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Why English is Difficult vol. 42

From “Simply English – An A to Z of Avoidable Errors” by Simon Heffer:

Here are some of the most common mistakes with the choice of prepositions: they are often made when a demotic usage seeps into the consciousness of supposedly educated people. A person is absorbed in a task, not by it; but liquid may be absorbed by a sponge. One acquiesces in something, not with it, and one connives at something, not in it. One aims at something, not for it. One becomes angry with someone, not at him. One is ashamed of bad behaviour, not by it. A decision is between one thing and another, not one thing or another. One is bored by or with something, never of it. Something is different from something else, not to it or, even more abominable, than it. One is disgusted with something, not by it. One becomes fed up with things, not of them. Something is identical to something else, not with it. One inculcates something on somebody, one does not inculcate somebody with something; and one instils something into somebody. There is an interaction of two people or things, not between them. Two things merge with each other, not into each other. One is oblivious of something, not to it. One prefers something to something else, not than something else. One is prohibited from doing something, not prohibited to do it (a confusion, one supposes, with forbidden). One thing is replaced by another, not with it. One has a reputation for something, not of it. One is sensible of something, but sensitive to it. One is sparing of something, not with it. One substitutes one thing for another, not another thing with the first. One suffers from something, not with it.

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