Quote:
Originally Posted by Supperman
a lot of expensive demand notes have arrived at me, (wrong)
a lot of expensive demand notes have arrived me, (wrong!)
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It would be more correct to say "A lot of expensive demand notes have arrived
for me" but this still sounds awkward. It's more usual to say "I have received a lot of expensive demand notes".
As for "hang on", there are lots of uses. As you might have already seen, some are literal, some aren't-
Pete: What's happened?
Suzie: Bob has fallen off a cliff and is hanging on by his fingers!
Pete: Hang on, Bob! Help is on it's way!
This is literal- Bob has something in his hands (the rocks of the cliff), and Pete is saying 'Don't let go!' or 'Don't fall'.
Bob is rescued from the cliff and then sees Bill with his dog.
"Hold on to the dog's collar, he might bite me." Again, literally 'don't let go'
'Hanging on' is also like being in a state of inaction. Bob can't climb while he's hanging on, and neither can he fall. When Dogsbody asks her friend to 'hang on, wait for me', she's asking her friend to wait in a state of inaction; not going ahead, but not coming back to her either. This is a non-literal use of 'hang on' because the friend has nothing in her hands.
Mum: Hey, hurry up and get off the computer! >[
Me: Hang on, hang on! It's just printing! >P
Sue: Should I put the fish in now?
Anna: Hang on, let me read the recipe.
Sometimes we use it to mean 'stay how you are until this difficult event/thing passes you by.'
Let's go back to Bob. The dog bit him and he's now at the hospital.
Bob: Doctor, it hurts! Please can I have some pain relief?
Doctor: Just hang on, Bob, we must stop the bleeding first.
In this case, Bob doesn't have a choice- he has to just endure until he stops bleeding before they'll let him have some medicine. So the doctor is actually being almost encouraging. He means 'just endure this for now, and then things will get better'. So 'hang on studying' doesn't make sense, because in that situation, you'd have to actively go ahead and study to pass the test. hang on is usually not followed by verb 'ing'.
And now a negative use of 'hold on'.
When it's literally something in your hand, we tend to use 'onto' (sometimes written 'on to'). "Bob couldn't hold onto the cliff, and he fell." "The Joker couldn't hold onto the ladder and he fell." "Bill didn't hold onto his dog, and it bit someone."
Sometimes this is used in terms of someone's life situation; it's not quite literal- you don't have it in your hand, but it's something someone has in their life. "Suzie's a nice girl but she just can't hold onto a job." She quits or gets fired a lot. "I can't seem to hold onto my money at the moment- as fast as I make it, I spend it!" "Bob didn't hold onto his wife, and now she's left him for Bill."
When we use 'hold on' in the negative without 'to' it's usually in terms of someone's ability to endure, and more general. "I can't hold on anymore" means "I am about to break" "I want this to end" "I've had enough of this situation."
Bob: I just can't hold on anymore; I nearly died falling off a cliff, a dog bit me, I lost my job and my wife has left me for another man. I've tried to stay cheerful, but it's just too much- I wish my life was over!
You might notice i've used both 'hang on' and 'hold on'; but it's ok! They're mostly interchangeable!