For instance:
New reports over the Lisa murder.
In text above, when I'd use over instead about?
Are there some diference of usage between in those two words in the example text above? If so, what? Could you explain me in detail?
-
1Reports are more frequently ON, OF and ABOUT. OVER is unusual but signifies exactly the same as ON and ABOUT. OF is more often used to introduce a first report. We are getting reports OF an incident at the city hall.– Ronald SoleCommented Oct 22, 2022 at 22:58
-
Why do you think "over" can mean "about"? The closest example I can think of is "crying over spilled milk", but I don't know if it applies to any verb other than "cry"– gotube ♦Commented Oct 23, 2022 at 2:28
-
2@gotube I imagine the use of "cry over" meaning "mourn for" comes from literally crying over a dead person, and has become an idiom of its own now– EstherCommented Oct 23, 2022 at 4:24
-
It looks like a calque from Spanish to me and I would avoid it.– mdeweyCommented Oct 23, 2022 at 12:34
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
Yes, over and about can be used interchangeably in your context.
Over preposition (connected with):
(referring to a cause of interest, worry, discussion, etc.) connected with or about:
About (Cambridge Dictionary)::
About preposition (connected with):
on the subject of, or connected with:
In your example:
New reports over/about the Lisa murder
Both are grammatically correct and have the same meaning.
There are also other words that can be followed by over and about without changing their meaning, for instance:
Alan and Bob kept arguing over the story.
Alan and Bob kept arguing about the story.
Carlos had some problems over his health.
Carlos had some problems about his health.
We should spend some time to talk over your test result.
We should spend some time to talk about your test result.
-
"Carlos had some problems over his health" sounds very strange to this US English speaker. Can you find some source that supports your claim? Also, I strongly disagree that "new reports over X" is correct or fluent.– stangdonCommented Oct 23, 2022 at 13:46
-
-
-
@stangdon So why do you think that I'm wrong? Can you find some source that supports your claim? Commented Oct 24, 2022 at 9:02
-
@ITTSUTFSA I am a highly educated native speaker, and that's my opinion.– stangdonCommented Oct 24, 2022 at 18:54