prepositions after "description"

Status
Not open for further replies.

pinkie9

Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Japanese
Home Country
Japan
Current Location
Japan
My collocation dictionary lists only "of" as the preposition that can be used after the word "description".
How about other words, such as "about", "on" and "regarding"?

For example, in an e-mail to your coworker who asked you to proofread his document...

Perhaps you should delete the description of (on/about/regarding) your private life. I'm afraid it is a little inappropriate.

Thank you.
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
My collocation dictionary lists only "of" as the preposition that can be used after the word "description".
How about other words, such as "about", "on" and "regarding"?

For example, in an e-mail to your coworker who asked you to proofread his document...

Perhaps you should delete the description of (on/about/regarding) your private life. I'm afraid it is a little inappropriate.

Thank you.

In that context I would use "information about your private life". I wouldn't use "description".
 

pinkie9

Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Japanese
Home Country
Japan
Current Location
Japan
In that context I would use "information about your private life". I wouldn't use "description".

Thank you. My example was not good.
Actually, I had this question when I looked at the collocation dictionary. I just thought "How about other words?" So, there is no context.
But we need to provide a context here, so I came up with the example. It is not easy for a non-native speaker to come up with a good example.

How about this?
Here is a brief description of (on/about/regarding) the program I told you about the other day. Please read it if you are interested.

What I'd like to know is whether "on/about/regarding" can be used after "description".
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
Here is a brief description of (on/about/regarding) the program I told you about the other day. Please read it if you are interested.

What I'd like to know is whether "on/about/regarding" can be used after "description".
No
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
No. It's "description of".
 

BobK

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 29, 2006
Location
Spencers Wood, near Reading, UK
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
:up: It is possible to interpret 'description', in some contexts, as 'a piece of text that describes'. So it's 'text that deals with...' or 'text about...', but it's still a description of something. You can't just take a collocate of one word and stick it with another that's used in a similar role.

b
 

pinkie9

Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Japanese
Home Country
Japan
Current Location
Japan
Thank you!
So, it is always incorrect to say "description on/about/regarding", isn't it?

Sorry to be persistent, but I found the following example and many similar ones on the internet. Is it incorrect, too? I'm not doubting what you guys say, but I just wanted to completely understand.

If you are interested then please contact us by email at info@xxxxxxx.co.uk enclosing a recent CV and a brief description about yourself.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
That is poorly worded, in my opinion. It should either say "a brief description of yourself" or "a little information about yourself". Remember that just because you see something written somewhere, that doesn't necessarily mean it's correct.
 

pinkie9

Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Japanese
Home Country
Japan
Current Location
Japan
That is poorly worded, in my opinion. It should either say "a brief description of yourself" or "a little information about yourself". Remember that just because you see something written somewhere, that doesn't necessarily mean it's correct.

Is "description about" a kind of mistake that could be made by a native speaker of English?
Or, is it a mistake that can hardly be made by a native speaker?

I don't think it's correct just because I see something written somewhere, but I'd like to make sure about it when I see an English phraze that seems to be incorrect but written in many British sites.
Thank you.

(Many Japanese people write "description about". So I'd like to be sure about it so that I can perfectly explain when I point out the mistake. I'm in the position in which I have to point out mistakes made by other Japanese people as much as I can.)
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Is "description about" a kind of mistake that could be made by a native speaker of English?
Or, is it a mistake that can hardly be made by a native speaker?

I don't think it's correct just because I see something written somewhere, but I'd like to make sure about it when I see an English phraze that seems to be incorrect but written in many British sites.
Thank you.

(Many Japanese people write "description about". So I'd like to be sure about it so that I can perfectly explain when I point out the mistake. I'm in the position in which I have to point out mistakes made by other Japanese people as much as I can.)


Any native speaker can make a mistake and we regularly do. I would say that it's entirely likely that a native speaker would say "description about". It's probably a very common usage but that doesn't make it right.
 

pinkie9

Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Japanese
Home Country
Japan
Current Location
Japan
Any native speaker can make a mistake and we regularly do. I would say that it's entirely likely that a native speaker would say "description about". It's probably a very common usage but that doesn't make it right.

OK, so it's one of those "commonly used but incorrect" words. I see.
Thank you again.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top