tripping over her laces

[bopeng]

Here is a sentence 'When Pippa ran she kept tripping over her laces.'

What exactly does 'over' here mean?

Apparently it doesn't look like its most commonly used meaning 'above' , because you can't imagine a scene that a girl is dancing (tripping) unsteadily 'above' her shoelaces like a skateboard or something.

Another closer definition is 'across (an obstacle)', for example 'Policemen jumped over the wall...', here 'over' means you has solved a problem, like you're trying to avoid being annoyed by your shoelaces.
'
Or another closer idea is 'past (a difficult situation)', for instance 'It took her ages to get over he illness'. Here 'over' means you keep trying to deal with your difficulty - shoelaces, which seems reasonable too.

But i'm still not satisfied with 'across or past', until i found this relevant answer just from wordreference too, here is the original post trip over vs. trip on.

Lexiphile just says 'Generally, tripped on just says where the trip occurred. You can trip on the step without the step being in any way defective. Tripped over indicates exactly what caused the trip. The cable was where the tripper didn't expect it to be.'

That means 'on' standing for 'where', and 'over' referring to 'WHY (what caused...)', that means 'over' is a reason!

To verify my assumption, i reviewed the Cambridge dictionary again, and i found this answer 'because of or concerning sth', which is just what i'm looking for!

So can i consider 'over' just 'because of' when it comes to 'trip over something'?

​

 

[Erik000]

Hmm. Not sure I understand saying “because of” in this context.

Actually, for majority of English speakers, I think that saying “tripping over my (shoe) laces” does mean “above”… in a sense, because you are standing and you are physically TALLER than your feet, or ABOVE your feet, if that makes sense. So yes, you’re right about “jumping over a wall” because you’re ABOVE the wall. But we say “I’m tripping over my shoelaces” just the same. Because you’re technically over/above your shoes.

 

[bopeng]

Hmm. Not sure I understand saying “because of” in this context.

Actually, for majority of English speakers, I think that saying “tripping over my (shoe) laces” does mean “above”… in a sense, because you are standing and you are physically TALLER than your feet, or ABOVE your feet, if that makes sense. So yes, you’re right about “jumping over a wall” because you’re ABOVE the wall. But we say “I’m tripping over my shoelaces” just the same. Because you’re technically over/above your shoes.

Honestly, in this way I would consider it a view that I'm tripping over (above) the bottom, instead of laces, of my shoes.

Or exactly it should be 'on' in this situation, because the shoes are closely connected to your feet.

 

[Erik000]

Here is a sentence 'When Pippa ran she kept tripping over her laces.'

What exactly does 'over' here mean?

Apparently it doesn't look like its most commonly used meaning 'above' , because you can't imagine a scene that a girl is dancing (tripping) unsteadily 'above' her shoelaces like a skateboard or something.

Another closer definition is 'across (an obstacle)', for example 'Policemen jumped over the wall...', here 'over' means you has solved a problem, like you're trying to avoid being annoyed by your shoelaces.
'
Or another closer idea is 'past (a difficult situation)', for instance 'It took her ages to get over he illness'. Here 'over' means you keep trying to deal with your difficulty - shoelaces, which seems reasonable too.

But i'm still not satisfied with 'across or past', until i found this relevant answer just from wordreference too, here is the original post trip over vs. trip on.

Lexiphile just says 'Generally, tripped on just says where the trip occurred. You can trip on the step without the step being in any way defective. Tripped over indicates exactly what caused the trip. The cable was where the tripper didn't expect it to be.'

That means 'on' standing for 'where', and 'over' referring to 'WHY (what caused...)', that means 'over' is a reason!

To verify my assumption, i reviewed the Cambridge dictionary again, and i found this answer 'because of or concerning sth', which is just what i'm looking for!

So can i consider 'over' just 'because of' when it comes to 'trip over something'?

​

Another use of “over” in English is, of course, “to pass” or being “past” (done) something, usually a feeling, a sickness or something you’re being forced to do. “I’m so over work today,” meaning you’re tired of work today; You’re over it, you’re ABOVE it, maybe because you feel you deserve better than what you’re experiencing at that time! Haha.

And like the example you gave— “getting over her illness”—that’s another way of interpreting getting “above” the sickness, or “rising above” into normal health again.

 

[Erik000]

Honestly, in this way i would consider it a view that i'm tripping over (above) the bottom, instead of laces, of my shoes.

Or exactly it should be 'on' in this situation, because the shoes are closely connected to your feet.

