5 Pairs of Prepositional Idioms A prepositional phrase is called that, and not a noun-and-preposition phrase or the like, for a good reason: The preposition determines the meaning. Here are five examples of pairs of prepositional phrases that are distinct in meaning because of the preposition used. 1. At Ease/with Ease In addition to being a military command to prompt a parade formation to adopt a degree of relaxation, “at ease” refers to a state of relaxation: “He stood at ease while waiting his turn.” “With ease” also modifies an action, but it is used to refer to a sense of effortlessness in such statements as “She completed the gymnastics routine with ease.” 2. At the End/in the End “At the end” is not used on its own as an idiom, but it appears in such expressions as “at the end of the day” (to mean “ultimately” or “as it turned out”) and “at the end of (one’s) rope” — or “tether” — to mean “pushed to (one’s) limits.” “In the end,” by itself, has the sa...
Place where Leaders are made!