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Ethan Xu
Is the sentence "We will hire you an assistant" grammatically correct?
I met this sentence in a conversation from a podcast. The meaning is to hire an assistant to help the boss. But the sentence looks a little strange.
I have looked up several dictionaries and only found usage like "hire somebody". I didn't find any case like "hire you an assistant". Is this sentence incorrect?
Feb 13, 2020 2:52 PM
Answers · 4
1
Yes, it is grammatically OK. It means the same thing as “We will hire an assistant for you.” The prepositional phrase “for you” most commonly comes at the end of a sentence {i.e., after the object of the verb), but it can come directly after the verb. And when it does come directly after the verb, the “for” is usually omitted. Other examples: “I’ll draw you a picture” == “I’ll draw a picture for you.” “I’ll call you a taxi”== “I’ll call a taxi for you.”
February 13, 2020
Hi Ethan,
It's common to hear this structure, but it's better to say "We will hire an assistant for you."
February 13, 2020
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Ethan Xu
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English
Learning Language
English
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