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how to understand 'shift' in sentence 'I work shifts'

Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 4:35 pm
by nicklc414
Hi there,


By looking up the dictionary, i found that 'shift' cannot be an adverb, however, in sentence 'I work shifts' or 'I work a 10-hour shift', how do I understand the 'shifts' or 'a 10-hour shift'. are they nouns? however, if they are nouns, why are they following a verb directly? it doesnt make sense, rigt?

Thanks.
regards,
Nick.

Re: how to understand 'shift' in sentence 'I work shifts'

Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 9:22 am
by Alan
This use of 'shifts' would generally be classified as an adverbial objective, that is a prepositional phrase (in shifts) with ellipsis of the preposition. It is a feature of informal usage.