Is it correct to ask : How did it go at doctors?
Is it correct to ask:
How did it go at doctors?
Not sure how to ask.
questions
migrated from english.stackexchange.com Nov 28 '18 at 1:11
This question came from our site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts.
add a comment |
Is it correct to ask:
How did it go at doctors?
Not sure how to ask.
questions
migrated from english.stackexchange.com Nov 28 '18 at 1:11
This question came from our site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts.
2
"How did it go" is a common, idiomatic way of asking about the outcome of an event. "How did it go at the doctor's/at school/at the interview, etc." You could also ask, "How did the doctor's visit go?"
– WS2
Nov 27 '18 at 23:31
How did it go at the doctor's?
– Anita May
Nov 28 '18 at 1:20
add a comment |
Is it correct to ask:
How did it go at doctors?
Not sure how to ask.
questions
Is it correct to ask:
How did it go at doctors?
Not sure how to ask.
questions
questions
edited Nov 28 '18 at 15:22
J.R.♦
99.9k8129247
99.9k8129247
asked Nov 27 '18 at 23:15
Pau
migrated from english.stackexchange.com Nov 28 '18 at 1:11
This question came from our site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts.
migrated from english.stackexchange.com Nov 28 '18 at 1:11
This question came from our site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts.
2
"How did it go" is a common, idiomatic way of asking about the outcome of an event. "How did it go at the doctor's/at school/at the interview, etc." You could also ask, "How did the doctor's visit go?"
– WS2
Nov 27 '18 at 23:31
How did it go at the doctor's?
– Anita May
Nov 28 '18 at 1:20
add a comment |
2
"How did it go" is a common, idiomatic way of asking about the outcome of an event. "How did it go at the doctor's/at school/at the interview, etc." You could also ask, "How did the doctor's visit go?"
– WS2
Nov 27 '18 at 23:31
How did it go at the doctor's?
– Anita May
Nov 28 '18 at 1:20
2
2
"How did it go" is a common, idiomatic way of asking about the outcome of an event. "How did it go at the doctor's/at school/at the interview, etc." You could also ask, "How did the doctor's visit go?"
– WS2
Nov 27 '18 at 23:31
"How did it go" is a common, idiomatic way of asking about the outcome of an event. "How did it go at the doctor's/at school/at the interview, etc." You could also ask, "How did the doctor's visit go?"
– WS2
Nov 27 '18 at 23:31
How did it go at the doctor's?
– Anita May
Nov 28 '18 at 1:20
How did it go at the doctor's?
– Anita May
Nov 28 '18 at 1:20
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
There are two aspects to this: using the article, and how to punctuate.
(1) Using the article
In English, apart from a few exceptions, most common nouns like doctor require a "determiner", which includes articles (a/an and the), demonstratives (such as this and that), possessive pronouns (e.g. her, your) and quantifiers (e.g. few or all).
In your sentence, it's presumed that the reference is to a particular doctor, so the definite article ("the") would be typical. It would also be common to refer to that doctor or your doctor.
(2) Do we need an apostrophe?
This is a bit more complex, as it depends on whether the question is about your experience with the doctor or at the doctor's rooms/clinic, and also whether you're referring to a single doctor or multiple doctors.
If you use "at", then the question is about the place. The word "rooms" or "clinic" is assumed, and doesn't need to be spoken or written. Nonetheless, if you're writing the sentence it's important to indicate the possessive by using the apostrophe: doctor's. You would write:
How did it go at the doctor's?
[In the unusual situation that the person asking the question knew you were seeing more than one doctor, you would put the apostrophe after the plural form: doctors'].
However, it's quite standard to use "with" instead of "at". In this case, the reference is to the person rather than the location, so there's no possessive. You would write:
How did it go with the doctor?
This would also be the more appropriate usage if the doctor visited you rather than you going to them. The plural would also be more common in this situation, where a series of different doctors/surgeons had seen you (for example at your hospital bed):
How did it go with the doctors?
In spoken English
The difficulty when you hear the word "doctors" is that it might not be apparent whether the speaker means the possessive (doctor's), the plural (doctors) or the possessive plural (doctors'). Fluent speakers learn from experience to use a different construction if the meaning wouldn't be clear from the context - hence we would probably choose "with" if there were multiple doctors. Nonetheless, ambiguity between plural and possessive is not uncommon, and offers a rich vein for comedians and sitcoms.
