Timeline for Is "to fight with" ambiguous?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
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| Apr 17, 2013 at 16:40 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | @Zetta Suro: I'm not sure it's really a matter of "most prepositions being ambiguous". After all, there are some quite subtle nuances involved in "He spoke French with/to/at me", for example. I think more often the "ambiguity" is inherent in the verbs, and prepositions usually do a pretty good job of making fine distinctions. In the case of fight with X, the default interpretation is usually alongside, for the simple reason that if you mean against, you can convey that sense without even using a preposition. | |
| Apr 17, 2013 at 16:27 | comment | added | rurouniwallace | As you can see, most prepositions are by nature quite ambiguous, and usually require a certain degree of context to discern their meaning. | |
| Apr 17, 2013 at 1:22 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | @GEdgar: Or "Even though they were hopelessly outnumbered, they fought with valour to the bitter end" | |
| Apr 17, 2013 at 1:11 | comment | added | GEdgar | You can also say: "After they ran out of bullets, they fought with sticks and stones." | |
| Apr 16, 2013 at 19:14 | vote | accept | vartec | ||
| Apr 16, 2013 at 17:41 | history | edited | FumbleFingers | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Apr 16, 2013 at 17:36 | history | answered | FumbleFingers | CC BY-SA 3.0 |