He took {my hand} {me by the hand}

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

Moderator: Alan

Post Reply
Sang-heui, Kim
Member
Posts: 32
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2004 6:59 am
Location: Korea

He took {my hand} {me by the hand}

Post by Sang-heui, Kim »

Hi, teachers.

Thanks for the answers.

Here comes a question.

He took my hand.
He took me by the hand.

Two sentences have the same meaning?
If not, what's the difference?

All Peace.
User avatar
Alan
Teacher/Moderator
Teacher/Moderator
Posts: 15204
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2003 7:56 pm
Status: Teacher of English
Location: Japan

Post by Alan »

The second suggests taking the hand in order to lead someone somewhere, while the first simply means to physically take hold of the hand (possibly, but not necessarily, for this purpose). In practice, however, the two are usually interchangeable.
Post Reply