It is generally believed that the knowledge of tenses and extensive vocabulary guarantee successful communication. However, in some cases, this may leave prepositions neglected, which may lead to misunderstandings, or misinterpretations of some phrases. It must be also stressed that prepositions are particularly difficult for Polish learners of English as there is no correspondence between prepositions in these languages (polish “z” can translate into “from”, “with”, “to” and so on). In my article I want to make a few points about the use of prepositions in English, in combination with selected verbs and adjectives. I hope it will show that in given situations the correct use of prepositions facilitates expressing your ideas more clearly and precisely and, simultaneously, helps to avoid being misunderstood. I will also present a couple of examples which are commonly considered troublesome.
Of course, it is an arduous task to create a fully satisfactory list of all (or a good many) prepositional phrases which deserve to be discussed in detail. I have selected those that I considered either useful, or frequent in terms of use, or most problematic. Even the books for advanced and proficient learners touch on only selected phrases (for example Gethin 1991).
Naturally enough, I`m leaving this article open for any comments and suggestions concerning, for instance, possible omissions which I certainly made.
agree with: a person, opinion etc. (zgoda z kimś, dzielenie tej samej opinii)
I entirely agree with you.
agree about: a subject or discussion (ogólnie, zgoda odnośnie ogólnych spraw, bez wyraźnie określonego przedmiotu zgody, zgoda co do czegoś)
We agree about most things.
agree on: a matter for decision (w bardziej szczegółowych sytuacjach, zgoda na coś konkretnego)
Let`s try to agree on this solution.
agree to: a suggestion (zaakceptować)
I`ll agree to your suggestion.
anxious about: worried about
I`m getting anxious about money.
anxious for: wanting sth very much
I am anxious for work during summertime.
apologise TO sb FOR sth: to say that you are sorry for doing sth wrong or causing a problem (przeprosić kogoś za)
He apologised to the family for the harm they had to suffer from.
arrive at: smaller places (for example: stations)
I arrived at the café 20 minutes later.
arrive in: bigger places (for example cities)
A group of pilgrims arrived in Jerusalem.
bad AT, good AT: zły/dobry z czegoś/w czymś
I am good making trouble, but bad at making decisions.
concerned about = worried about:
I am concerned about my son`s safety.
concerned in = involved in
She was so concerned in the matter.
concerned with = interested in
She was more concerned with the quality, rather than the price of the product.
congratulate sb on/for: pogratulować komuś czegoś
He congratulated the team ON/FOR winning all their games.
die of: umierać z powodu czynnika wewnętrznego (np. disease)
Many people die of AIDS.
die from: czynnik zewnętrzny (np. accident)
He died from a gunshot wound.
disappointed with sb: a person
She was disappointed with me.
disappointed at/about sth: a thing
She was disappointed with her exam results.
exam in/test in: general issues, for example exam in English
Last week I took an exam in anatomy.
exam on/test on: specific issues, for example exam in prepositions
I took a philosophy exam on culture and values.
free from/of: wolny od, bez zmiany znaczenia
I am free from/of problems now.
free with: for example money – hojny
He was free with daily pocket money.
get in(to)/get out of: a car, taxi, a small boat
When I got into my car …
get on(to)/off: a train, plane, bus, ship, (motor)bike, or horse
We`ll get off the train in ten minutes.
lack of: for example lack of time, money etc. (jako rzeczownik)
to be lacking in: to have none or not enough of sth (znaczenie to samo jak wyżej, z tym że wyrażone frazą przyimkową)
She is lacking in tact. Brakuje jej taktu.
to lack: to have none or not enough of sth (jako czasownik, podaję dodatkowo:))
She lacks tact. Brakuje jej taktu.
pleased with: a person (zadowolony z)
The boss is pleased with you.
pleased about/at: a thing, an object
I wasn`t pleased about my exam results.
popular with: liked or enjoyed by a large number of people (popularny wśród)
Harry Potter is popular with young people.
reason for (not of): przyczyna czegoś
for example the reason for the accident
smile AT somebody: uśmiechnąć się do
She smiled at me.
translate into: przetłumaczyć na
I translated a text from Polish into English.
Prepositions before particular words/expressions.
In this short section I will present some prepositions before particular expressions, which sometimes cause serious difficulties for the Polish learners of English.
at the cinema: What is ON AT the cinema? Pierwszy przyimek odnosi się do tego, co dzieje się aktualnie w kinie (what is ON the screen, in other words), natomiast drugi jest określnikiem miejsca (W kinie).
a book BY Joyce, a movie BY Spielberg (not of): gdy mówimy o autorstwie, używamy przyimka “by”.
by car. by bike, by bus, by train, by boat, by plane: samochodem, rowerem, autobusem… itd.
Ale:
on foot: na pieszo
oraz:
in the car: w samochodzie
I was sitting in the car, when…
on the bus: w autobusie, analogicznie to sytuacji opisywanych wyżej, przy okazji „get”
by: „o” w zwrotach typu „wzrosnąć o”, np.: The number of members of your club increased by 15 people.
for…reason: z …powodu. I decided to study English for several reasons.
in … minutes: za … minut.
We are starting in 5 minutes. Zaczynamy za 5 minut.
in the end: finally, after a long time (wreszcie, po długim czasie)
In the end, I got a visa to the U.S.
at the end: na końcu.
The film was fascinating at the end.
IN a picture: NA obrazku
In the picture I can see…
in the rain, snow etc.: w deszczu, w śniegu
I like walking in the rain.
in: “u” (dotyczące cechy),
You see it in children – widać to u dzieci, choroby u szczurów – diseases in rats
in the test: na teście
There were a lot of tricky questions in the test.
on … page: na … stronie
Full review on page 30.
on the radio, on TV: not in, for example
Is there anything good on TV tonight?
Prepositions are hard not only to polish lerners, but lerners all over the world. I am glad you posted a list, but you could make all explenations in Egnlisch? because some explenations are in Polish and some in Englisch. I will definitely use it in the future!
ReplyDeleteLinda
Ok, I will provide necessary explanations in English where possible ASAP, thanks:)
ReplyDelete