Should We Think 'Outside' or 'Outside of' the Box?
2022-02-12
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1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question about the adverb "outside" from Philip in China.
2Question:
3Hi,
4Could you please tell me the difference between outside of and outside? ... Please tell me which is better,
5We should think outside the box.
6We should think outside of the box.
7Dear Philip,
8Thank you for writing to us.
9"Outside" can have one of four uses in English, as a noun, adjective, adverb, or preposition.
10It is not surprising that you found it hard to understand.
11Your question brings up an interesting dispute between grammar experts in the United States and Britain.
12The Oxford English Dictionary says that "outside" in phrases like "outside of the box" is an adverb.
13It changes the meaning of the verb, in this case, "think."
14Together with the preposition "of" it becomes a two-word preposition.
15Here are other examples of such two-word prepositions:
16A baby bird flew out of the nest.
17He was never close to his sister.
18Your example uses "outside of" or "outside" to talk about the space the subject occupies.
19You can use either "outside" alone or with "of" in that sense.
20There is another use where "outside of" means "apart from" or "besides." Here are examples of that use:
21Outside of their later songs, I do not enjoy the Beatles' music.
22I cannot think of a time outside of high school when I wore a tie.
23The Merriam-Webster Learners Dictionary says "outside of" is a North American use.
24Another British dictionary, the online Oxford Dictionaries also sees the use of "outside of" to talk about location as "chiefly North American."
25But its use in the "apart from" sense is seen as normal for British and American English.
26So in British English, you would usually hear,
27Think outside the box.
28And in American English, you might hear it that way or
29Think outside of the box.
30What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
31And that's Ask a Teacher.
32I'm Jill Robbins.
1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question about the adverb "outside" from Philip in China. 2Question: 3Hi, 4Could you please tell me the difference between outside of and outside? ... Please tell me which is better, 5We should think outside the box. 6We should think outside of the box. 7Philip, China. 8Answer: 9Dear Philip, 10Thank you for writing to us. "Outside" can have one of four uses in English, as a noun, adjective, adverb, or preposition. It is not surprising that you found it hard to understand. Your question brings up an interesting dispute between grammar experts in the United States and Britain. The Oxford English Dictionary says that "outside" in phrases like "outside of the box" is an adverb. It changes the meaning of the verb, in this case, "think." Together with the preposition "of" it becomes a two-word preposition. Here are other examples of such two-word prepositions: 11A baby bird flew out of the nest. 12He was never close to his sister. 13Your example uses "outside of" or "outside" to talk about the space the subject occupies. You can use either "outside" alone or with "of" in that sense. There is another use where "outside of" means "apart from" or "besides." Here are examples of that use: 14Outside of their later songs, I do not enjoy the Beatles' music. 15I cannot think of a time outside of high school when I wore a tie. 16The Merriam-Webster Learners Dictionary says "outside of" is a North American use. Another British dictionary, the online Oxford Dictionaries also sees the use of "outside of" to talk about location as "chiefly North American." But its use in the "apart from" sense is seen as normal for British and American English. 17So in British English, you would usually hear, 18Think outside the box. 19And in American English, you might hear it that way or 20Think outside of the box. 21What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com 22And that's Ask a Teacher. 23I'm Jill Robbins. 24Dr. Jill Robbins wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 25____________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27puzzle - v. to be difficult for (someone) to understand 28location -n. a place or position 29think outside the box - (expression) If you think outside the box, your thoughts are not limited or controlled by rules or tradition, and you have ideas that are creative and unusual. 30Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.