bought a book to read on the train / bought a book to read it on the train

[optimistic pessimist]

Dear all,

On my way to the station, I dropped in at a bookstore and bought a Harry Potter book to read it on the train.

In the sentence above, is "it" necessary? Or is "bought a Harry Potter book to read on the train" right?

Thank you!

OP

 

[emsr2d2]

No. It should be "I bought a Harry Potter book to read on the train." To use "it", it would have to be split up as "I bought a Harry Potter book. I bought it to read on the train" or "I bought a Harry Potter book. I planned to read it on the train."

 

[MikeNewYork]

I agree with ems. I don't find "I dropped in a bookstore" to be natural. Is it BrE?

 

[emsr2d2]

No, I missed that. In BrE, it would be "I dropped in to a bookstore". I would accept "I dropped by a bookstore" too but it's not as common.

 

[Eckaslike]

I agree with ems. I don't find "I dropped in a bookstore" to be natural. Is it BrE?

That's funny. I was going to answer this post and leave "I dropped in a bookstore" alone, because I thought it was possibly AmE!

 

[Mrfatso]

Not A Teacher

In BrE "I dropped in to a bookshop" would be more common than "I dropped in to a bookstore".

 

[emsr2d2]

Good point. I've got so used to AmE terminology on this forum and elsewhere that I sometimes miss it. It is, indeed, "bookshop" in BrE. In addition, I note that the original post now says "I dropped in at a bookstore". That post has been edited so I don't know if the "at" has been added or if it was there all along and we missed it. The point remains the same though - "dropped in "to" is still most natural in BrE.

 

[MikeNewYork]

The "at" was not there in the original version. It was "dropped in a bookstore".

 

[emsr2d2]

Optimistic pessimist, please don't edit a post after it has received responses. It gets very confusing.

 

[optimistic pessimist]

I'm really sorry for confusing everyone.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think 'bought something to read it' could be used in 'I bought a Harry Potter e-book and a tablet to read it'.

 

[MikeNewYork]

That is a completely different context for "read it".

 

[emsr2d2]

And I would word that as "I bought a Harry Potter e-book and then had to buy a Kindle to read it on".