“He knows nothing on it.” This is a vile vulgarism for “he knows nothing of it.”
“He is now much altered to the better.” To is here improperly used instead of for. “Altered to the better,” may, I believe, be deemed a Scotticism. It ought to be, “he is altered for the better.”
Ambiguity is sometimes produced by putting the preposition in an improper place. “A clergyman is, by the militia act, exempted from both serving and contributing.” This, though intended to express a different meaning, strictly implies, that he is not obliged both to serve and to contribute, but does not exclude his liability to do the one, or the other. If we say, “he is exempted both from serving and contributing,” we express an exemption from both.
“Such of my readers, as have a taste of fine writing.”—Addison’s Spect. “To have a taste of a thing,” is “to feel how it affects the sensitive or perceptive faculty;” “to have a taste for a thing,” is “to relish its agreeable qualities;” “to have a taste in a thing,” which is the expression used by Addison in the same paper, is “to have a discriminative judgment in examining the object.” The first expression is incorrect, as not conveying his meaning.
Swift, speaking of Marlborough’s dismission from the queen’s ministry, as a bad requital of his public services, says, “If a stranger should hear these furious outcries of ingratitude against our general, he would be apt to inquire,” &c. One would naturally conclude from the author’s expression, that Marlborough, and not the nation, was charged with ingratitude. He should have said, “ingratitude towards our general.”
“I received the sword in a present from my brother.” This is a very common colloquial Scotticism, and occurs occasionally in written language. The sword was not received in, but as a present.
In the use of prepositions, a distinction is properly made between their literal and figurative meaning. “Wit,” says Shakspeare, “depends on dilatory time.” Here the verb is employed figuratively, and the idea involved in the primitive meaning is dismissed.
“From gilded roofs depending lamps display.”—Dryden.
Here the verb is used in its literal acceptation, denoting “to hang,” and is followed, therefore, by from.
To the same purpose it has been remarked by Campbell, that the verb “to found,” used literally, is followed by on preferably to in, as, “the house was founded on a rock;” but, when employed metaphorically, is better followed by in, as, “dominion is founded in grace.”