326. Do not misuse over and above. These prepositions have reference only to place. They are incorrectly used to mean more than or greater than.
It is correct to say:
- The boat anchored above the landing.
- He flew over the city.
It is incorrect to say:
- He bought above a hundred acres.
- He lives over a mile from here.
These sentences should be:
- He bought more than a hundred acres.
- He lives more than a mile from here.
THE PREPOSITION WITH VERBS
327. In our first lesson on prepositions, we had a list of verbs and the correct preposition to use with these verbs. There are a few words which we use very commonly in which the meaning is slightly different according to the preposition which we use in connection with the verb. Foreigners especially who are learning the English language have great difficulty with the prepositions. Here are a few of these common words:
Adapt. With adapt we can use either the preposition to or for. For example; we adapt ourselves to circumstances, that is, we accommodate or conform ourselves; but a thing can be adapted for a certain purpose.