prepositions; what is the difference?

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Which preposition do I use? Let’s look at the sentence “I complained [preposition] him.”

The preposition tells us a lot about the sentence above. For example,
“I complained to him.” means you told that person something you did not like.
“I complained about him.” means you told someone else that you did not like him.
“I complained for him.” means you told someone else about something he did not like.

Popularity: 7%

Jun

12

about, in, with

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The sentence “They are very busy about their current job.” is not using the correct preposition. It should be one of the following:

They are very busy in their current job.
They are very busy with their current job.

But if you want to use a verb instead, say it like this

They are very busy doing their current job.

Popularity: 26%

Jun

7

for

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What is the difference between “Leave a meeting.” and “Leave for a meeting.“? asked my non-native English speaking student. Using the preposition for implies that the noun that follows is a result of the action of the verb before the preposition. Still confused? Well,

“Leave a meeting.” means to go away from a meeting currently happening.

When you use for like in
“Leave for a meeting.” it means to go to another meeting. In this case it is the reason for leaving.

Popularity: 20%

May

2

off/of

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Here is an example of how one letter can change the meaning of a sentence.

The outlet price was 30% off Takashimaya’s price.

So if Takashimaya’s price was 100 yen, then the first one means the outlet price was 30 yen and the second one means the outlet price was 70 yen.

Popularity: 27%

Apr

19

look to vs. look at

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A student asked me when do you use the preposition to and when do you use the preposition at with the verb look. After all, we say “Look at that billboard.” but we say “Look to the future.”, we never say “Look to that billboard.” and although not incorrect, we generally do not say “Look at the future.” Why?

The preposition to generally implies some type of action. When you look at something, there is no action taking place. Where as in “Look to the future.” involves thinking. In other words, you are thinking about the future.

What about using to after a verb? In this case, to is not a preposition but part of the infinitive verb as in “Seek to reveal the truth.”

Popularity: 37%

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