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The difference between outside and outsid | ||
Tags: Meaning of words | English | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| qazwsxed Newbie United States Joined 5017 days ago 18 posts - 17 votes | Message 1 of 9 15 April 2011 at 9:43am | IP Logged | ||
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What's the difference between the word "outside" and "outside of" in usage?
For the sentences below, which one makes more sense? Are both "outside" and "outside of" acceptable in the following examples? A) LA has the largest Korean community (outside/outside of) Asia. B) The campus is located (outside/outside of) Chicago. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| JasonE Groupie Canada Joined 5071 days ago 54 posts - 78 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 2 of 9 15 April 2011 at 9:57am | IP Logged | ||
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In both cases I'd go with "outside of". Simply using "outside" might work in casual conversation, but it doesn't feel
right to me. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Leftcoaster Diglot Newbie China Joined 5032 days ago 22 posts - 36 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin, Russian | Message 3 of 9 15 April 2011 at 10:30am | IP Logged | ||
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Outside by itself seems to be used as a noun and only as an object.
For example, "Everyday he dreamed of escaping to the outside" - ie. breaking out of prison. Otherwise, I agree with ^in that outside of just sounds "right" to my ears. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| schoenewaelder Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5561 days ago 759 posts - 1197 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: German, Spanish, Dutch | Message 4 of 9 15 April 2011 at 3:13pm | IP Logged | ||
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In these examples for me, "outside" tends to imply "just over the border", while "outside of" has the meaning "definitely not inside, and possibly quite separate from".
ie "outside Chicago" would imply in the suburbs or a nearby town, while "outside of" could also be quite nearby, but it would be emphasising the separateness, and it could also imply somewhere geographically much further away. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Didgeridoo Newbie United States Joined 5154 days ago 28 posts - 31 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Finnish | Message 5 of 9 16 April 2011 at 9:42pm | IP Logged | ||
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I agree with schoenewaelder, "outside" does not have a definite location tied to it and therefore is assumed to mean somewhere relatively close by or immediately next to. This can be further clarified by adding other words such as "just" or "right" in front of "outside." "Outside of," however, has a location tied to it but can have a dual meaning of being nearby or being separate.
For example, you could say "Outside the castle's walls, the Mongolians stood ready to attack" instead of "Outside of the castle's walls, the Mongolians stood ready to attack." "Outside" gives you the feeling that the Mongolians are literally leaning up against the walls, while "outside of" can mean that there are Mongolians at some location outside of the castle. Also, in common speech the "of" can get knocked off in some cases. For example, you would say "The serial killer is outside (the house)!" instead of "The serial killer is outside of the house!" And as I am proofreading this post, I think I may have just confused myself and probably the OP as well. I hope that you can make sense of my post. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5454 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 6 of 9 16 April 2011 at 10:10pm | IP Logged | ||
Those are to different "outsides", preposition and adverb: Adverb: The serial killer is OUTSIDE! Preposition: The serial killer is OUTSIDE (OF) the house! Edited by tractor on 16 April 2011 at 10:10pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| AndrewW Newbie United States Joined 5008 days ago 29 posts - 60 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 7 of 9 16 April 2011 at 10:12pm | IP Logged | ||
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Yeah, I think some of these descriptions might be over thinking it a bit. In A, I'd say "outside of", even in casual
conversation. The meaning wouldn't change without the "of" though. For B, either one sounds fine and near identical to me. Honestly, those differences talked about above sound bizzare to me and like people are trying to read differences into the wording. The meaning will come from context normally, not from switching between "outside" and "outside of". Edited by AndrewW on 16 April 2011 at 10:18pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| hjordis Senior Member United States snapshotsoftheworld. Joined 5187 days ago 209 posts - 264 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, German, Spanish, Japanese | Message 8 of 9 17 April 2011 at 7:08am | IP Logged | ||
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I agree with Andrew. Either one sounds fine in both cases.
1 person has voted this message useful |
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