Something that is “on purpose” is following a plan, like being “on course.” But accidents are unintentional, “by accident” suggests it is something external.
“On purpose” uses on to suggest intention. Think of it like being “on task”, “on point”, or “on time”. So it implies deliberate action
“By accident” uses by to suggest something happened passively, as a result of chance or circumstance. This fits with other phrases like “by chance” or “by mistake”.
My partner told me the other day that the younger generations are starting to say “on accident” nowadays (we are in Canada fyi). Curious to see if this will really shift, or if it’s an anomaly in our region đ¤ˇââď¸
Well, where I live people say âon accidentâ all the time. Apparently thatâs a huge pet peeve for some people though. Iâve heard both âon accidentâ and âby accidentâ but âon accidentâ feels more natural. Maybe itâs not correct, but what is correct when it comes to language? If the purpose of language is to communicate then the important thing is that people know what you mean. I used to be a grammar nazi or hated when people said or spelled things âincorrectly,â but Iâve changed my views on that.
Well, there are people (myself included) who say both on purpose and on accident. I also say by accident sometimes, but I have no problem using either construction. To me, it makes sense for them both to use the same preposition.
These are idioms. Meaning, there’s no particular grammar rule behind it; it’s just the way it is. I’ve noticed a LOT of idioms involve prepositions, like “on” and “by.”
AT the hospital vs IN the hospital have different meanings.
It doesn’t actually matter. No one is going to misunderstand you if you mix these up and therefore the language still is communicated effectively. People who nitpick about this don’t actually know shit about how language works.
Prepositions are the trickiest thing in languages, IMO. They vary from language to language and often donât have any rhyme or reason. You just kinda have to learn them rather than try to find the logic or rule.
Comments
Something that is “on purpose” is following a plan, like being “on course.” But accidents are unintentional, “by accident” suggests it is something external.
We don’t. Morons say it.
Edit: I am the moron, I had a dyslexic moment.
Modern English is basically 5 languages mixed together and fermented over 1000 years lol
“On purpose” uses on to suggest intention. Think of it like being “on task”, “on point”, or “on time”. So it implies deliberate action
“By accident” uses by to suggest something happened passively, as a result of chance or circumstance. This fits with other phrases like “by chance” or “by mistake”.
All the people I hear say on accident drives me wild.
“On purpose” is active..”by accident” is passive. đ¤ˇââď¸
My partner told me the other day that the younger generations are starting to say “on accident” nowadays (we are in Canada fyi). Curious to see if this will really shift, or if it’s an anomaly in our region đ¤ˇââď¸
Well, where I live people say âon accidentâ all the time. Apparently thatâs a huge pet peeve for some people though. Iâve heard both âon accidentâ and âby accidentâ but âon accidentâ feels more natural. Maybe itâs not correct, but what is correct when it comes to language? If the purpose of language is to communicate then the important thing is that people know what you mean. I used to be a grammar nazi or hated when people said or spelled things âincorrectly,â but Iâve changed my views on that.
On purpose and by accident is usually the way to go
Well, there are people (myself included) who say both on purpose and on accident. I also say by accident sometimes, but I have no problem using either construction. To me, it makes sense for them both to use the same preposition.
What are you? My C1 English exam I took 15 years ago?
These are idioms. Meaning, there’s no particular grammar rule behind it; it’s just the way it is. I’ve noticed a LOT of idioms involve prepositions, like “on” and “by.”
AT the hospital vs IN the hospital have different meanings.
You live IN a city, ON a street, AT an address.
etc
ETA source
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/idioms/what-are-idioms/
Comparable to French.
It doesn’t actually matter. No one is going to misunderstand you if you mix these up and therefore the language still is communicated effectively. People who nitpick about this don’t actually know shit about how language works.
Could say â itâs been done purposefullyâ instead đ¤ˇđźââď¸
Or âthat was an accident!â
In England (the home of English, btw), we don’t say “on accident.”
Prepositions are the trickiest thing in languages, IMO. They vary from language to language and often donât have any rhyme or reason. You just kinda have to learn them rather than try to find the logic or rule.
On = active
By = passive
what I want to know is why people are starting to say “I could care less” instead of “I couldn’t care less”.
weirds me out.
It’s actually really funny you bring this up.
I say “on accident” and have all my life. It was only about a decade ago someone corrected me and made fun of me for it.
Because only bi people have accidents?