


Can I replace aboard with onboard without change of meaning?

1 2 3
Comments  (Page 2) 
Yes, I stand corrected. It is "nota," not "note."
Hi Cj
Recently I saw the sentence "all ten people worked on board the ship" refereing to the fact they had worked aboard the ship in the past. Would the correct grammar be
" all ten people had worked aboard the ship" or is there a better way to express the thought? Appreciate your input!
'worked' is the simple past tense, and is usually used with a time expression, such as 'last year', 'when they were younger', etc. The simple past implies the action has commenced and terminated.

The past perfect tense 'had worked' refers to a past action prior to a previous past action. For example, 'He had finished his homework before he watched telly.' Both actions are in the past but the past perfect action occurred before the other began.

So, with your sentence, ' all ten people had worked aboard the ship', something needs to be added to let the reader/listener know to what this action is relative. Eg, 'All ten people had worked on board the ship before they got their qualifications.' (And from the previous excellent explanation I understand it should be 'on board' and not 'aboard'.) Hope this helps.
Excellent, thank you.
Can I say to a friend 'welcome aboard' while meeting him in my place after a long interval? Or, I should say 'welcome on board'?
Site Hint: Check out our list of pronunciation videos.
You can use either form.
You cannot use either. It is "welcome aboard". Aboard is an adverb.
AnonymousYou cannot use either. It is "welcome aboard". Aboard is an adverb.
'Welcome aboard' is the more common form, but 'Welcome on board' is acceptable in British English.

I should perhaps note that I am not only a teacher, but also somebody who has served in the Royal Navy, and is an RYA qualified Coastal Skipper.
Teachers: We supply a list of EFL job vacancies
Would it be proper to use
onboard in a sentence like this;
The ink flew onboard an Apollo spacecraft.
Show more