ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: in / on / at Chao Phraya River

Mr Wordy — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:16:56 GMT

Yes, you can say this. It implies that to get to Chao Phraya River they're travelling along another river which has a different name and which flows into Chao Phraya River.

It could also indicate a sea voyage to the mouth of Chao Phraya River.

Re: in / on / at Chao Phraya River

Vincent Teo — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:14:30 GMT

Can I say,

They took a boat to Chao Phraya River.

Re: in / on / at Chao Phraya River

Mr Wordy — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:56:41 GMT

I assume that "long boat" refers to the particular type of Thai boat, rather than an unspecified type of boat that happens to be "long". If so, then I would be tempted to write "longboat". This avoids the risk of the "boat which happens to be long" interpretation, which is a slightly odd thing to say here (normally you would say "large boat").

"along" is fine: you made a journey along the river.

"at" is possible in the sense that Chao Phraya River is a geographic location. You might use "at" if you were describing a longer journey ("They got the bus to X, then took a longboat at Chao Phraya River which carried them all the way to Y").

"on" is also possible but not terribly likely. To me, it tends to suggest a big wide river, and possibly a recreational trip. In this sense I think I'd usually say "out on" ("They took a longboat out on the river").

"in" does not sound right to me.

in / on / at Chao Phraya River

Vincent Teo — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:03:24 GMT

Can I say,

They took a long boat in / on / at / along Chao Phraya River.