2
I'd note that one does omit the article when using a proper noun, in most circumstances: "How did it go at Patrick's?"
– Patrick Stevens
Nov 28 '18 at 8:05
When I saw the title of the question I was also tempted to point out that in some Northern English dialects it is common to omit the article in certain circumstances (and perhaps lengthen the stop of the "t" in "at" to compensate). These sorts of dialects might be indicated in writing as "How did it go at t'doctor's?" but the extra "t" is rarely pronounced individually.
– Muzer
Nov 28 '18 at 11:08
One of the cases in which the definite article is not used, is when speaking of some kind of formal body, such as the annual conference of a political party. You will often hear: 'how did it go at conference'. That usage is not restricted to any particular dialect. Personally I dislike it, but who am I?
– JeremyC
Nov 28 '18 at 23:19
1
@JeremyC I suspect that in most cases this would be because it's used as a proper noun - "how did it go at Conference".
– Chappo
Nov 28 '18 at 23:25
add a comment |
The expression is not correct. It would properly be "How did it go at the doctor's." You need the 'the' preceding 'doctor's' or else which doctor they went to is ambiguous. It is necessary to say 'doctor's' rather than 'doctors' because the implied object is 'the doctor's office,' with office being omitted.
2
Although, to be complete, we should point out that some nouns don't require an article: How did it go at work? How did it go at school? How did it go in court?
– J.R.♦
Nov 28 '18 at 11:11
add a comment |
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2 Answers
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2 Answers
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There are two aspects to this: using the article, and how to punctuate.
(1) Using the article
In English, apart from a few exceptions, most common nouns like doctor require a "determiner", which includes articles (a/an and the), demonstratives (such as this and that), possessive pronouns (e.g. her, your) and quantifiers (e.g. few or all).
In your sentence, it's presumed that the reference is to a particular doctor, so the definite article ("the") would be typical. It would also be common to refer to that doctor or your doctor.
(2) Do we need an apostrophe?
This is a bit more complex, as it depends on whether the question is about your experience with the doctor or at the doctor's rooms/clinic, and also whether you're referring to a single doctor or multiple doctors.
If you use "at", then the question is about the place. The word "rooms" or "clinic" is assumed, and doesn't need to be spoken or written. Nonetheless, if you're writing the sentence it's important to indicate the possessive by using the apostrophe: doctor's. You would write:
How did it go at the doctor's?
[In the unusual situation that the person asking the question knew you were seeing more than one doctor, you would put the apostrophe after the plural form: doctors'].
However, it's quite standard to use "with" instead of "at". In this case, the reference is to the person rather than the location, so there's no possessive. You would write:
How did it go with the doctor?
This would also be the more appropriate usage if the doctor visited you rather than you going to them. The plural would also be more common in this situation, where a series of different doctors/surgeons had seen you (for example at your hospital bed):
How did it go with the doctors?
In spoken English
The difficulty when you hear the word "doctors" is that it might not be apparent whether the speaker means the possessive (doctor's), the plural (doctors) or the possessive plural (doctors'). Fluent speakers learn from experience to use a different construction if the meaning wouldn't be clear from the context - hence we would probably choose "with" if there were multiple doctors. Nonetheless, ambiguity between plural and possessive is not uncommon, and offers a rich vein for comedians and sitcoms.
2
I'd note that one does omit the article when using a proper noun, in most circumstances: "How did it go at Patrick's?"
– Patrick Stevens
Nov 28 '18 at 8:05
When I saw the title of the question I was also tempted to point out that in some Northern English dialects it is common to omit the article in certain circumstances (and perhaps lengthen the stop of the "t" in "at" to compensate). These sorts of dialects might be indicated in writing as "How did it go at t'doctor's?" but the extra "t" is rarely pronounced individually.
– Muzer
Nov 28 '18 at 11:08
One of the cases in which the definite article is not used, is when speaking of some kind of formal body, such as the annual conference of a political party. You will often hear: 'how did it go at conference'. That usage is not restricted to any particular dialect. Personally I dislike it, but who am I?
– JeremyC
Nov 28 '18 at 23:19
1
@JeremyC I suspect that in most cases this would be because it's used as a proper noun - "how did it go at Conference".
– Chappo
Nov 28 '18 at 23:25
add a comment |
There are two aspects to this: using the article, and how to punctuate.
