Why do iron-rangers, and possibly others, use the phrases "ride bike" and "drive truck"? What happened to the definite or indefinite articles?
12/21: International Chiasmus Day
11 hours ago
Saturday, August 12, 2006
I ride bike!
Why do iron-rangers, and possibly others, use the phrases "ride bike" and "drive truck"? What happened to the definite or indefinite articles?
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3 comments:
Ode to Anarthrous
You can count me among the "others"
As you can a man named "Struthers"
Who frequently place
Nought but a space
Between a compound verb and its object.
Ha--you thought that last line was going to rhyme, didn't ya?
Seriously, there's no article because "bike" and "truck" aren't objects of the verb: they're part of the verb, a compound verb. "Ride bike" is the analytical equivalent of "cycle."
In fact, a classmate told me last week that he cycles with his roommate. I was confused until I realized that what he meant was that he rides bike with him.
A more widespread example of this phenomenon:
Chaka: "Did you like Miami Vice?"
Brandon: "Did I like it? It kicks ass!"
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