DAILY GRAMMAR (DG) 09-09-2018
1a. May I confide to you? (No)
May I confide in you? (Yes)
1b. The accident victim confided her troubles in me? (No)
The accident victim confided her troubles to me. (Yes)
(To “confide” is to tell a secret or discuss private matters with someone with the hope that the information wouldn’t be divulged. One “confides in” someone but one “confides” something “to” someone.)
2a. The present government appears to be impatient with corruption. (No)
The present government appears to be impatient at corruption. (Yes)
2b. This government is more impatient at corrupt leaders than the previous ones. (No)
This government is more impatient with corrupt leaders than the previous ones. (Yes)
(One is “impatient at” a thing; one is “impatient with” a person.)
3a. We cannnot argue with that man’s personal integrity. (No)
We cannot argue about that man’s personal integrity. (Yes)
3b. Don’t argue to a fool. (No)
Don’t argue with a fool. (Yes)
3c. We argued with the abolition of school fees. (No)
We argued for (or against) the abolition of school fees. (Yes)
3d. They argued to the suggestion of introducing corporal punishment. (No)
They argued against (or for) the suggestion of introducing corporal punishment. (Yes)
(You “argue about” a matter, “argue with” a person and “argue for,” or “against,” a proposition.)
Did You Know?
Etymologically, the word Great Britain means “great land of the tattooed.”
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