I can see your point, for sure! There are some weird little quirks to English, as with any language, I suppose… if anything, the very phrase of “I’m tripping over my laces” isn’t technically correct—but people say it because it’s “easier” I guess. A lot of English in America is simplified because it’s faster or easier, and it’s just been that way forever.

Another one, “I’m tripping over my own feet”—this is a phrase English speakers use to describe when you are constantly making mistakes, making errors, not finding the right direction in life, a.k.a. tripping over your own feet.

 

[Erik000]

I think the “better” way to say this sentence “When Pippa ran she kept tripping over her laces” would (technically) look something like, “Pippa’s untied laces kept causing her to trip when she ran,” or something. Then you can omit the word “over” altogether! Haha!

 

[bopeng]

I can see your point, for sure! There are some weird little quirks to English, as with any language, I suppose… if anything, the very phrase of “I’m tripping over my laces” isn’t technically correct—but people say it because it’s “easier” I guess. A lot of English in America is simplified because it’s faster or easier, and it’s just been that way forever.

Another one, “I’m tripping over my own feet”—this is a phrase English speakers use to describe when you are constantly making mistakes, making errors, not finding the right direction in life, a.k.a. tripping over your own feet.

'Because of' also makes sens when it comes to your example 'trip over my own feet'.

You are stumbling because you can't walk steadily by foot (if you just have recovered from a serious illness and you're still weak).

It may help if you check this post trip over vs. trip on

 

[bopeng]

I think the “better” way to say this sentence “When Pippa ran she kept tripping over her laces” would (technically) look something like, “Pippa’s untied laces kept causing her to trip when she ran,” or something. Then you can omit the word “over” altogether! Haha!

Nope, I won't omit it, since it is there, I'm wondering why it has existed in that way for a while and would possibly be there forever, there should have been a reason, which is 'because of', my best answer so far.

 

[Glasguensis]

It does not mean « because of ». We use over to introduce an object which causes us to trip: he tripped over an uneven tile, he tripped over a cable lying across the ground, he tripped over Fred’s legs. But it’s the fact that the tripping occurs when passing above the object in question which provokes the « over », not the fact that it’s the reason.

Your sentence is perfectly good and appropriate but is not identical in meaning

 

[bopeng]

It does not mean « because of ». We use over to introduce an object which causes us to trip: he tripped over an uneven tile, he tripped over a cable lying across the ground, he tripped over Fred’s legs. But it’s the fact that the tripping occurs when passing above the object in question which provokes the « over », not the fact that it’s the reason.

Your sentence is perfectly good and appropriate but is not identical in meaning

To be honest I don't think so, if it's the fact, then 'on' is enough, there isn't the reason for 'over' to exist.

Because when you trip, your feet are just on (or probably 'in') the obstacles, without leaving a space over (above) them.

 

[Glasguensis]

To be honest i don't think so, if it's the fact, then 'on' is enough, there isn't the reason for 'over' to exist.

English is not logical. We frequently have more than one word we can use.

 

[Andygc]

It's not complicated and requires no logical analysis. In English we trip "over" things - tree roots, electrical cables, kerbstones, other people's feet, our grandchildren's toys, shoelaces, and many other things. We don't often trip "on" them, although sometimes we might. And if we don't know what we tripped over or on, we might well just say "When Pippa ran she kept tripping over" where "trip over" is a phrasal verb.

 

[Wordy McWordface]

It's not complicated and requires no logical analysis. In English we trip "over" things - tree roots, electrical cables, kerbstones, other people's feet, our grandchildren's toys, shoelaces, and many other things.

We can also fall over things and stumble over things. This use of over is both common and consistent.

 

[bopeng]

It's not complicated and requires no logical analysis. In English we trip "over" things - tree roots, electrical cables, kerbstones, other people's feet, our grandchildren's toys, shoelaces, and many other things. We don't often trip "on" them, although sometimes we might. And if we don't know what we tripped over or on, we might well just say "When Pippa ran she kept tripping over" where "trip over" is a phrasal verb.

Well these examples explain only 'how', rather than 'why'.

You use 'over' frequently with 'trip', but you don't want to trouble finding why it is 'over', instead of 'in', or 'at', or other prepositions.

That's why i'm here, not just only using it, but looking for the reason behind them, if there is.

 

[bopeng]

We can also fall over things and stumble over things. This use of over is both common and consistent.

It doesn't explain why it is 'over' either, no matter it is 'trip over' or 'fall over' or 'stumble over' ('trip', 'fall' or 'stumble' all mean the same fact that you lose your balance), so the key is the preposition 'over', instead of its verb.

 

[Glasguensis]

We are answering you in terms of what we as native speakers understand by it, and we’re all telling you that we don’t understand it to be related to cause. If you are interested in the etymology, please ask your question in the Etymology and History of Languages forum.

