There are a number of words that are ordinarily followed by a preposition with its phrase. We make a great many mistakes in the use of the proper preposition with these words. Our spelling lesson this week covers a number of these words with examples illustrating the appropriate preposition to be used with each word. Learn to spell these words, look up their meaning in the dictionary and use each word with its proper preposition in sentences of your own construction.
MONDAY
- Abhorrence, of; We have an abhorrence of war.
- Abhorrent, to; War is abhorrent to us.
- Acquaint, with; I will acquaint you with the facts in the case. You will then be acquainted with the facts.
- Acquit, of; The man was acquitted of the charge.
- Adequate, to; Our resources are not adequate to the demand.
TUESDAY
- Angry, with, at; We are angry with persons and angry at things.
- Astonished, at or by; (Never with) I am astonished at you, or by you, not with you.
- Confer; We confer with people, upon or about matters.
- Contrary; A thing is contrary to our ideas, (not from or than).
- Controversy; with, between, or about, (not over). I had a controversy with you. There is a controversy between the two about the result.
WEDNESDAY
- Convicted, of (not for). He was convicted of the crime.
- Copy; We copy after people, from things, and out of books.
- Deprive, of, (not from). We are deprived of an education.
- Desire, of and for; We may speak of the desire of a man, meaning man's desire; but we should always say "He has a desire for position, for wealth," etc.
- Die, of, for and from; A person dies of, not from, a disease. He dies from the effects of an injury. One person may die with another, but never with a disease, for the disease does not die.
THURSDAY
- Differ, from, among, about, concerning, with; Persons or things differ from each other; that is, they are dissimilar in appearance. Two persons may differ with each other; that is, contend or disagree. Several persons differ among themselves about or concerning some matter.
- Dissent, from (not to). There was a general dissent from that idea.
- Guilty, of (not for). He is guilty of the crime.
- Incentive, to (not for). It is a great incentive to action.
- Receive, from, (not of). Received from John Smith, thirty dollars, etc.
FRIDAY