Idiom Errors

Illustrative Sentences

Many teenagers feel a great deal of pressure to conform with the values, attitudes, and behavior
of their peers.
I was prohibited, by my conscience as well as the team dress code, to wear a dress to the football
scrimmage.
The labor dispute was caused by both long hours as well as unsafe working conditions.

Preposition idioms make up the majority of these errors. No rule governs which preposition is correct for a
given expression; idioms must be learned individually.
I am jealous of you; I am worried about you; I am grateful to you. Sometimes a different preposition can
be used with a certain word depending on meaning intended. A scientist can be a credit to her university;
a scientist can be credited with a discovery; a scientist can be given credit for her discovery. A common
idiom error is the expression "different than"; the correct expression is "different from."
In the first example, the correct expression is "conform to"; the preposition "with" is incorrect. This
example was relatively straightforward because the two words in the expression appeared together.
When testing a prepositional idiom with both words together, the test writers will underline either both
words or just the preposition. If the preposition is wrong, the entire expression is wrong.
Sometimes the same word can take different prepositions depending on the context and the meaning of
the expression. When you write a letter to someone, you correspond with that person; when two things
serve similar functions in different contexts, we say that one thing corresponds to the other. On the SAT
Writing Test, the context will always be clear in such situations, so you'll always be able to decide which
preposition is required.
Idiom errors get tricky when the test writers sandwich a long phrase between the two halves of an idiom
to distract you from their connection. When the two halves are separated, the test writers usually just
underline the preposition. But because the preposition is now separated from its "other half," it's easy to
forget to look back to see whether the preposition is properly used. You have to train yourself to anticipate
the second half of these idiomsand look for itas soon as you encounter the first half.
Once again, the bracket technique comes in handy. In the second example, bracketing the middle phrase
isolates the expression "prohibited to." The correct preposition to follow prohibited is "from."
Let's say that you weren't sure which preposition goes with prohibited and that your ear is no guide in this
case. You might ask yourself what preposition goes with a synonym for prohibited, like prevented. If
you're not sure which preposition goes with a particular word, try substituting a familiar synonym:
generally both words will take the same preposition.
The other type of idiom error you need to look out for involves linking expressions. Certain expressions, a
list of which follows, link two sets of words or phrases. These expressions are fixed idioms, and they
require both halves to be correct. Notice that the two parts of each linking expression will be separated:
when you see the first half, you must anticipate the second half. When one of these expressions is being
tested on the SAT, often only the second part will be underlined. You'll need to be extremely careful and
look back to see whether the underlined second half correctly goes with the first half, which may not be
underlined (and which may therefore escape easy notice).
The following common linking expressions, which we will also discuss under parallel errors, all
require both parts to be correct.

both . . . and
either . . . or
neither . . . nor
whether . . . or
not only . . . but also

In the third example, the phrase "as well as" incorrectly follows the word "both." Any of the following would
have been acceptable versions of this sentence:

The labor dispute was caused by both long hours and unsafe working conditions.
The labor dispute was caused by long hours and unsafe working conditions.
The labor dispute was caused by long hours as well as unsafe working conditions.

You don't have to memorize a long list of idioms. If you're on the lookouttwo or three will show up on
your testyou should have no difficulty spotting them. The following drill will give you additional practice.
Prepositional Idiom Drill
For each of the following words, supply the correct preposition. You'll find the answers at the end of this
page.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

able . . .
capable . . .
comply . . .
conscious . . .
equivalent . . .
identical . . .
method . . .
opposed . . .
preoccupied . . .
relevant . . .

Related Errors
If this type of error tends to trip you up, you should also review the following categories:

diction errors
parallel structure errors

Answers to the Prepositional Idiom Drill

1. able to
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

capable of
comply with
conscious of
equivalent to
identical to
method of
opposed to
preoccupied with
relevant to
If you missed more than a few of these, try to be more alert to idioms in your regular classroom
reading assignments. Now that you know to be on the lookout for prepositional idioms, you'll
quickly become familiar with the more common ones.