Thursday, June 12, 2008

MIND our ENGLISH...

Just to share with all of you. This article was taken from The Star, June 12, 2008.

It has to be "in" the sun
Question:
In my English exam recently, I came across this question:
She dries her clothes ___ the sun (in/under)
I chose "in" but it turned out that the teacher's answer was "under". I am quite confused
as I thought the common expression was "in the sun". For example, "don't play in the sun".
I find it strange to say "under the sun". Doesn't "under" mean directly below? As in "put your books under your desk?"

Answer:
You are quite right. The correct answer should be "in". If you are drying anything outside where it is sunny, you say you are drying it "in the sun".
"Under the sun" is an idiom, meaning "in the whole world". For example;
there is a newspaper article on the internet, reporting on last year's Turkish general election, whose headline says: Political parties promising everything under the sun.

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