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Questions tagged [prepositions]

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Prepositions are function words like "to", "over", "through", "in". The meaning of a sentence can be dramatically altered by choosing the wrong preposition. Questions need to include enough information for the intended meaning to be deduced.

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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... ...
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What is the difference between till and until? When to use till or until? Please explain with examples.
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As someone who learned English later on in life, I was taught that different from is the correct grammar to use: this is different from that. However, it seems these days everyone uses different than ...
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7 answers
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Is only one of them correct? Are they used in different situations? Or are they interchangeable?
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I would like to clarify this once and for all: What is the correct use of "consist in" vs. "consist of"? "Meditation consists in/of attentive watchfulness." "The ...
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Does one fill out a form or does one fill in a form? I've gotten different answers from the people I've asked. Google search results: fill in a form — 14,200,000 fill out a form — 7,000,000
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I see both "It's up to you" and "It's down to you" in conversations. So what's the difference?
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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. What ...
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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?
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People talking about how something will be perceived sometimes use the phrase "to it". For example people sometimes say "It will have a nice color to it." instead of just it will have a nice color. Or ...
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When should I use "in the Internet" and when "on the Internet"?
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Which of these are correct, and why? Suggestions for rephrasing it are also welcome. [noun] was developed independently of [noun] [noun] was developed independently from [noun] [noun] was developed, ...
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I am wondering if the following sentence is correct: We add the information their study provides with to our article. The context is: their study provides with some information. And we add the ...
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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 ...
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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 over ...
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What are the differences between "agree on", "agree with" and "agree to"?
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Today I was cut off in the middle of the following sentence: Between Cook, Strauss, and Pietersen— My friend said I was wrong. He said that for more than two entities, among/amongst are used, and ...
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What is the basic difference between "made of" and "made from." Both expressions are used in English. For instance, "This chair is made of wood," and "Cream is made from milk." Though the question is ...
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This must be a simple question for a native speaker. I know that we use "on" with dates: I'll see you on January 1st. And we use "at" with times: I'll see you at 17:30. But what preposition has to ...
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There is an English expression do for, which means to kill, to execute, to ruin, to defeat etc. and this expression seems to always be used in passive voice: e.g.) We are done for. I understand this ...
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Which one is correct: Submit your work in time. Submit your work on time.
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"Into" (one word) and "in to" (two words) are frequently confused. In what situations should the former be used? The latter?
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What is the difference between the following when referring to telephone calls? Please call me on this number. You can reach me on this number. Please call me at this number. You can reach me at ...
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Which is the correct preposition to use with rename? rename to rename as rename by
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I found this sentence in a textbook. It's I cooked the fish slowly on / under the grill. According to the author, the correct answer is under. I also used Google. It turns out that there is more ...
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Under what circumstances would you prefer one of the following over the other two? Get hold of Get ahold of Get a hold of
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Which one should be used? To me, it makes no difference, but I'm not really sure why. vs For me, it makes no difference, but I'm not really sure why.
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To be precise, I know that allow means to permit, and allow for is more like to make something possible, to enable, to make a provision for, but I'm still in doubt when I have to decide whether to use ...
Nenad Dobrilovic's user avatar
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Are both expressions "At the beginning" "In the beginning" valid and equivalent? The first "seems wrong" to me, but it has more Google results.
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What is the difference between as a side note and on a side note? Are they interchangeable? Which one is preferred?
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For example, one of the articles in volume 183 issue 1 (January 2016) of Annals of Mathematics is titled "On the fibration method for zero-cycles and rational points". Why not just call it "The ...
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When do you use at the office? And when do you use in the office? What's the difference between the phrases?
Anderson Silva's user avatar
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Which is the correct usage: Something on a page OR Something in a page By page, I mean a web page, not a physical book page.
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I've read that both are acceptable but "associated with" is superior. Is there ever a time that "to" is acceptable? Does it matter at all? I'm writing copy for a public website and want to make ...
ehtimse1970's user avatar
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Which preposition is correct in the phrase "proficient in/at/with English"?
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Can anyone explain the difference between by contrast and in contrast?
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The word rarely turns up outside that context. and The word rarely turns up outside of that context. Which one is correct and why?
Anderson Silva's user avatar
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Is there a difference between "think of something" and "think about something"? I've also met "have heard of/about something".
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There is a great chasm on these phrases in the US. The great divide seems to be currently centered at the age of 40. The younger generation has began shifting to "on accident" for unknown reasons. ...
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How should I phrase it: This question has been asked at Stack Overflow. Or, This question has been asked on Stack Overflow.
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7 answers
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With all the "Royal baby" craze comes something that really confuses me. All the news media used pretty much the same sentence to make the announcement: The Duchess of Cambridge has been delivered ...
rytis's user avatar
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3 answers
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In a mathematical context (explaining a formula just written) the following seems unobjectionable: "The set of unitary polynomials has been denoted by P". My question is whether it sounds right to ...
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I never really gave a deep thought about this, but recently a teacher talked about language and there was an implicit question in it. Something like, There is a difference between "rather than&...
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Listen to all your fans Name all the states vs Listen to all of  your fans Name all of  the states What part of language is of  in these examples? Is it necessary or optional, correct or ...
Yarin's user avatar
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3 answers
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Which is the most appropriate/correct usage? Are you angry on me? Are you angry with me? Are you angry at me?
highbeta's user avatar
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3 answers
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Is "need of religion" grammatically incorrect as opposed to "need for religion"? Or "need of salt" vs. "need for salt"?
input's user avatar
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39 votes
5 answers
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Is this correct? The person with whom I'm doing the project should be here soon. If it is, is with always a dative preposition (like mit in German)?
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1 answer
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What is the difference between the following two expressions: My interview is scheduled on the 27th of June at 8:00 AM. My interview is scheduled for the 27th of June at 8:00 AM.
Noah's user avatar
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Which is correct? I congratulated him for coming first in the race. I congratulated him on coming first in the race.
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37 votes
9 answers
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I have seen the following sentences in a book given to us during our training period at The Regional Institute of English, Bangalore: I got married to Priscilla. I got married with Priscilla ...
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