Question
Atualizado em
eeesu
12 nov 2018

  • Japonês
  • Inglês (EUA)
  • Coreano
  • Chinês Simples (China)
Pergunta sobre Inglês (EUA)

I have a question about prepositions.

Are prepositions decided by the verb in the sentence?

For example,
He poured water "on" my face.
He slapped me "in" the face.

The word after prepositions is the same "face",but prepositions are different.(on and in)
Is it because of the verb in the sentence?

I'm so awful at explaining this, I hope you could understand...
Thank you.

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Kellyne
12 nov 2018

  • Inglês (EUA)

Yes and no. It’s true that “on my face” is the only one that works with “pour” and “in my face” is the only one that works with “slap,” but I think that’s because of the mental image that comes with it. When you pour water on someone, I picture it coming down on (on top of) their face from top to bottom, dripping from their forehead to their chin. For a slap, I picture it side to side, across the cheeks.
You can still use “in” with “pour” and “on” with “slap,” though, in other contexts. “He poured water in (into/inside) the bucket.” “He slapped his hand on (on top of) the table.”

There are some verbs that are more strict about which prepositions they use, especially when they are more abstract. It’s always “depend on” and never “depend in,” for example. On the other hand, it’s always “confide in,” and never “confide on.” I hope this helps!

Highly-rated answerer
eeesu
12 nov 2018

  • Japonês
@Kellyne Your explain makes total sense and I really appreciate it. Thank you so much for helping me!
Kellyne
12 nov 2018

  • Inglês (EUA)

@eeesu Glad I could help!

Highly-rated answerer
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I have a question about prepositions. Are prepositions decided by the verb in the sentence? For example, He poured water "on" my face. He slapped me "in" the face. The word after prepositions is the same "face",but prepositions are different.(on and in) Is it because of the verb in the sentence? I'm so awful at explaining this, I hope you could understand... Thank you.
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