To be involved 'in'/'with'...

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Mehrgan

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Hi all,

I'd be much grateful if anyone could kindly tell me the difference between the two prepositions.
 

eunice65078

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Although you have not provided an exact context - one way to show a slight difference would be the following: "I am involved in studying and working on my family history; to do that work I am involved with many people."

In some contexts either word would work.

(I am not an English teacher.)
 
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emsr2d2

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Hi all,

I'd be [STRIKE]much[/STRIKE] very grateful if [STRIKE]anyone[/STRIKE] someone could kindly tell me the difference between the two prepositions.

Mehrgan, you've been around long enough to know that "much grateful" isn't right.
 

Mehrgan

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Thank you so much for the corrections you have made to the sentence, dear emsr2d2. I feel quite disappointed now, as I see learning a language is never like what you think it is! There are, for sure, many more such structures we do use without realising they're not correct English. Indeed, it just sounded to be a familiar combination of words, as if I'd heard it many times before, which indeed turned out to be quite wrong! I feel quite sorry for the mistake I've made.

I tried to understand what the mistake was and I think that's because the word 'much' is mainly used before 'past participles' if I'm not wrong. Is that so?
But, honestly, I don't get why 'anyone' is wrong in that sentence.

Again, thank you for the post you've made. And, sorry!
 
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emsr2d2

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"Much" doesn't go before a verb or an adjective usually. It goes before a noun, usually in the negative or the interrogative.

I haven't got much money.
Do you have much cash on you?
Is there much photocopier paper left?
We haven't got much milk in the fridge.

Or (and this may have been what you were thinking of):

He hasn't done much walking.
They don't do much gardening these days.

In rather old-fashioned writing, you might see something like "My dear lady. I was much distressed to read your last letter ..." but we really don't use it like that any more.
 
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