We went to the aid of the stricken boat.
Does it mean "We come to rescue the stricken boat"?
I could not understand what is the "stricken boat" and "aid of" as I know it is an action but why it has "the" before aid? An act?
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1Where did you take this sentence? What are your thoughts concerning its meaning? Which part or parts are the hardest to understand?– CowperKettleCommented Dec 31, 2015 at 12:27
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This is in the Oxford Advanced's Learner Dictionary. Example of the word "stricken"– vietphiCommented Dec 31, 2015 at 12:28
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Basically, I could not understand what is the "stricken boat" and "aid of" as I know it is an action but why it has "the" before aid? An act?– vietphiCommented Dec 31, 2015 at 12:31
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Aid is both a verb and noun. In We went to aid the stricken boat it is a verb. In the dictionary's sentence, it is a noun– GoDucksCommented Dec 31, 2015 at 13:21
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But Does the meaning change?– vietphiCommented Dec 31, 2015 at 14:01
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1 Answer
It means they went to offer help to a vessel that was incapacitated and could not function properly. The implication is there was potential danger to the passengers.
The is used to make aid a noun i.e. help vs the help
She walked with the aid of crutches.
She walked aided by crutches.She walked with the help of crutches.
She was helped by crutches.
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So the "stricken boat" is a "vessel that was incapacitated and could not function properly"?– vietphiCommented Dec 31, 2015 at 12:34
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Yes, could be from any number of reasons. It does not necessarily mean the boat was struck by something– PeterCommented Dec 31, 2015 at 12:36
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But why the sentence has "the" instead of "we went to aid the stricken boat"– vietphiCommented Dec 31, 2015 at 12:39
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I have added examples, the makes aid a noun which is then the object of the prepositional phrase of the stricken boat.– PeterCommented Dec 31, 2015 at 14:47