New answers tagged prepositions
1
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Is it fine to omit "from" from the provided sentence?
Even in published written contexts (and more so in normal conversational contexts, I'm sure), it's now far more common not to include the preposition in such contexts...
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2
votes
Is it fine to omit "from" from the provided sentence?
Work shifts are often referred to by the (bare) clock hours in the US:
He works 11 to 7. [a common night shift]
She works 9 to 5. [a common day shift for office workers]
It's as much a name for ...
- 133k
6
votes
Is it fine to omit "from" from the provided sentence?
Omitting commonly used words, including prepositions, where it does not affect the meaning for native speakers, or introduce ambiguity, is common in informal writing or casual speech (i.e. spoken ...
- 74.3k
1
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The correct preposition after the noun Punishment
OP has stated:
The preposition 'of' after the noun 'punishment' makes the following noun, the receiver of the punishment.
The phrase "punishment of" typically indicates the receiver of the ...
- 2,241
0
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'of' in 'What has become of him? and "It is kind of you to say so."
To complement the other answers, I would like to offer a different perspective. The word 'of' suggests that something originates in something else - so one could interpret 'What has become of him?' as ...
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1
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'of' in 'What has become of him? and "It is kind of you to say so."
Preposition of can have the function of attributing something to its object, such that these originals could be rephrased with the copula (or other linking verb) and a predicative complement:
It is ...
- 133k
4
votes
'of' in 'What has become of him? and "It is kind of you to say so."
The phrase is become of, not become for.
Become of someone/something is a
phrasal verb
as defined in Cambridge Dictionary:
If you ask what became of someone or something, you want to know where they ...
3
votes
Accepted
What does "Jealousy of someone" mean?
Of in the structure The X of Y can often be ambiguous in English, and will require a context to make clear what is meant. For example:
The jealousy of my sister reared its ugly head.
Without context ...
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2
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Accepted
For example/like/such as
Not without changing the wording. For example introduces a new sentence - You (subject) could take the stairs instead of the lift.
Like and such as need to be followed by a phrase identifying the ...
- 59.1k
0
votes
"The company receives millions of dollars in advertising revenue." — What specifically does "in" mean here?
OP's query:
"The company receives millions of dollars in advertising revenue." — What specifically does "in" mean here?
In this sentence the verb phrase**"receive in"** ...
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2
votes
Accepted
"The company receives millions of dollars in advertising revenue." — What specifically does "in" mean here?
We use "in" it seems to among other things restrict the scope of what comes just before so as to give more information on it:
The company receives millions of dollars in advertising revenue....
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5
votes
Accepted
This is where/what we have come to
There may be variations between dialects, but I feel confident in saying that most native speakers (certainly British English) would say "this is what we have come to", when said about ...
- 108k
2
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Can we say "on a dictionary" instead of "in a dictionary" when talking about an online dictionary?
You can say you found the word "on a dictionary website", but not "on a dictionary" unless you're talking about something physically on top of a book that happens to be a ...
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5
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Can we say "on a dictionary" instead of "in a dictionary" when talking about an online dictionary?
It doesn't matter whether the dictionary is online or not, the word is still in the dictionary.
The use of prepositions in English is complicated and often confusing, but a good rule is that something ...
- 41k
0
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replacing the prepostion til with to
Maybe, but it would sound very awkward.
till is an abbreviation for until. So the best thing to say would be:
There are 20 days until Christmas.
Other ways to say the same thing:
There are 20 days ...
- 8,730
0
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Can the three prepositions all be used with both fixed-lines and mobile phones?
There are two things at play here: (1) How the call is transmitted; (2) The device used to place the call.
In the U.S., we call a fixed line a landline or VOIP. This describes how the call is ...
- 8,730
3
votes
Accepted
I went to see him to/at his house
Seeing someone to someplace means to ensure that they get there. #1 means “I made sure he got to his house,” which I don’t think is what you intended. #2 means “I visited him at his house,” which is ...
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-1
votes
"In", "of", and "to" are prepositions that can follow change, but how do they differ in use?
In can be used when something happens quickly, like a sudden change in altitude. Of suggests that it happened over time, like a gradual change of altitude.
