Hi everyone!
Which is correct?
a.) 1.) I have nothing to provide her with.
2.) I have nothing to provide her.
b.) 1.) Hold me tight.
2.) Hold me tightly.
Thanks in advance. You can also post your questions here.
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All are in use.
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Charles, you are of course right in saying that both phrases are in use. It seems that “hold me tight” is much more common maybe because it’s a set phrase that is used by lovers.
How would you explain the difference between ‘hold me tight’ and ‘hold me tightly’?
Thanks,
Torsten[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, question-response: How much do you charge per hour?[YSaerTTEW443543]
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I see none, really.
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I do.
Quote:
a.) 1.) I have nothing to provide her with.
2.) I have nothing to provide her.
=> I personally think that the first case is more formal
Quote:
1.) Hold me tight.
2.) Hold me tightly.
=> As for this, I really “feel” that “hold me tight” is more right, but i just can’t explain.
If Mister Micawber sees no difference, then may I have Alan’s and Torsten’s idea?
Thanks 
Hi Nessie,
A long time ago the standard mantra of bus conductors on old buses in London just before the bus moved away from the bus stop was: ‘Hold very tight now’ and that’s what sticks in my mind and so I would reserve ‘Hold me tightly’ as a special request from someone you are very close to.
Alan
Those lads from Liverpool seem to have used Hold Me Tight differently. 
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Ah but Liverpool is a different country.
Alan
Here’s another thing.
A: I need someone to wash the dishes.
B: I could do it. Or, I can do it.
What do could and can imply? What is the difference between the two, aside from their tenses?
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The tenses are the same. The difference:
I could do it [now], [if you ask more nicely / if I get my homework finished / etc.]
I can do it [now], without condition.
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=> Uhm… is it ok to use “country” synonymously with “city”?
To Mister Micawber:
So when somebody says “I could do it” to reply to a similar require, they imply that they can’t do it right at the moment of speaking for some reason?
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Perhaps, but the point is that there is some condition (I could do it now if I wanted to / I could do it now if my arm weren’t broken).
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In this case it means that people from Liverpool speak a completely different language from English almost as if they were foreigners.[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, talks: University employee is asking visitor to move vehicle from fire zone[YSaerTTEW443543]
Gosh, I’d always thought those four lads spoke English. Hmm, maybe they were influenced by an older song from across the pond:
By the way, the BNC delivers no results whatsoever for “hold me tightly”.
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Quote:
In this case it means that people from Liverpool speak a completely different language from English almost as if they were foreigners.
=> Oh, so which language do they speak? French?
Hi Nessie,
I fear my throwaway line has been taken too seriously. Liverpool is a large city in the northwest of England, famous for the humour of the people and also for the accent they use when they speak English. The accent or language is called ‘scouse’ and the people who speak that way are called ‘scousers’.
Scouse is also the word for a very simple and filling dish, containing mainly sausages. The local people refuse to be depressed and are known for not taking themselves at all seriously and for laughing at themselves. Here is a typical joke:
They are a very original people and tend to look upon themselves as quite separate from the rest of the UK. That was at the back of my mind with reference to ‘another country and language’.
Alan
Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s get back to hold me tight vs hold me tightly. I disagreed with Alan’s take on that.
One of the accepted uses of the word ‘tight’ is as an adverb, and this usage dates back to 1680.
tight
In addition, ‘hold tight’ can be used as a synonym for ‘embrace’:
hold tight
Here is a usage note for the word ‘tight’ from the American Heritage Dictionary. I think it addresses the original question nicely. I’ve put one of the sentences into boldface type:
Besides the fact that I disagreed with Alan, the reason I posted some lyrics is that I really can’t imagine anyone ever actually saying “Hold me tightly” rather than “Hold me tight” in a very romantic situation – not even a very original person.
Hi,
Now, how romantic is that!
Let’s indulge in a compromise, which is always a sound approach. Imagine the scene of the two people engaged in
Tightee: Please hold me tight for I am so in need of
Tighter: Certainly, dear Tightee, adopt now an attitude
Observer of this process of closure: My word! Oh gosh! What closure do I observe! How tightly they are holding each other!
Alan
Hi Alan
Yes, in a very romantic moment, a person tends to voice a desire to be in a ‘state of close embrace’.
Why make fun of respected sources of information such as the American Heritage Dictionary and the British National Corpus? Is it not the goal of your forum to answer questions? Do you believe your opinion and personal dialect to be superior to all others in the world?
The usage note from the American Heritage Dictionary was a very good one, in my opinion. Why suggest to people with your flippant posts that it is not? Is the goal of this forum to help or to mislead? :roll:
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Hi,
I do wish you would sometimes lighten up. Whenever I attempt a lighter note, you always accuse me of being ‘superior’. How wrong you are! I fail to see how anything I’ve written could be construed as ‘misleading’.
Alan