this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2024
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Linguistics Humor

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I feel slightly offended. Because it's true.

(Alt text: "Do you feel like the answer depends on whether you're currently in the hole, versus when you refer to the events later after you get out? Assuming you get out.")

xkcd source

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I could say "I fell in a hole" to mean either case (I was in or out of the hole beforehand), but for "I fell into a hole" I would only use it when starting outside the hole. (native speaker)

Like on the one hand it could mean "I fell [while I was] in the hole"

But it could also mean "I fell [and then I was] in the hole"