Question Details	Asked By	Asked On
On someone's end - on someone's part	riccioni	06/02/04
Dear ESL Experts: Do "on someone’s part" and "on someone’s end" have the same meaning? (For example, should I say "The Job Center is not down. Maybe the problem is on your end. Try these links." or "The Job Center is not down. Maybe the problem is on your part. Try these links"?) If not, when do you use the first and when do you use the second? Would you please give me some examples? Any alternatives? Are the above phrases used in formal situations? If so, what do you usually say in everyday speech/conversation? Again, many, many thanks for your kind help. Regards, Paolo
Clarification/Follow-up by riccioni on 06/03/04 3:43 am: Dear Ali: Thank you very much for your prompt response. In the example "My husband does a lot on his part to keep our marriage peaceful and happy. We both do our part[s?], but I credit him with doing more than his share when I am troubled," why is the "s" between [] followed by the question mark? Again, many, many thanks for your kind help. Regards, Paolo
Answered By		Answered On
AliMcJ		06/02/04
"on your end" is like "on your side" -- it seems to be used more in telephone conversations and now on internet -- i.e. in communications. It may have come from "on your end of the line (phone line, cable). It can also be used in reference to buyer-seller written communications. "on your part" refers more to a designated portion of shared work, in business or relationships. More like "in your portion of the matter." My husband does a lot on his part to keep our marriage peaceful and happy. We both do our part[s?], but I credit him with doing more than his share when I am troubled. The beleaguered American military personnel in Iraw have been doing more than their fair share of trying to keep the peace. The American military has certainly been doing its part to not only restore services but improve them. No one knows on whose part the responsibility for improvement and peace-keeping lie. All the military expected to do was to restore damages after a regime change, and they have been faced with continuous undermining of their efforts on the part of the terrorists, insurgents, the American mainstream media, and even the US Army Reserve idiots running wild in Abu Ghiraib prison. The expression for that sort of frustratingly slow progress is: "One step forward and ten steps back." Therefore, in answer to your question, the two are not interchangeable and "on your end" would be correct, as it is a "communications line" situation. These expressions are commonly used both written and spoken.

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