Thread: how do you say

i was on a pier
or i was at a pier.
or both prepositions can be used?

and one more thing to ask

it is a description to some picture i took last summer
"im sitting on a old wooden rail on (at) (a)the pier"
does it sound well?

and again it is a description to a picture
"here is the hurricane ophelia passing me by"
is this sentence correct?

I was on a pier = I was physically standing on a pier
I was at a pier = I was around a pier, not necessarily on it, but in the same area.

"im sitting on a old wooden rail on (at) (a)the pier"

To me "I'm sitting on an old wooden rail on/at a/the pier" sounds best.


a pier = not specific, could be any pier
the pier = a specific pier

Originally Posted by Ustas

and again it is a description to a picture
"here is the hurricane ophelia passing me by"
is this sentence correct?

I would simplify this a bit and just say "Here I am enduring Hurricane Ophelia" or "Here I am at the pier/in <city>/in the US during Hurricane Ophelia( or you can use "Ophelia's landfall").

To critique your sentence, I see 4 things wrong with it (although a native speaker would certainly understand you):

1. Here needs to be capitilized.
2. I think it would also be capitilized to Hurricane Ophelia, b/c it's a name
3. When you say "passing me by" it's understandable, but it doesn't sound right -- I can't really put a finger on why. If you were looking at a map, you could say "Ophelia passed through South FL (or wherever)."
4. "By" is a preposition, and any English teacher will give you a dirty look if you end a sentence with a preposition!

Hope this helps.

"here is the hurricane ophelia passing me by"

Sounds strange. I can't imagine anyone saying this. They would probably just say something like "Hurricane Orphelia is passing over right now" or "Here we are in the middle of Huricane Orphelia."

Originally Posted by Barmaley

...
1. Here needs to be capitilized.
2. I think it would also be capitilized to Hurricane Ophelia, b/c it's a name
3. When you say "passing me by" it's understandable, but it doesn't sound right -- I can't really put a finger on why. If you were looking at a map, you could say "Ophelia passed through South FL (or wherever)."
4. "By" is a preposition, and any English teacher will give you a dirty look if you end a sentence with a preposition!

Hope this helps.

I think by in this sentence is an adverb. But you're right it's sometimes grammatically incorrect to end a sentence with a preposition.

In his sentence the hurrican would be something like, for example, a person or something you could touch physically, or even something completely abstract.

Originally Posted by Ustas

"here is the hurricane ophelia passing me by"

I would say "Hurricane Ophelia is passing by me"
You should not end a sentence with a preposition.

For poetic purposes, you might be able to say "pass me by".
Here are a couple of examples:

though time has passed me by
I can't just lie down and die

I feel the need to cry
for my life has passed me by

thanks to all who answered my questions.

Nope...
I'm sitting on a rail on the pier (in the middle of)(during) hurricaine Ophilia.
"Here is the hurricaine" is awkward, a weatherman on TV would say that pointing to a map.
"passing me by", sounds like you are next to it, not in it.
Were you in the Carolinas last summer ?