I have heard about the following sentence: He is concerned ___ the plot.
What will be the suitable preposition in the blank?
My assumption: in.
1 Answer
There are two suitable prepositions, about and with. Unfortunately, in would not be appropriate.
From the Oxford Dictionary:
about (preposition): 1. On the subject of; concerning.
I was thinking about you.
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/about
with (preposition): 7. In relation to.
My father will be angry with me.
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1In one of its usages, concern is a synyonym for involve, and in that case it wouldn't be incorrect to use in. If I heard "He was concerned in the plot," I would take it to mean that there was some part of the plot that involved him or was about him. Jan 24, 2018 at 9:13
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@joiedevivre I think you could say concerned for, but I've never heard anyone say concerned in, at least here in California.– RingoJan 24, 2018 at 17:13
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concerned for wouldn't mean the same thing at all. The plot concerned a tree-like being named Groot, can only be rendered in passive voice with the same meaning using the preposition in. Groot was concerned in the plot. All other prepositions you've proposed would make it sound like Groot was worried about the plot, not involved in it. This usage is more common in participle phrases, though: the characters concerned in the plot, the parties concerned in the case of Smith v. Jones, the contractors concerned in the construction project. Jan 24, 2018 at 17:57
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I wasn't suggesting concerned for would mean the same -- only that it fit OK into the sentence the OP posted. And now that you mention "in" in those examples, I see that now, yes.– RingoJan 24, 2018 at 18:00
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1You could be right. Bad quiz question, though, with so many potential right answers. :) Jan 24, 2018 at 19:22