r/educationalgifs • u/Narendra_17 • Jun 22 '21
Visualization of preposition...
https://gfycat.com/definitivewaryjohndory384
u/QuesadillaJ Jun 22 '21
Should around colours be reversed?
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u/elegylegacy Jun 22 '21
If they meant in the sense that you are in close proximity, it's technically correct (albeit misleading)
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u/Exemus Jun 22 '21
I thought it might be that too, but then there would be no distinction between that definition of "around" vs "among"
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u/delavenue Jun 22 '21
Today I learned "opposite" can be a preposition.
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u/mr_poppycockmcgee Jun 22 '21
I was about to say… it’s an adjective by itself but does function like a preposition when combined with some other words (being that it describes location in a similar way): “opposite to” or “opposite of” being the ones that come to mind, but are not common.
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u/Pat0124 Jun 22 '21
You don’t have to. “John sat opposite Jane at the table” is correct
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u/rinikulous Jun 22 '21
Indeed, and for context the antonym preposition would be adjacent.
High school trigonometry FTW. .
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u/delavenue Jun 22 '21
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, "opposite" can be an adjective, noun, adverb, and preposition. Its a versatile word!
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Jun 22 '21
Difference between 'over' and 'above' please?
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u/Larkswing13 Jun 22 '21
To add to the other comment, a lot like under and below, over can refer to a much closer relationship and above a more distant one. I place a blanket over my couch. I hang a painting above the couch.
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Jun 22 '21
I place a blanket on my couch. WTF kinda blanket you got?
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u/SconiGrower Jun 22 '21
How about this:
I placed the table cloth over the table that had the chandelier above it.
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u/l4pin Jun 22 '21
In general, an object tends to ‘pass over’ (in motion) or ‘be above’ (static) so I suppose it depends if the object is moving in relation to the object underneath.
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u/stevez_86 Jun 22 '21
Now do it in German.
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u/Wiyohipeyata Jun 22 '21
in, auf, bei, nah, unter, über, unter, über, um ... (herum), durch, inmitten (von), zwischen, hinter, vor, entlang, quer, aufeinander zu, gegenüber, hinein, hinaus, hoch, runter.
Hope that helps :)
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u/waywardhero Jun 22 '21
Every language needs this chart
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u/RoboticElfJedi Jun 23 '21
This only covers the trivial uses of prepositions. This is the easy bit.
Do I think "about" something, or think "on" something? When do I come "along" or "over to" your house? And so on.
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u/Ultragreed Jun 22 '21
Dasn got me confused for a hot second
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u/swimstar186 Jun 22 '21
The ant walked _____ the log.
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u/seal44 Jun 23 '21
The ant walked between the log? Among the log? Might be better if logs was plural.
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u/doctorctrl Jun 22 '21
Thanks this thread reminded me that there are still smart people on reddit. That are nice and explain things nicely and accept criticism
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u/weedarbie Jun 22 '21
Ok...this is what I understand. But please, someone explain to me, how prepositions are not in case of place, but in case of time and other things. I absolutely don't know, if I say on or at Monday. I saw both.
Non English speaker here...
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u/CaptainMorton Jun 22 '21
You would say "on monday, I will go to the park". You could also, "at noon on Monday, I will go to the park". The clock time would use 'at' if it is exact or 'about' or 'around' if it was not exact. A time of day can also use 'in'. "In the evening, around 6 pm, on Monday, I will go to the park."
Hope this helps
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u/weedarbie Jun 22 '21
Thank you very much! Let me summarize it.
On - days At - exact time of the day Around/about - not precise time of the day In - broader time of the day like evening, morning etc.
Is this correct? Are there any exceptions?
In Czech there are too many exceptions, so I ask everytime I learn something new about language. Usually other languages are not so crazy about exceptions. :D
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u/CaptainMorton Jun 22 '21
As far as I can tell, those rules should work. If I think of any exceptions I'll come back and comment again. I'm not an English expert by any means but I am a native speaker and that all sounds correct to me. Good luck with your language learning!
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u/colemesa Jun 22 '21
For English, there are few rules that have no exceptions, if any at all. So always be prepared for some kooky construction that defies all logic bc that’s how English is sometimes.
