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 - Infer, from, (not by). I infer this from your remarks, not by your remarks.
- Introduce; A man is introduced to a woman, a speaker to an audience; into society or into new surroundings. We introduce a bill in Congress or a resolution in a committee.
- Involved, in (not with). We are involved in difficulties.
- Listen; We listen for the expected news; we listen to our friends, not at.
- Married; One person is married to another, not with another.
SATURDAY - Matter, with, (not of). What is the matter with this?
- Opposition, to (not against). There is opposition to the motion.
- Part, to part from, means to leave. I will part from my friends. To part with means to give up. A fool soon parts with his money.
- Remedy, for; We have a remedy for the disease.
- Preventive, against; We have a preventive against disease.
It is easy to sit in the sunshine And talk to the man in the shade; It is easy to float in a well-trimmed boat, And point out the places to wade. But once we pass into the shadows We murmur and fret and frown; At our length from the bank, we shout for a plank, Or throw up our hands and go down. It is easy to sit in a carriage And counsel the man on foot; But get down and walk and you'll change your talk, As you feel the peg in your boot. It is easy to tell the toiler How best he can carry his pack; But not one can rate a burden's weight Until it has been on his back. The up-curled mouth of pleasure Can preach of sorrow's worth; But give it a sip, and a wryer lip, Was never made on earth. —Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
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