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. |
