Wednesday, 9 September 2015

Illogical comparative - English Language & Usage

The question by the OP is based loosely on material from this page.



The choice of "at", "in", or "of" is often more a matter of nuance than essence. I'd suggest that "at" tends to convey a sense of specificity, as in "Price the carrots at 69 cents per pound", or "The temperature at Toronto is 15 degrees C.", while "in" tends to convey a sense of membership, as in "Kansas is in the United States", while "of" tends to convey a sense of characteristics of a group, "That is a herd of Hereford cattle>". But I don't think that the difference in nuance is enough to make one a hard and fast choice in any particular situation, and can be overridden by any number of considerations, including euphony.

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