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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Prepositions "in" and "with" when talking about emotions
Hello!
Although my question sounds simple, it's really starting to bother me. It has to do with the prepositions "in" and "with" (I know it sounds pretty basic...). It all started when one day at school I wrote in an essay, "jump with joy", and the teacher, who was a native speaker, told me I should use "in". Thing is, I've been researching as of lately and, apparently, I should use "in" in some cases and "with" in others. Or sometimes, they're interchangeable. For example, I've heard phrases like:
You cry with joy… with relief…
Jump with joy…
Shake with fear/anger/laughter…
Smile with joy…
Glow with anger…
Pale with anger…
Shout with joy…
Scowl with frustration…
BUT?
Smile in disbelief
Stare in disgust
Cry in pain / in agony
Frown in anger
Scowl in anger
According to the dictionaries, "with" is to be used when refering to emotions only when the emotion itself is the "cause" or "means." So should I always use "with" instead of "in"? For example, in the last five examples, could "with" be used too? The problem is that I don't really get the difference between both when talking about emotions.
Thank you for reading this, and I really hope someone can help me understand this better.
Although my question sounds simple, it's really starting to bother me. It has to do with the prepositions "in" and "with" (I know it sounds pretty basic...). It all started when one day at school I wrote in an essay, "jump with joy", and the teacher, who was a native speaker, told me I should use "in". Thing is, I've been researching as of lately and, apparently, I should use "in" in some cases and "with" in others. Or sometimes, they're interchangeable. For example, I've heard phrases like:
You cry with joy… with relief…
Jump with joy…
Shake with fear/anger/laughter…
Smile with joy…
Glow with anger…
Pale with anger…
Shout with joy…
Scowl with frustration…
BUT?
Smile in disbelief
Stare in disgust
Cry in pain / in agony
Frown in anger
Scowl in anger
According to the dictionaries, "with" is to be used when refering to emotions only when the emotion itself is the "cause" or "means." So should I always use "with" instead of "in"? For example, in the last five examples, could "with" be used too? The problem is that I don't really get the difference between both when talking about emotions.
Thank you for reading this, and I really hope someone can help me understand this better.
Top answer
" So should I always use "with" instead of "in"? I don't agree with the rationale. They seem grammatically interchangeable in all the cases you have listed, though usage makes some collocations the usual.
- " So should I always use "with" instead of "in"?
- I don't agree with the rationale.
- They seem grammatically interchangeable in all the cases you have listed, though usage makes some collocations the usual.
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1 Answers
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Anonymousccording to the dictionaries, "with" is to be used when refering to emotions only when the emotion itself is the "cause" or "means." So should I always use "with" instead of "in"?I don't agree with the rationale. They seem grammatically interchangeable in all the cases you have listed, though usage makes some collocations the usual.
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