Prepositions are function words like "to", "over", "through", "in".
61
votes
12answers
5k views
When is it appropriate to end a sentence in a preposition?
Like many others, I commonly find myself ending a sentence with a preposition. Yes, it makes me cringe. I usually rewrite the sentence, but sometimes (in emails) I just live with it. To, with... ...
25
votes
3answers
12k views
When should “into” be used rather than “in to,” and vice versa?
"Into" (one word) and "in to" (two words) are frequently confused. In what situations should the former be used? The latter?
20
votes
3answers
1k views
“between” vs “among”
Today I was cut off in the middle of the following sentence:
"Between Cook, Strauss and Pietersen..."
My friend said I was wrong; for more than 2 entities, among/amongst are used. Between is ...
18
votes
1answer
5k views
When should I use “in” or “on”?
As it is common with people from my country, I have an immense difficulty with prepositions in English, especially with the use of in and on.
When the preposition indicates the position of the ...
5
votes
4answers
6k views
Does “notified by [date]” include the end date?
I have read the Rules of a competition. The text of the Rules include a sentence as follows:
As per stated in the Rules the entrants will be notified by May 30th 2010.
Does the sentence above ...
13
votes
3answers
920 views
Origin/reason for the expression “on the bus” instead of “in the bus”
This is sort of a follow up to my question here.
I was told a while ago that the reason why we use "on the bus" instead of "in the bus" is because back in the day buses were open, that is, they ...
4
votes
4answers
2k views
Which one is more correct: “works at a university” or “works in a university”?
My relative is a fairly big academic and works at a university.
Is this correct? or should I have used in instead?
10
votes
5answers
8k views
What does 'ten of six' mean in regard to time?
I am referring of course to the expression describing time. Today a corporate trainer (From north Philadelphia) that is teaching a class at my company used it in the context that the current time was ...
22
votes
3answers
2k views
“This question has been asked at Stack Overflow” vs. “on Stack Overflow”
How should I phrase it:
This question has been asked at Stack Overflow.
Or,
This question has been asked on Stack Overflow.
10
votes
5answers
2k views
“In the Internet” vs. “on the Internet”
When should I use "in the Internet" and when "on the Internet"?
4
votes
6answers
6k views
How can I explain to people that the phrase “off of ” is grammatically incorrect?
How can I explain to people that the phrase off of is grammatically incorrect?
I‘ve heard this phrase used a lot, especially by Americans (though they aren't the only ones).
In my understanding, ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
Correct usage of ‘on’, ‘at’ and ‘in’ from a foreigner’s point of view
As a foreign English speaker who never really studied too much English grammar other than the basics at high school, I am often struggling to use the correct form in certain phrases.
At being ...
16
votes
6answers
9k views
Which is correct: “prefer X to Y” or “prefer X over Y”?
Many say that "prefer X to Y" has a more formal ring to it than "prefer X over Y". Are there any dialects where you wouldn't use "prefer X to Y" in colloquial speech at all? Conversely, are there any ...
14
votes
4answers
991 views
ON an American street, but IN a British one. Do the twain ever meet?
In the United States, we say that someone lives on a street, whereas I've noticed that British people say in. For instance:
Bubba lives on Washington Street.
Colin lives in Cavendish Avenue.
I ...
8
votes
3answers
4k views
Rule for using “for” vs. “to”
A Brazilian friend speaks English very well, but has a very unique habit: it seems often that she needs to use "for" but she instead uses "to", and vice-versa.
For instance:
The present is to ...
1
vote
2answers
305 views
Is “of ” necessary in “all of ”?
Listen to all your fans
vs
Listen to all of your fans
OR
Name all the states
vs
Name all of the states
What part of language is of in these examples? Is it necessary or ...
23
votes
3answers
4k views
When are “because”, “since”,“for” and “as” interchangeable?
I am not a native speaker. On a previous question of mine, I thanked for an answer by saying:
So the phrase is not an idiom, since it is applied in its literal sense.
I consciously chose since ...
14
votes
11answers
14k views
“Based on” instead of “based off of”
I sometimes see cases where off is followed by of, and it sounds awkward to me. For example, I would prefer
This story is based on a true story.
to
This story is based off of a true
story.
...
27
votes
5answers
25k views
What is the difference between “till” and “until”?
What is the difference between till and until?
When to use till or until? Please explain with examples.
8
votes
3answers
19k views
“Solution for” or “solution to” a problem?
I need to find a solution to/for this problem.
Can to and for be used interchangeably here? Is one of them just plain wrong?
3
votes
2answers
4k views
“Studying PhD at the university” or “studying PhD in the university”?
Which of these two sentences is correct:
I am studying PhD at the university.
I am studying PhD in the university.
Should I use "at" or "in"? Or is there no difference?
-3
votes
3answers
200 views
On/in its semantics?
Please help me in choosing the right preposition in the below sentence:
The returned values seem a bit confusing on/in its semantics,
Here I'm talking about returned values of a computer ...
2
votes
3answers
1k views
Is “To whom could we direct our questions to?” grammatical?
I was wondering which of these sentences are proper?
If we have further questions with regards to x&y, to whom could we direct our questions?
If we have further questions with regards to ...
7
votes
2answers
9k views
“Covered with” vs. “covered in” vs. “covered by”
I want to find out the differences in meaning among covered by, covered in, and covered with. For example, what is the difference between:
covered with blood
covered in blood
or the ...