 

[Andygc]

but you don't want to trouble finding why it is 'over'

Who can I ask? The first user is long dead and spoke a version of English that is unintelligible to most modern English speakers.

 

[bopeng]

Who can I ask? The first user is long dead and spoke a version of English that is unintelligible to most modern English speakers.

That you don't ask doesn't mean it doesn't necessarily have the reason.

And you're free to ask if you're interested or just leave it alone.

 

[Andygc]

That you don't ask doesn't mean it doesn't necessarily have the reason.

And you're free to ask if you're interested or just leave it alone.

I do not understand the point that you are trying to make. You might as well ask "Why do English speakers say 'the plate is on the table' and not 'the plate is over the table'?", or "Why is a pig called a 'pig'?"

 

[Wordy McWordface]

"Why is a pig called a 'pig'?"

That's an easy one. It's called a pig because it is a pig. 🐷

 

[Edinburgher]

Honestly, in this way i would consider it a view that i'm tripping over (above) the bottom, instead of laces, of my shoes.

Or exactly it should be 'on' in this situation, because the shoes are closely connected to your feet.

I agree with everyone else who has said that the choice of preposition "over" has nothing to do with causality; we use that word because it is the word we habitually use with tripping over obstacles. We do this despite the fact that laces are not an obstacle that you can really physically trip over.

Although it happens to be true that here the laces are the cause of the tripping, that is not the reason why we use "over".

What is happening here is that (assuming "laces" means shoelaces (*)) her right shoe steps on the undone lace of the left shoe (or the other way round), so that as she moves her left foot forward, its motion is arrested by the lace in exactly the same way as if her left shoe had hit an obstruction on the ground.

What is the source of your sentence? I'm a bit surprised by "when she ran", because your feet are generally so far apart when running that it should be impossible to step on the laces of the other shoe.

(*) Another possibility is that "laces" could mean decorative lace along the bottom of a skirt or dress that is too long.

 

[Keith Bradford]

English is a physical language: when we use a preposition like "over" it conveys a situation which is easier to draw than to explain. "Over" means this:

Now, you can place any object beneath that arrow. For President Biden last week it was a sandbag that he tripped over. For Pippa it was a shoelace (because it had got caught on something – probably her other shoe). The arrow shows the movement of the person; it has nothing to do with causality. The sentence "'When Pippa ran she kept jumping over walls' has identical structure and explains nothing about the cause of her jumping.

 

[bopeng]

I agree with everyone else who has said that the choice of preposition "over" has nothing to do with causality; we use that word because it is the word we habitually use with tripping over obstacles. We do this despite the fact that laces are not an obstacle that you can really physically trip over.

Although it happens to be true that here the laces are the cause of the tripping, that is not the reason why we use "over".

What is happening here is that (assuming "laces" means shoelaces (*)) her right shoe steps on the undone lace of the left shoe (or the other way round), so that as she moves her left foot forward, its motion is arrested by the lace in exactly the same way as if her left shoe had hit an obstruction on the ground.

What is the source of your sentence? I'm a bit surprised by "when she ran", because your feet are generally so far apart when running that it should be impossible to step on the laces of the other shoe.

(*) Another possibility is that "laces" could mean decorative lace along the bottom of a skirt or dress that is too long.

Hi Edin, nice talking with you.

The sentence is from a book called 'The Wrong Letter'. 'Laces' here are just shoelaces.

What i'm confused with are only 3 options: 1, across, 2, past, 3, because of (or concerning)

Let's review all three sentences:

1, It's 'across', like 'Policemen jumped over the wall', the shoelaces work like the wall, but i don't prefer this choice, because the wall is high, and you don't have the action like climbing or any difficulty to pass them when you walk or run across shoelaces, you just accidentally are hampered BY shoelaces, that means 'across' here works like 'above'.

2, It's 'past', like 'it took her ages to get over her illness', which is better than the first example, because shoelaces look like a problem, but still there is a little difference between these 2 examples, because 'over (get over)' here is an active action, that means you are willing or trying to solve this problem, rather than you're accidentally and passively obstructed by shoelaces.

3, That is why i leave the reason to the the third option, 'because of', as when you trip over something, that looks like you're hindered by something and lose the balance. And 'by' here is just the REASON that you stumble. That's why i prefer the choice 'because of'.

 

[Glasguensis]

I am closing this thread. This thread is about modern English: how it is used and understood by speakers of modern English. If you are interested in how prepositions came to be associated with different verbs centuries ago then you should start a thread in Etymology and History of Languages.