(1) Using the article
In English, apart from a few exceptions, most common nouns like doctor require a "determiner", which includes articles (a/an and the), demonstratives (such as this and that), possessive pronouns (e.g. her, your) and quantifiers (e.g. few or all).
In your sentence, it's presumed that the reference is to a particular doctor, so the definite article ("the") would be typical. It would also be common to refer to that doctor or your doctor.
(2) Do we need an apostrophe?
This is a bit more complex, as it depends on whether the question is about your experience with the doctor or at the doctor's rooms/clinic, and also whether you're referring to a single doctor or multiple doctors.
If you use "at", then the question is about the place. The word "rooms" or "clinic" is assumed, and doesn't need to be spoken or written. Nonetheless, if you're writing the sentence it's important to indicate the possessive by using the apostrophe: doctor's. You would write:
How did it go at the doctor's?
[In the unusual situation that the person asking the question knew you were seeing more than one doctor, you would put the apostrophe after the plural form: doctors'].
However, it's quite standard to use "with" instead of "at". In this case, the reference is to the person rather than the location, so there's no possessive. You would write:
How did it go with the doctor?
This would also be the more appropriate usage if the doctor visited you rather than you going to them. The plural would also be more common in this situation, where a series of different doctors/surgeons had seen you (for example at your hospital bed):
How did it go with the doctors?
In spoken English
The difficulty when you hear the word "doctors" is that it might not be apparent whether the speaker means the possessive (doctor's), the plural (doctors) or the possessive plural (doctors'). Fluent speakers learn from experience to use a different construction if the meaning wouldn't be clear from the context - hence we would probably choose "with" if there were multiple doctors. Nonetheless, ambiguity between plural and possessive is not uncommon, and offers a rich vein for comedians and sitcoms.
2
I'd note that one does omit the article when using a proper noun, in most circumstances: "How did it go at Patrick's?"
– Patrick Stevens
Nov 28 '18 at 8:05
When I saw the title of the question I was also tempted to point out that in some Northern English dialects it is common to omit the article in certain circumstances (and perhaps lengthen the stop of the "t" in "at" to compensate). These sorts of dialects might be indicated in writing as "How did it go at t'doctor's?" but the extra "t" is rarely pronounced individually.
– Muzer
Nov 28 '18 at 11:08
One of the cases in which the definite article is not used, is when speaking of some kind of formal body, such as the annual conference of a political party. You will often hear: 'how did it go at conference'. That usage is not restricted to any particular dialect. Personally I dislike it, but who am I?
– JeremyC
Nov 28 '18 at 23:19
1
@JeremyC I suspect that in most cases this would be because it's used as a proper noun - "how did it go at Conference".
– Chappo
Nov 28 '18 at 23:25
add a comment |
There are two aspects to this: using the article, and how to punctuate.
(1) Using the article
In English, apart from a few exceptions, most common nouns like doctor require a "determiner", which includes articles (a/an and the), demonstratives (such as this and that), possessive pronouns (e.g. her, your) and quantifiers (e.g. few or all).
In your sentence, it's presumed that the reference is to a particular doctor, so the definite article ("the") would be typical. It would also be common to refer to that doctor or your doctor.
(2) Do we need an apostrophe?
This is a bit more complex, as it depends on whether the question is about your experience with the doctor or at the doctor's rooms/clinic, and also whether you're referring to a single doctor or multiple doctors.
If you use "at", then the question is about the place. The word "rooms" or "clinic" is assumed, and doesn't need to be spoken or written. Nonetheless, if you're writing the sentence it's important to indicate the possessive by using the apostrophe: doctor's. You would write:
How did it go at the doctor's?
[In the unusual situation that the person asking the question knew you were seeing more than one doctor, you would put the apostrophe after the plural form: doctors'].
However, it's quite standard to use "with" instead of "at". In this case, the reference is to the person rather than the location, so there's no possessive. You would write:
How did it go with the doctor?
This would also be the more appropriate usage if the doctor visited you rather than you going to them. The plural would also be more common in this situation, where a series of different doctors/surgeons had seen you (for example at your hospital bed):
How did it go with the doctors?
