Representing when, where, how and why
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Representing where | page 7 of 8 |
Using prepositional phrases: at and to
In certain commonly used expressions, eg throw at and throw to, at suggests aggression while to suggests cooperation:
Others just throw bricks at policemen. (Bank of English)
She threw the pencil to me.
In the first example above, the intention of throwing something is to hurt someone. In the second example, the intention is to let someone use the pencil. Consider the following:
The suspect shouted at me and ordered me to drop my gun.
(SCMP 14/11/92)I shouted to them, "Take care of me, I'm a hostage." (SCMP 21/4/94)
In the first example, the suspect shouted because he was committing a crime. In the second example, someone shouted because he wanted other people at a distance to help him.
Introduction
Using prepositional phrases: at and to
