22 Comments
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Bill Stevenson's avatar

That scary girl from the Ring is coming on the TV soon.

That scary girl from the Ring is coming out of the TV soon.

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Rebecca Brewster Stevenson's avatar

Huge difference here. Enormous. Good god.

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Moriah Tuchman's avatar

I carry the baby in my arms.

I carry the baby despite my arms. (Tricky arms!)

I’m drinking coffee in bed.

I’m drinking coffee underneath the bed.

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Rebecca Brewster Stevenson's avatar

Hahaha! These are great, Moriah!

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Bill Stevenson's avatar

I am sitting on the couch in my living room.

I am sitting behind the couch below my living room

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Rebecca Brewster Stevenson's avatar

That second one raises all kinds of questions....

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Abby Stalsbroten's avatar

My daughter sings with me.

My daughter sings to me.

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Rebecca Brewster Stevenson's avatar

Ah, lovely. Such a fascinating difference!

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Lauren's avatar

You've got to go through it.

You've got to go around it.

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Rebecca Brewster Stevenson's avatar

Oh wow. The "it" here seems to change (in my mind, anyway) with the change of that wee preposition.

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Louisa's avatar

It's always a lovely day for me when this particular newsletter hits my inbox. What a joy it is to know others who share a love for words.

The timing of this is peculiar, though I doubt merely coincidental. I started up vocal lessons yesterday after many years away and what did my new teacher tell me? "Our bodies; our voices, are our instruments." As she went on about the inner workings of the larynx and vocal cords, all I could think about was how none of this was a mistake. God knew what he was doing. He cares about our bodies, yes indeed.

For my prepositions:

I am going to the ocean.

I am going towards the ocean.

I am going across the ocean.

I am going through the ocean. (I think I like this one the most)

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Rebecca Brewster Stevenson's avatar

Louisa, how splendid! The *seeming* coincidence; your teacher's words; your words about our Creator. It makes me think of the pleasure he must take in our singing.

Also, you go, girl. Dancing lessons and now resuming vocal lessons. You're an inspiration, truly.

And I love your prepositions. Each one thought-provoking, especially when read together. I like the last one best, too.

Thank you, Louisa.

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Angie's avatar

Biscotti tastes great with my coffee.

Biscotti tastes great in my coffee.

Not a funny change, but a delicious one!

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Rebecca Brewster Stevenson's avatar

The change is fascinating, don't you think? So small, so big.

Thank you!

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Lynne Liptak's avatar

By the way, I LOVE the poem.

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Rebecca Brewster Stevenson's avatar

Oh my lands, Me Too.

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Lynne Liptak's avatar

I found my book among the laundry stacked on the bed.

I found my book beneath the laundry stacked on the bed.

I found my book under the laundry stacked on the bed.

I found my book beside the laundry stacked on the bed.....

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Rebecca Brewster Stevenson's avatar

Love this series. I like "among" the best and will have to think about why....

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Lynne Liptak's avatar

I am interested to know what those who work at Merriam Webster (ahem!!) would say about Bill's take on the idiom "six of one, half dozen of the other" being instead "six in one, half dozen in the other". I believe (according to MW) that you (not Bill- I'm sorry, Beav!) are correct. When using this expression, you are comparing two amounts and finding them the same, correct? We say it to compare two things that are very similar, as are the amounts of six and half a dozen. Bill, please weigh in on this. :-)

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Bill Stevenson's avatar

If MW agrees with you, that just means they are describing a mistake that many people are making; they describe, they don't proscribe.

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Rebecca Brewster Stevenson's avatar

Of course you're not wrong about M-W. But STILL, one wonders which way the phrase was originally said: "of," or "in." Lynne, does M-W tell us this?

Funny how it never occurred to me to look it up. Bill's reasoning is so sound!

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Sarah Davis's avatar

She peacefully slept amid the poppies.

She peacefully slept underneath the poppies.

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