6
votes
1answer
3k views
When to use “to” and when “for”?
Examples:
It is important to me.
It will be good for you.
This sounds stupid to me.
I'll make it comfortable for you.
I'll make it available to you.
Any rules here, dear native ...
5
votes
2answers
359 views
“Where are you now at?” — grammatically correct?
Should I say "Where are you at now?" or "Where are you now at?"
Which is grammatically correct? And is there any difference in meaning between the two?
4
votes
3answers
944 views
“All our X” vs. “all of our X”
Is the word "of" optional in this instance? Is either of these considered preferable to the other?
Taste all our delicious treats.
Taste all of our delicious treats.
10
votes
4answers
2k views
What is the distinction between “among” and “amongst”?
It seems amongst is quite often used as a synonym for among but it is supposed to sound more distinguished. Is there any difference in the meaning?
7
votes
4answers
18k views
“On website” or “at website”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
This question has been asked at/on SO?
Which sentence is grammatically correct?
The papers are freely available at the journal website.
The papers are freely available ...
2
votes
3answers
928 views
Preposition usage: on, in, and at
Which is correct, "I worked on a project" or "I worked in a project?"
Should I say "when I was at the university I studied math" or "when I was in the university I studied math?"
12
votes
6answers
2k views
Do I travel “up” or “down” to London from north of the city?
I am travelling geographically down the country from north of the city of London. Do I state "I am travelling down to London" or do I state "I am travelling up to London" in reference to its capital ...
9
votes
6answers
3k views
“In time” versus “on time”
Which one is correct:
Submit your work in time.
Submit your work on time.
7
votes
2answers
347 views
Where can I find a list of ways to get rid of the preposition “of”?
I'm learning English. Unfortunately I have some obstacles in writing and speaking. In particular I often note that there are too many "of"-s in my sentences. For instance I want to get rid of them in ...
5
votes
3answers
4k views
Which preposition to use in “communication [over, by, through, via, with] email”? [closed]
Which of these is most correct, and why?
Our team kept in constant communication over email.
Our team kept in constant communication by email.
Our team kept in constant communication through email.
...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
“In college” versus “at college” versus “at university” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Which one is more correct: “works at a university” or “works in a university”?
It seems that only in the U.S. one says that they are or were "in ...
3
votes
4answers
363 views
Avoiding “existential it” while referring to a past event?
I know the use of "existential it" is frowned upon, but I'm not entirely sure how to rephrase the following sentence to remove it:
It is hard to tell what would have occurred if the battle had ...
3
votes
1answer
447 views
Is it correct to use “all this” instead of “all of this”?
I frequently see people write "all this", instead of "all of this". Is this a grammatically correct phrase? My intuition tells me that it's wrong (the spoken phrase "all this" is really a contraction ...
2
votes
3answers
219 views
“At/In the Summer Olympics”
!
I found this to be strange: in Wikipedia,
Russia at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Russia competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics
How different is the meaning if at is changed to in?
1
vote
0answers
1k views
Difference between “in” and “into” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When should “into” be used rather than “in to,” and vice versa?
I often get confused about which one to use: in or into? Kindly tell me what the ...
0
votes
2answers
324 views
Repeating “to” in a list of verbs connected by “and”
"This group’s main duties are to carry out information systems audits in Colombian banks and to make research and develop new regulations on information technologies and systems in the banking ...
22
votes
3answers
17k views
21
votes
4answers
2k views
“Sit in a chair” vs. “sit on a chair”
What is the correct usage? I know you sit 'on' a sofa/couch. What about chair?
5
votes
5answers
3k views
Is there any difference between “talk to someone” and “talk with someone”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“Speak to” vs. “Speak with”
Well, the question is in the title. I always had the impression that "talk to someone" refers to situations when some ...
11
votes
2answers
2k views
Why is 'to' not used before 'home'?
While learning English, I was taught not to put 'to' in front of 'home'. I.e. "go to home" is incorrect, you should say "go home".
Is there a reason (maybe historical) for this?
11
votes
6answers
772 views
“Toward” or “towards” – what would a native speaker use?
In this question we learn that toward and towards are interchangeable, but that the former is somewhat more typical of U.S. English and the latter of British English, although there is some indication ...
10
votes
4answers
2k views
Is it correct to say “the bird is in the tree” or “on the tree”?
In the children's rhyme:
Johnny and July sitting in a tree
K I S S I N G
First comes love
Then comes marriage
Then come children in a baby carriage
They are said to be sitting in a tree. ...
6
votes
2answers
784 views
How to combine in a sentence two verb + preposition pairs that have the same object?
Examples:
Data can be imported to and exported from the application.
Data can be imported and exported from the application.
Data can be imported to the application and exported from it.
...
5
votes
4answers
4k views
Proper usage of “since” and “from” with regard to duration of time
When you returned, I had been at home since 10 minutes.
When you returned, I had been at home from 5 minutes.
In such sentences, is it correct to use since or from? When since is used?
3
votes
3answers
335 views
“At” vs. “in” before verb
In a document I found the following sentence:
listeners are more accurate at understanding speech spoken in their own accent...
Would it be an error to use "in" instead of "at"?
Actually in ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
“The influence of … on/upon …”
I always have a hard time with the use of on and upon. I have looked at the general comments made in this question, but have the following specific use case in mind that does not seem covered to me: ...