In spoken English
The difficulty when you hear the word "doctors" is that it might not be apparent whether the speaker means the possessive (doctor's), the plural (doctors) or the possessive plural (doctors'). Fluent speakers learn from experience to use a different construction if the meaning wouldn't be clear from the context - hence we would probably choose "with" if there were multiple doctors. Nonetheless, ambiguity between plural and possessive is not uncommon, and offers a rich vein for comedians and sitcoms.
There are two aspects to this: using the article, and how to punctuate.
(1) Using the article
In English, apart from a few exceptions, most common nouns like doctor require a "determiner", which includes articles (a/an and the), demonstratives (such as this and that), possessive pronouns (e.g. her, your) and quantifiers (e.g. few or all).
In your sentence, it's presumed that the reference is to a particular doctor, so the definite article ("the") would be typical. It would also be common to refer to that doctor or your doctor.
(2) Do we need an apostrophe?
This is a bit more complex, as it depends on whether the question is about your experience with the doctor or at the doctor's rooms/clinic, and also whether you're referring to a single doctor or multiple doctors.
If you use "at", then the question is about the place. The word "rooms" or "clinic" is assumed, and doesn't need to be spoken or written. Nonetheless, if you're writing the sentence it's important to indicate the possessive by using the apostrophe: doctor's. You would write:
How did it go at the doctor's?
[In the unusual situation that the person asking the question knew you were seeing more than one doctor, you would put the apostrophe after the plural form: doctors'].
However, it's quite standard to use "with" instead of "at". In this case, the reference is to the person rather than the location, so there's no possessive. You would write:
How did it go with the doctor?
This would also be the more appropriate usage if the doctor visited you rather than you going to them. The plural would also be more common in this situation, where a series of different doctors/surgeons had seen you (for example at your hospital bed):
How did it go with the doctors?
In spoken English
The difficulty when you hear the word "doctors" is that it might not be apparent whether the speaker means the possessive (doctor's), the plural (doctors) or the possessive plural (doctors'). Fluent speakers learn from experience to use a different construction if the meaning wouldn't be clear from the context - hence we would probably choose "with" if there were multiple doctors. Nonetheless, ambiguity between plural and possessive is not uncommon, and offers a rich vein for comedians and sitcoms.
edited Nov 28 '18 at 11:13
J.R.♦
99.9k8129247
99.9k8129247
answered Nov 28 '18 at 1:49
ChappoChappo
3241411
3241411
2
I'd note that one does omit the article when using a proper noun, in most circumstances: "How did it go at Patrick's?"
– Patrick Stevens
Nov 28 '18 at 8:05
When I saw the title of the question I was also tempted to point out that in some Northern English dialects it is common to omit the article in certain circumstances (and perhaps lengthen the stop of the "t" in "at" to compensate). These sorts of dialects might be indicated in writing as "How did it go at t'doctor's?" but the extra "t" is rarely pronounced individually.
– Muzer
Nov 28 '18 at 11:08
One of the cases in which the definite article is not used, is when speaking of some kind of formal body, such as the annual conference of a political party. You will often hear: 'how did it go at conference'. That usage is not restricted to any particular dialect. Personally I dislike it, but who am I?
– JeremyC
Nov 28 '18 at 23:19
1
@JeremyC I suspect that in most cases this would be because it's used as a proper noun - "how did it go at Conference".
– Chappo
Nov 28 '18 at 23:25
add a comment |
2
I'd note that one does omit the article when using a proper noun, in most circumstances: "How did it go at Patrick's?"
– Patrick Stevens
Nov 28 '18 at 8:05
When I saw the title of the question I was also tempted to point out that in some Northern English dialects it is common to omit the article in certain circumstances (and perhaps lengthen the stop of the "t" in "at" to compensate). These sorts of dialects might be indicated in writing as "How did it go at t'doctor's?" but the extra "t" is rarely pronounced individually.
– Muzer
Nov 28 '18 at 11:08
One of the cases in which the definite article is not used, is when speaking of some kind of formal body, such as the annual conference of a political party. You will often hear: 'how did it go at conference'. That usage is not restricted to any particular dialect. Personally I dislike it, but who am I?
– JeremyC
Nov 28 '18 at 23:19
1
@JeremyC I suspect that in most cases this would be because it's used as a proper noun - "how did it go at Conference".
– Chappo
Nov 28 '18 at 23:25
2
2
I'd note that one does omit the article when using a proper noun, in most circumstances: "How did it go at Patrick's?"