The rules are there to be broken though and ...
0
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Why is it 'a ticket _to_ the cinema' but 'a ticket _for_ a/the concert'?
In (South) Oz, I would say it tends more a ticket to 'a verb' and ticket for 'a noun'.
E.g. "Ticket to ride" vs "Ticket for a bus (or movie)".
But this is by mo means universal, ...
1
vote
Is "outside of" grammatical?
Yes, it's grammatically acceptable and pretty common. Though the rules of grammar might tell you that two prepositions are incorrect together, this really functions as a compound preposition. We use ...
- 108k
1
vote
Accepted
Which is correct: "as of today" or "from today" in the context of something coming into effect?
Please add the car to my insurance policy as of today.
From context, as of means from; the OP’s two versions hence mean the same.
For information, as of today has more than one meaning. Two of them ...
3
votes
Is "outside of" grammatical?
I add to what @Stuart F has commented.
Both outside and of are prepositions.
The resultant preposition outside of means outside in this context.
Google has a similar definition:
beyond the boundaries ...
0
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Why is there no article after 'by'?
'By chance' and 'By accident' are collocations. A collocation is a group of two or more words that are almost always put together to create a specific meaning. we use them the way they are created. It'...
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1
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Why is "on" the optimal preposition in "tilt on its axis"?
An axis is an imaginary line that runs through a celestial body.
A celestial body is a spheroid.
A line that runs through a spheroid can run through it at an angle, i.e. it is tilted. (not vertical ...
- 47.5k
3
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Why is "on" the optimal preposition in "tilt on its axis"?
In a late 14th century translation into Middle English from the Latin of De Proprietatibus Rerum by Bartholomew the Englishman, a scholar in the 12th century in Paris who is thought to have studied ...
- 133k
9
votes
Why is there no article after 'by'?
Some idioms and phrases with by take an article and some don't. You'll have to learn each, but it's not too difficult, because they are fairly common.
Examples:
by chance = accidentally
by mistake, ...
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6
votes
Why is "on" the optimal preposition in "tilt on its axis"?
It's often fairly meaningless to ask why English favours one preposition over others. Particularly in a context like this, where the usage chart...
...shows significant change over time. Until a ...
- 73.9k
1
vote
Preventive against / of?
There is no single "correct" choice of preposition for the cited context. Most common is of, but against, for, to, and from (and probably other prepositions) all occur, and are all perfectly ...
- 73.9k
5
votes
The meaning of "by" in "swear by God"
This is a standard expression in English. By has a wide range of meanings, and one of them is:
with the witness or sanction of
swear by all that is holy
So I swear by God that I will speak the truth ...
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1
vote
Accepted
Preventive against / of?
Edit
Preventive as a noun is common in medicine and pharmacy.
As a noun, preventive works with against and of, and both constructions are about equally common.
preventive against Malaria
preventive of ...
14
votes
Why is there no article after 'by'?
The preposition by is often used without a determiner. Here are some other examples:
done by mistake
travelled by car
made by hand
finished by autumn
working by night
It is often used with a ...
- 61.1k
0
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Why is there no article after 'by'?
The word "by" have a variety of meanings and use cases. In your examples, the "by" should be followed by a noun, just as indicated. The reason for this is probably because we are ...
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3
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Why is there no article after 'by'?
By chance is a phrase, as defined in Collins Dictionary sense B1:
Something that happens by chance was not planned by anyone.
He had met Mr Maude by chance.
By accident is an idiom, as defined in ...
0
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think of and about in my sentences
Prepositions can be tough because they often take on a slightly different meaning that doesn't follow any rules. You have to read and listen to how they are used and learn the nuances between them. I'...
- 8,730
1
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Prepositions used with tenses
The problem with this question is that you have a conflict between two time periods, "two days" and "by Monday". It only works if today is Saturday. No native English speaker ...
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0
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Would you say "don't step in or on that tiny pile of food (cooked rice with fish)"?
It’s not size or viscosity.
If you step “in” something, the something surrounds your foot. It has to be granular, liquid, or gel-like, for that to happen, and of sufficient quantity.
You step “in” ...
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