Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[wanderer]

I don't really know what the difference is between fall short on and fall short of.

I saw 2 sentences as below:

1.Kelly's blind date fell short of her expectations.

Can I say "Kelly's blind date fell short on her expectations."

2.Tokyo always falls short on the big issues.

What does this sentence mean?
Can I use "of" instead of "on" here?

Thanks a lot.

[lotus]

Hi wanderer,

No, you cannot mix the two.

I think of it this way:

When you fall short of something, you did not quite achieve a goal or expectation.
When you fall short on something, you did not achieve a goal or expectation.

A slight difference to be sure, but an important one. The first insinuates that you did not quite get there. The second insinuates you definitely did not get there.

"Fell short of" means "did not quite fulfill."
"Fell short on" means "did not fulfill."

1.Kelly's blind date fell short of her expectations.
Kelly's blind date did not quite fulfill her expectations.

2.Tokyo always falls short on the big issues.
Tokyo always do not fulfill on the big issues.

You feel yearning for fulfillment in number one.
You feel resigned to non-fulfillment in number two.


--lotus