Question
Updated on
24 Jan 2021
- Spanish (Spain)
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English (US)
Question about English (US)
What is the difference between On purpose and On accident and by accident ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
What is the difference between On purpose and On accident and by accident ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
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- English (US)
“I didn’t mean to throw it on purpose.” “I hit him by accident!” “It was on accident!” The traditional phrase is by accident. It means without intention or because of chance instead of effort or purpose.
On accident is a variation found almost exclusively inside the United States. It is grammatically on par with the phrase on purpose. One can either do something on purpose or on accident. Outside that particular comparison, this version is much less popular than by accident, with the latter being eight times more common.
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- Spanish (Spain)
- Spanish (Spain)
- English (US)
@domybarahona no they do not mean the same thing. On accident" (meaning "accidentally") does seem to be an unusual usage that frequently appears in opposition to the much more idiomatic "on purpose" (meaning "purposefully").
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- English (US)
@domybarahona so I reposted the answer I just had to add something but no problem
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