Forum newsfeeds
Forum Newsfeeds


Sites for Teachers

Sites for Teachers


Go Back   UsingEnglish.com ESL Forum > Learning English > Ask a Teacher

Notices

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Old 26-Jan-2007, 04:48
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Country: Belarus
Posts: 1,335
First Language: Russian
Thanks: 0
Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts
Humble is on a distinguished road
Default opposite of? to?

Hi,
Please, which is correct:
1. It’s just the opposite of what I meant.
2. It’s just the opposite to what I meant.

TIA
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 26-Jan-2007, 05:12
Harry Smith's Avatar
Key Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Country: Armenia
Posts: 2,383
Current Location: Moscow,Russia
First Language: Armenian
Member Type: English Teacher
Thanks: 2
Thanked 37 Times in 33 Posts
Harry Smith is on a distinguished road
Default Re: opposite of? to?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Humble View Post
Hi,
Please, which is correct:
1. It’s just the opposite of what I meant.
2. It’s just the opposite to what I meant.

TIA
They are both fine, but "opposite of" is grammatically more correct.
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Old 27-Jan-2007, 06:22
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Country: Belarus
Posts: 1,335
First Language: Russian
Thanks: 0
Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts
Humble is on a distinguished road
Default Re: opposite of? to?

Thanks, Harry.
As I was not sure of the correctness of your answer, I searched the Net and now I know:
the opposite of
is opposite to
So #1 is correct, really.

Regards
Reply With Quote
  #4 (permalink)  
Old 27-Jan-2007, 18:06
Harry Smith's Avatar
Key Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Country: Armenia
Posts: 2,383
Current Location: Moscow,Russia
First Language: Armenian
Member Type: English Teacher
Thanks: 2
Thanked 37 Times in 33 Posts
Harry Smith is on a distinguished road
Default Re: opposite of? to?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Humble View Post
Thanks, Harry.
As I was not sure of the correctness of your answer, I searched the Net and now I know:
the opposite of
is opposite to
So #1 is correct, really.

Regards
Sometimes it's better to pronounce the sentence to be sure if it is correct or not. Don't you think so?
Reply With Quote
  #5 (permalink)  
Old 28-Jan-2007, 05:09
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Country: Belarus
Posts: 1,335
First Language: Russian
Thanks: 0
Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts
Humble is on a distinguished road
Default Re: opposite of? to?

Many of us do so, but it isn't always helpful.
Reply With Quote
  #6 (permalink)  
Old 28-Jan-2007, 05:36
Casiopea's Avatar
VIP Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Country: Canada
Posts: 12,997
Current Location: China
First Language: English
Member Type: Other
Thanks: 0
Thanked 54 Times in 53 Posts
Casiopea will become famous soon enough
Default Re: opposite of? to?

In addition, there seems to be a pattern here.

'the' appears to co-occur with 'of', but not 'to':

(i) the opposite of something
(ii) opposite to something.

Ex: There is no established opposite to the word exceed, and it is quite often ...

Ex: What is the word that describes when two words that mean the opposite of each ...
Reply With Quote
  #7 (permalink)  
Old 28-Jan-2007, 06:37
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Country: Belarus
Posts: 1,335
First Language: Russian
Thanks: 0
Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts
Humble is on a distinguished road
Default Re: opposite of? to?

Thank you, Cas.
Reply With Quote
  #8 (permalink)  
Old 28-Jan-2007, 06:56
Casiopea's Avatar
VIP Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Country: Canada
Posts: 12,997
Current Location: China
First Language: English
Member Type: Other
Thanks: 0
Thanked 54 Times in 53 Posts
Casiopea will become famous soon enough
Default Re: opposite of? to?

You're welcome, Humble.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Opposite words of busy dharanija35 Ask a Teacher 1 03-Dec-2006 18:15
Opposite words dharanija35 Ask a Teacher 12 01-Dec-2006 22:13
opposite quest Ask a Teacher 5 17-Aug-2006 14:15
To the opposite NewHope Ask a Teacher 1 24-Apr-2005 15:52
The opposite of preparation Peter General Language Discussions 6 15-Dec-2003 23:07


New To Site? Need Help?

All times are GMT. The time now is 15:57.


vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.2.0
Copyright © 2002 - 2008 UsingEnglish.com