Students frequently use a preposition with verbs where it is not needed. This may happen because there is confusion between a regular transitive verb which is not a phrasal verb and a similar noun which does need a preposition. Here are some examples:
Emphasise |
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The government emphasised on the importance of a free market. |
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The government emphasised the importance of a free market. |
This error may be due to confusion between the verb emphasise (transitive; no preposition) with the noun emphasis (often followed by the preposition on). |
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The government put emphasis on the importance of a free market |
Here are some other verbs where students tend to put a preposition where it is not needed:
Discuss |
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The committee will discuss about the effects of urban renewal. |
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The committee will discuss the effects of urban renewal. |
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The committee will have a discussion about the effects of urban renewal. |
Lack |
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Teenagers lack of knowledge about current affairs. |
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Teenagers are lack of knowledge about current affairs. |
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Teenagers lack knowledge about current affairs. |
Demand |
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The workers are demanding for better fringe benefits. |
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The workers are demanding better fringe benefits. |
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There is a demand for better fringe benefits among workers. |
Request |
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The employee requested for compassionate leave. |
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The employee requested compassionate leave. |
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The employee made a request for compassionate leave. |
Stress |
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Our teacher stressed on the importance of the 80% attendance requirement. |
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Our teacher stressed the importance of the 80% attendance requirement. |
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Our teacher laid stress on the importance of the 80% attendance requirement. |
Semantic prosody describes the phenomenon in which certain seemingly neutral words can be perceived with positive or negative associations through frequent occurrences with particular collocations
There are 3 verbs where problems arise with Chinese learners:
Impose |
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| To impose means to force people to do something they do not like. When native speakers use the verb impose, they use it with nouns like ban, tax or (unpopular)law giving a negative connotation. Chinese speakers often use impose with a neutral object like scheme or policy. In this case they should use a neutral verb like introduce or implement. | |
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The school board imposed a scheme to encourage children to keep pets at school. |
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The school board introduced a scheme to encourage children to keep pets at school. |
Improve |
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Native speakers use the verb improve with nouns that are not negative in meaning. Chinese learners often use improve with a negative noun such as unemployment or air pollution. They should use a noun that is neutral in meaning. |
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The government could improve the air pollution by phasing out diesel run buses. |
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The government could improve the air quality by phasing out diesel run buses. |
Or: |
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The government could reduce the air pollution by phasing out diesel run buses. |
Cause |
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This verb is usually followed by nouns/noun phrases that are negative. Chinese learners often collocate it wrongly with nouns that are positive in meaning. |
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The ban on leaded fuel will cause benefit to pedestrians. |
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The ban on leaded fuel will bring benefit to pedestrians. |
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A rise in the number of tourists will cause an increase in increased revenue. |
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A rise in the number of tourists will lead to/result in increased revenue. |
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