How Oxford gives examples of prepositions

[Nonverbis]

Case1

Oxford gives us a list of examples with prepositions like this (each preposition in a phrase and on a new string):

• depressed about something She felt very depressed about the future.
• depressed at something He was really depressed at the thought of going into the office.
• depressed over something She was depressed over the recent death of her mother.
• depressed by something I was depressed by our lack of progress.

Taken from here: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/depressed?q=depressed






Case 2

And sometimes like this (a list of prepositions just in brackets):

• disillusioned (by/with somebody/something)
• angry at/about/over something

Taken from here: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/disillusioned?q=disillusioned
And here: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/angry?q=angry


Case 3
And sometimes prepositions are not specially mentioned byt scattered about the examples.
Like this:

• She felt exhilarated with the speed and the rush of air.

Taken from here: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/exhilarated?q=exhilarated


Could you help me understand what is the logic in how they mention prepositions? That is what is the difference between the three cases?

 

[emsr2d2]

I'm not sure why you're getting so worked up about how dictionaries list their examples. The important question is whether you understand the meaning of the examples or not. If you see an example of a particular preposition used in a particular way in a reputable dictionary, you can rest assured that it's right and that you can use it yourself.

 

[Nonverbis]

I mean that maybe there is a system behind this, which I don't know. This system would interest me greatly.

 

[emsr2d2]

I suggest you contact the writers/publishers of the dictionaries. We're not going to be able to answer your question.

 

[jutfrank]

In case 1, each preposition gives a significantly different meaning to the phrase, which is why they're separately listed. In case 2, where you get prepositions between slashes, they're saying that we use either preposition with no significant difference.

 

[Nonverbis]

In case 1, each preposition gives gives a significantly different meaning to the phrase, which is why they'r eseparately listed. In case 2, where you get prepositions between slashes, they're saying that we use either preposition with no significant difference.

This represents a significant difficulty for me.

Let's have a look at case 1.


She was depressed about the recent death of her mother.
She was depressed at the recent death of her mother.
She was depressed by the recent death of her mother.

Frankly speaking, I will not be able to distinguish that for memorising. And taking into consideration how many years I've been studying English, it is hardly worth hoping that I will acquire this intuition one day.

 

[jutfrank]

Frankly speaking, I will not be able to distinguish that for memorising. And taking into consideration how many years I've been studying English, it is hardly worth hoping that I will acquire this intuition one day.

Well, I think you'll benefit from studying the meanings of prepositions more closely. This is a tremendously difficult area for pretty much everyone, so you're not alone. Also, you need to study examples where the difference is maximally exposed. I don't think your 'death of her mother' example does this very well, but if you open a new thread, I'll try to explain the difference in meaning between the three sentences.

 

[probus]

Keep in mind @Nonverbis that there is almost no rhyme or reason to the choice of prepositions in English. Native speakers are able to choose the correct preposition with ease, but learners must memorize long lists of examples. It is one of the most difficult things learners have to do in order to perfect their English

Another point: you will run across occasional odd examples of usage. "Exhilarated by" is usual (99.999% of the time). I don't think I've ever encountered "exhilatarated with" before, but as we've seen in this thread, it has occurred in print.

 

[SoothingDave]

There are also variants in preposition use among the different versions of English. Americans do things on the weekend. Britons at the weekend. Prepositions can be simultaneously very important and arbitrary.

 

[jutfrank]

Sorry, I can't help but comment on the following:

Keep in mind @Nonverbis that there is almost no rhyme or reason to the choice of prepositions in English.

I couldn't disagree more! Prepositions are chosen with respect to their meanings just as much as any other words.

Another point: you will run across occasional odd examples of usage. "Exhilarated by" is usual (99.999% of the time). I don't think I've ever encountered "exhilatarated with" before, but as we've seen in this thread, it has occurred in print.

I don't find anything odd about the use of with in the example given in the dictionary. I think with was selected to show that the speed and rush of air was an accompaniment to her exhilaration rather than a cause. Think of with as meaning 'in the presence of' rather than as 'caused by'.

The choice of preposition is determined by meaning in almost all cases. Learners need to remember that there are extremely few cases where a preposition is fully dependent on the preceding word, whether that be an adjective or verb or anything else.

There are also variants in preposition use among the different versions of English. Americans do things on the weekend. Britons at the weekend.

Yes, there are some rare cases of differences in usage, but really very few. Still, the fact that Americans use on the weekend where Brits would use at the weekend doesn't suggest that they don't have different meanings, if even such difference is trivial.

 

[5jj]

Prepositions are chosen with respect to their meanings just as much as any other words.

I have sometimes wondered why English speakers watch things on television, French speakers watch them at them at the television and German speakers watch then in the television. How are these prepositions chosen 'with respect to their meanings'?

 

[jutfrank]

I have sometimes wondered why English speakers watch things on television, French speakers watch them at them at the television and German speakers watch then in the television. How are these prepositions chosen 'with resect to their meanings'?

Great question! I've wondered similar things. If you'd really like me to answer this, I can at least try, but it's not at all easy (and I'm not very well qualified) to talk about languages other than English. I'm very happy to discuss it further, though. Preposition usage is one of my great interests in semantics.

 

[5jj]

If you start a thread in the linguistics section, I'll join you. I can't promise to stay long. I have found little sense or logic in the use of prepositions in any of the languages I am acquainted with.

 

[jutfrank]

I do have some presently half-baked thoughts prepared on your question about differences in use among other languages, but it will take quite a lot of effort, so I won't lay them out here on this forum unless people are particularly interested.