Purpose: Use this job aid to review the meanings and use of several commonly misused expressions.
| Expression | Guideline | Example |
|---|---|---|
| agree with | Refers to people | I agree with you. |
| agree to | Refers to things | I agree to the terms of the contract. |
| argue with | [a person] | I argued with Martin about why the report was late. |
| argue over or about | [a situation or thing] | We argued about politics. |
| argue for or against | [a position] | He argued against introducing overtime to get the work done. |
| differ with | [a person] | I differ with him on the issue. |
| differ from | [a thing or quality] | The new product differs from our competitor's. |
| differ about, over, or on | [an issue] | Experts differ on the benefits of taking vitamins. |
| occupied by | [a person] | The seat is occupied by another person. |
| occupied with | [a task] | He was occupied with the task. |
| comment about or to | [a person] | He made a comment about the new employee. |
| comment on | [a situation or thing] | She commented on the lack of resources. |
| charge for | [a purchase] | He was charged $8 for the poster. |
| charge with | [a crime] | He was charged with a felony. |
| compare with | Emphasizes differences | Compared with your desk, mine is untidy. |
| compare to | Emphasizes similarities | This computer isn't much faster compared to mine. |
| different from | Different from is the preferred form (different to and different than are less common) | The two cultures are very different from one another. |
| identical with or to | Both are acceptable, though purists prefer identical with | The signature on the page is nearly identical with the one on the check. |
| between and among | Between indicates one-to-one relationships. The word and in "between him and her" is usually used to compare two things; among denotes undefined or collective relationships and is used where the emphasis is on distribution rather than individual relationships |
There's been a change between then and now. That's one problem among many. |
| center on | Use this in place of center around | The meeting centered on the need to hire more editors. |
| approve of | Used to indicate favor | He approved of the way she handled the meeting. |
Course: Business Grammar: Common Usage Errors
Topic: Idiomatic Use of Prepositions
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