Tuesday, September 18, 2012

prepositions (wrong): Entry for Tuesday, September 18, 2012.

prepositions (wrong)
One of the clearest indications that a person reads little and doesn’t hear much formal English is a failure to use the right preposition in a common expression. You aren’t ignorant to a fact; you’re ignorant of it. Things don’t happen on accident, but by accident (though they do happen “on purpose”). There are no simple rules governing preposition usage; you just have to immerse yourself in good English in order to write it naturally.


1 comment:

  1. I hear "on accident" so frequently anymore, that I wonder whether it may be a regional difference? Or perhaps generational?

    ReplyDelete