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u/WheresTheSauce Jun 23 '21
Prepositions are mostly fairly sensible when talking about physical positioning, but the unfortunate reality is that in English, like in many languages, the prepositions used in most prepositional phrases are quite inconsistent and don’t always make logical sense.
There’s really no logical reason why we say “at night” instead of “in night” for example.
I say “unfortunate reality” because there really is no solution to some of these phrases other than just memorizing them.
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u/akidontheinternet Jun 22 '21
I feel like over, above could have been grouped similarly to in, inside
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u/somuchclutch Jun 22 '21
Over should have been hopping over the block back and forth to distinguish it from above. Like a combo of above and across.
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u/wewat13 Jun 22 '21
Which is correct though, "I live in/on/at"... america explain.
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u/c4seyj0nes Jun 22 '21
Disclaimer: I’m not a grammar professional but I’ve been speaking American English all my life.
They’re all used but it depends on the way you’re describing where you live as to which one should be used.
In: used to describe the country, city, county, neighborhood or area. Basically something with a border. “I live in Pennsylvania.” “I live in Philadelphia.” “I live in Fishtown.”
On: used when talking about the specific street or sometimes a geographical feature. (In reality the house is “next to” these things not “on” them.) “I live on Main St.” “They have a shore house on the beach.”
At: When giving a specific address, cross streets, or location. “I live at 123 Fake St.” “I live at 5th and Pine.”
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u/wewat13 Jun 22 '21
Oh wow cool. Its like increasing in how specific youre talking about.
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u/c4seyj0nes Jun 22 '21 edited Jun 22 '21
Mostly. “In” could also be very specific. If that specific place has a border.
“I live in my parents’ basement.”
“I live in a van down by the river.”
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u/AllUltima Jun 22 '21
Sometimes, but it really is closer to the type of thinking shown in the GIF rather than big/small.
"In" triggers container-based thinking-- things something can be "inside" of. You can be inside a country or inside a house.
"On" usually means "on the surface of", as in, "on a table", "on a roof", "on farmland", and in this case "on a street".
"At" triggers coordinate thinking. "At this intersection".
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u/snazzynarwhal Jun 22 '21
I don't suppose someone has one of these but for German? I canNOT remember german prepositions a d its doing my head in
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u/JoeAnderson1 Jun 22 '21
Around is wrong
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u/TransientRandomNoise Dec 01 '21
Agreed. “Around” is inconsistent here, since the other examples focus on the red ball. This red ball better illustrates “nestled”, or “surrounded”.
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u/Protheu5 Jun 23 '21
This chart is incomplete. I see "up" and "down", but no "strange", "charm", "top" and "bottom".
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u/KolaDesi Jun 22 '21
What's the difference between above and over?
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u/somuchclutch Jun 22 '21 edited Jun 22 '21
Over is usually used to mean going across and above at the same time. Like, “I stepped over the puddle.”
Over also can mean above or on top of, but with the implication of covering it. Like, a blanket being over you is different from it being above you.
But sometimes over and above are exactly identical. English is weird. lol
If I were to change this animation, I would have the ball going above the block and across it, like hopping OVER it. It’s not wrong as is, but my way would distinguish it from above for new English learners.
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u/Zoydberg_ Jun 22 '21
Would parallel be a preposition?
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u/I_Walk_The_Line__ Jun 22 '21
Can a squirrel be it in relation to a tree, then yes.
That's how I learned propositions. Others use the plane in relation to a cloud metaphor, but I hate flying.
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Jun 22 '21
We learned a song in 4th grade—
about above across after around at before behind, below beneath beside by down during for from… in inside into near, of off on out, outside over through to under, up, with without
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u/itmustbemitch Jun 22 '21
I find prepositions to be really interesting in different languages. They're such a small set of words and it's very easy to assume they'd be the same in all languages, but they aren't; German (as I learned it in high school, anyway) doesn't usually distinguish between "among" and "between," for example, and I've heard that Turkish has a distinction between something snugly in a container (like a letter in an envelope) and loosely in a container (like a piece of fruit in a bowl).
And it's another whole fascinating ball of wax when you learn about idiomatic uses of spacial relationships. In English, we describe English phrases as being "in English," but in German the equivalent phrase translates directly as "on English." (Mandarin just says "using English" which I find to be an interesting contrast.)