– Patrick Stevens
Nov 28 '18 at 8:05
I'd note that one does omit the article when using a proper noun, in most circumstances: "How did it go at Patrick's?"
– Patrick Stevens
Nov 28 '18 at 8:05
When I saw the title of the question I was also tempted to point out that in some Northern English dialects it is common to omit the article in certain circumstances (and perhaps lengthen the stop of the "t" in "at" to compensate). These sorts of dialects might be indicated in writing as "How did it go at t'doctor's?" but the extra "t" is rarely pronounced individually.
– Muzer
Nov 28 '18 at 11:08
When I saw the title of the question I was also tempted to point out that in some Northern English dialects it is common to omit the article in certain circumstances (and perhaps lengthen the stop of the "t" in "at" to compensate). These sorts of dialects might be indicated in writing as "How did it go at t'doctor's?" but the extra "t" is rarely pronounced individually.
– Muzer
Nov 28 '18 at 11:08
One of the cases in which the definite article is not used, is when speaking of some kind of formal body, such as the annual conference of a political party. You will often hear: 'how did it go at conference'. That usage is not restricted to any particular dialect. Personally I dislike it, but who am I?
– JeremyC
Nov 28 '18 at 23:19
One of the cases in which the definite article is not used, is when speaking of some kind of formal body, such as the annual conference of a political party. You will often hear: 'how did it go at conference'. That usage is not restricted to any particular dialect. Personally I dislike it, but who am I?
– JeremyC
Nov 28 '18 at 23:19
1
1
@JeremyC I suspect that in most cases this would be because it's used as a proper noun - "how did it go at Conference".
– Chappo
Nov 28 '18 at 23:25
@JeremyC I suspect that in most cases this would be because it's used as a proper noun - "how did it go at Conference".
– Chappo
Nov 28 '18 at 23:25
add a comment |
The expression is not correct. It would properly be "How did it go at the doctor's." You need the 'the' preceding 'doctor's' or else which doctor they went to is ambiguous. It is necessary to say 'doctor's' rather than 'doctors' because the implied object is 'the doctor's office,' with office being omitted.
2
Although, to be complete, we should point out that some nouns don't require an article: How did it go at work? How did it go at school? How did it go in court?
– J.R.♦
Nov 28 '18 at 11:11
add a comment |
The expression is not correct. It would properly be "How did it go at the doctor's." You need the 'the' preceding 'doctor's' or else which doctor they went to is ambiguous. It is necessary to say 'doctor's' rather than 'doctors' because the implied object is 'the doctor's office,' with office being omitted.
2
Although, to be complete, we should point out that some nouns don't require an article: How did it go at work? How did it go at school? How did it go in court?
– J.R.♦
Nov 28 '18 at 11:11
add a comment |
The expression is not correct. It would properly be "How did it go at the doctor's." You need the 'the' preceding 'doctor's' or else which doctor they went to is ambiguous. It is necessary to say 'doctor's' rather than 'doctors' because the implied object is 'the doctor's office,' with office being omitted.
The expression is not correct. It would properly be "How did it go at the doctor's." You need the 'the' preceding 'doctor's' or else which doctor they went to is ambiguous. It is necessary to say 'doctor's' rather than 'doctors' because the implied object is 'the doctor's office,' with office being omitted.
answered Nov 28 '18 at 1:21
eenbeetjeeenbeetje
1363
1363
2
Although, to be complete, we should point out that some nouns don't require an article: How did it go at work? How did it go at school? How did it go in court?
– J.R.♦
Nov 28 '18 at 11:11
add a comment |
2
Although, to be complete, we should point out that some nouns don't require an article: How did it go at work? How did it go at school? How did it go in court?
– J.R.♦
Nov 28 '18 at 11:11
2
2
Although, to be complete, we should point out that some nouns don't require an article: How did it go at work? How did it go at school? How did it go in court?
– J.R.♦
Nov 28 '18 at 11:11
Although, to be complete, we should point out that some nouns don't require an article: How did it go at work? How did it go at school? How did it go in court?
– J.R.♦
Nov 28 '18 at 11:11
add a comment |
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"How did it go" is a common, idiomatic way of asking about the outcome of an event. "How did it go at the doctor's/at school/at the interview, etc." You could also ask, "How did the doctor's visit go?"
– WS2
Nov 27 '18 at 23:31
How did it go at the doctor's?
– Anita May
Nov 28 '18 at 1:20