that "at" makes is how much of the building's fabric is being eaten. "Eating the building's fabric" implies sooner or later all the building will be gone. "Eating at the building's fabric" means the building is big and will never fully disappear due to the decay.
– Binney
2 days ago
I agree with this answer - I'd add another the difference that "at" makes is how much of the building's fabric is being eaten. "Eating the building's fabric" implies sooner or later all the building will be gone. "Eating at the building's fabric" means the building is big and will never fully disappear due to the decay.
– Binney
2 days ago
@Binney I see where you're going with that, but my interpretation would be that something eventually will be fully eaten unless the action stops. That it's slow (in this sentence anyway) means that you still have time to repair the damage—there's no urgency; however, you can't ignore it altogether. If it weren't something to worry about, I might instead say something like ineffectively gnawing at.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago
@Binney I see where you're going with that, but my interpretation would be that something eventually will be fully eaten unless the action stops. That it's slow (in this sentence anyway) means that you still have time to repair the damage—there's no urgency; however, you can't ignore it altogether. If it weren't something to worry about, I might instead say something like ineffectively gnawing at.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago
add a comment |
Kartik Chauhan is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Kartik Chauhan is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Kartik Chauhan is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Kartik Chauhan is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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1
Eat in the sense of erode, wear away can be used in various phrases such as eat away, eat up, eat at. mnemonicdictionary.com/word/eat%20at
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago
Your comment doesn't give any viable explanation. What's wrong with "eating away the building's fabric"?
– Kartik Chauhan
2 days ago
It isn't wrong. However, eat when used in this sense is more commonly followed by at.
– Kate Bunting
2 days ago