Is this sentence grammatically correct? “Will be off the work at...!” Something like:
“(Dave) will be off the work at (5 o’clock)”
Does this sentence need a subject?
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1It's not a syntactically valid sentence. What is it supposed to mean? There are contexts where you could say something like He will be off the work at 5 o'clock, but that would be very rare compared to ...will be off work... (without the article, which would normally convey a slightly different meaning anyway).– FumbleFingersDec 23, 2018 at 19:05
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Something like: “(Dave) will be off the work at (5 o’clock)?”– rensDec 23, 2018 at 19:08
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oic - just lose the article, then. In many contexts, people also don't bother with the word work - I'm meeting Dave later this afternoon. He'll be off at 5, so I'll catch him as he leaves the office.– FumbleFingersDec 23, 2018 at 19:13
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So “(what time you) will be off the work at....?” is worng in “all” context? It does not make any sense!?– rensDec 23, 2018 at 19:25
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1From your point of view as an early learner, you might as well just assume you should never include the article before work in contexts like I start work at 9, I finish work at 5, I go to work on a bus, I left work early yesterday,... It does occur in rather different contexts, such as This book is the work of the Devil, The builder said the work will take several weeks,.... but you can learn those later.– FumbleFingersDec 23, 2018 at 19:41
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1 Answer
Do not use the definite article. The sentence should be:
Dave will be off work at 5 o'clock.
Only use "the work" when referring to some specific task or assignment, not when referring to someone's occupation in general. As such, "off the work" meaning "no longer working" will almost never be correct.
