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tracy@_@ said
Happy New Year! I'd like to know which one is more commonly used in the U.S. ---Would you go somewhere "on foot" or "by foot"
If someone took an airplane 300 miles, then walked the five miles from the airport, he arrived on foot, but he came by plane. If he walked most of the way, thumbing a few rides along the way, he came on foot.
Subject to change according to the phase of the moon, of course. Nobody's likely to jump down your throat and call you a liar for using the wrong phrase.
Glenn said: I use them both, with no good reason for one over the other. I do the same with the pronunciation of either. Maybe it’s what sounds better to me in the phonetic context.
I get the "phonetic context" reason. But do you suppose it has anything to do with tense? I'd tend to describe an ongoing or immediate action as "on foot." Example: This terrain is harder than I expected for travel on foot.
Whereas, example in the past: Yes, I came by foot to this holy place.
At least I think that's the way I tend to use the two forms. And for the record: grew up in Wisconsin, matriculated to AZ in 78.
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