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Latest post Sat, Jul 25 2009 3:57 PM by tinanam0102. 5 replies.
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tinanam0102  +  831752 Fri, 24 Jul 09 06:50 AM
Hi teachers,

 

Quoted from Mr. Micawber in one thread:

 

"She accepted suffering as a component of deep passion and was resigned to put her feelings at risk"

 

"Ready to take a chance on love"

 

--

 

I read from a passage, "to have a chance at happiness/success", here the preposition is "at"; Another one I read was "We don't want to let a bad presentation to hurt our chance for a listing."

 

> Does it have to do with the common usage"take something on/ take on something"?  Or  it's the idiom phrase "take a chance"?  Thanks.

 

Regards,

Tinanam
tinanam0102
Joined on Wed, May 6 2009
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Mister Micawber  +  831793 Fri, 24 Jul 09 07:33 AM
'Take a chance' is generally followed 'on' or 'at', I think.  I haven't looked up 'have a chance', 'hurt one's change', etc.


"Take a Chance on Me" is a song recorded in 1977 by Swedish dance-pop group ABBA.

Bay Area locals take a chance at becoming a television success
Mister Micawber
Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004
Yokohama
Veteran Member 30,780
'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'
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tinanam0102  +  833112 Sat, 25 Jul 09 03:18 PM
Hi Mister Micawber,

 

Thank you for the answer.

 

>Does "take a chance" have the same meaning as "take one's chances" as they both mean to "gamble"?

 

>One entry of "take a chance" in my dictionary: "I'll take a chance with the weather and go for a pinic."  Why is that "with" is used, and not "on."    

 

>Just on a curious hunch, does "at" as in "take a chance at" show a persisting action in reaching your goal? Or it's an alternating use of at/on, where there's no significant difference between them?

 

Thank you.

Tinanam
tinanam0102
Mister Micawber  +  833130 Sat, 25 Jul 09 03:32 PM
Does "take a chance" have the same meaning as "take one's chances" as they both mean to "gamble"?-- Roughly.  'Take a chance' adheres more to the concept, I think.


One entry of "take a chance" in my dictionary: "I'll take a chance with the weather and go for a pinic." Why is that "with" is used, and not "on."-- OK, it appears to be another possible preposition, but 'with' generally applies when its object contributes to the chance: 'I'll take a chance with my old clunker, and hope that it gets me to St. Louis.'


Just on a curious hunch, does "at" as in "take a chance at" show a persisting action in reaching your goal? Or it's an alternating use of at/on, where there's no significant difference between them?-- I see no such difference.
Mister Micawber
,
Yankee  +  833145 Sat, 25 Jul 09 03:44 PM
I'd say "chance on" is used almost exclusively with the verb "take".

"Take a chance on" suggests "to risk" or "to gamble on". 


I would not use "have a chance on".


The use of "at" in an expression such as "have a chance at" suggests that there is a possibilty of reaching a target or achieving a goal. It suggests aiming at something. It suggests "have an opportunity to reach/achieve".
Yankee
Joined on Sat, Apr 15 2006
Connecticut, USA
Veteran Member 6,494
Amy "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain
tinanam0102  +  833159 Sat, 25 Jul 09 03:57 PM
Dear Mister Micawber and Yankee,

 

Thank you very much.  I'm very happy.

 

Regards,

Tinanam

 
tinanam0102
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