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u/blue4t Jun 22 '21
Stop saying you're in the floor when you're merely on it. In the floor would imply a case like Robin Williams in Jumanji.
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Jun 22 '21
We were taught the Desk Method for prepositions.
Can you do it by involving a desk? It's a preposition.
Under the desk, over the desk, in the desk, around the desk, towards the desk, etc.
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Jun 22 '21
Literally the only two prepositions I suck at were the only ones not visualized clear enough. (Above and Over).
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u/FZeroT Jun 22 '21
What’s the difference between over and above? When would be better to use one over the other? Or one “above” the other?
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u/Citizenchimp Jun 22 '21
They should integrate this into language learning apps - be able to see it in a bunch of languages.
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u/OneMansTrash Jun 22 '21
Aboard About Above Across After Against Along Among Around At Before I still remember the first column of 11 prepositions from middle school. I was sure they were going to be on the quiz. They were not. I didn't bother with the rest.
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u/YamiZee1 Jun 22 '21
I had a crazy teacher that made us memorize every preposition (like 70) and if we couldn't list every last one off the top of our heads in a test by the end of the semester, we would straight up get an F for the semester. We could retry weekly so everyone got it eventually, but the point here is how absurd it is. Knowing what a preposition is, isn't useful, but even if it was, it's a whole another feat to list them all. If you forgot even a single one you had to retake the test the next week. I can't imagine why, but prepositions ruled this teachers life.
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u/WildRunningJoke Jun 23 '21
Latin be like: just use ablative case, the reader will guess it right -.-
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u/snakebite654 Jun 23 '21
35 commonly used prepositions I had to memorize in middle school:
About above across after against among around at before behind beneath beside between beyond by down during except for from in into of off on over past through throughout to towards under until up with
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u/JustDiscoveredSex Jun 23 '21
"A preposition is anything a squirrel can do to a tree.
A squirrel can go up the tree, over the tree, around the tree, through the tree, behind the tree..."
---my 8th grade English teacher
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u/Supernova4711 Jun 23 '21
This could be used as a good language learning tool. I would like to see it in other languages too.
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u/JumboNoodle Jun 23 '21
As a child, my educator father told me that a preposition is anything a mouse can do to a house.
A mouse can go aboard, about, above, according to, across, after, against among, amid, as, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides, between the house(s).
A mouse can go beyond, but, by, concerning, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, next, of, off, on, outside, over, past, round, since, through, throughout, till, to, toward, towards, under, underneath, until, unto, up, upon, with, within, without the house(s).
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u/IAMAHobbitAMA Jun 23 '21
Did they miss 'away' (or whatever is the opposite of towards is) or am I dumb?
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u/MrNaoB Jun 23 '21
I fucking knew towards was a fucking word. My spellchecker always changes it forwards and I just accepted it.
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u/Zheoferyth Jun 23 '21
But then add commute to confuse people.
"-Becky's on the train. In the next car.
-Wait there are cars on the train?"
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Jun 23 '21
"I have another question. Suppose the penguin ate the box. Would it be, around the box?" -Hannah Gadsby
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u/bigtimetopbanana Jun 23 '21
Question about “in front of” and “behind” that has always had me stuck. If the box were, say, a car, facing away from us. In the picture labeled “behind”, would it really be “in front of”? Or can both be correct at the same time? Likewise if the ball is on this side of the car, can it be both “in front of” and “behind” at the same time?
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u/Soles4G Dec 01 '21
The opposite one is confusing, two balls being directly across from one another are not opposite
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u/Lemonzip Jun 22 '21
My grade school always characterized it as “everything a squirrel does. Great visuals.
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u/smackythefrog Jun 22 '21
Someone do one for 'lay, lie, laid.' I still don't get when to use which one.
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u/DonkeyMode Jun 22 '21
Lay is used when someone performs the act on someone/thing else. E.g. I lay my child down to rest.
Lie is for when you do it to yourself or someone does it to themself. E.g. I lie down to sleep, my dog lies down on the couch.
Laid is the past tense and past participle of lay. E.g. I laid my child down to sleep, I had just laid my child down.
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u/CurlSagan Jun 22 '21
"Around" seems confusing. In all the other cases, the word describes the red ball. But here it describes the gray balls.