Hi. I'm Adam. Welcome to www.engvid.com. In today's video we're going to look at
the difference between the prepositions: "over", "above", "on",
and "on top of". Now, in many cases you will find or you will
hear native English speakers mixing these up. They're... In some cases
they're interchangeable. If you use "over" or "above" or "on", everybody
will understand you, the idea will be clear, the image of the situation will be clear,
but there are certain situations where you must use one or the other. So, we're going to look at all of these and
I'm going to give you the specifics, and then I'm going to give you some more sample sentences
to see where they can be interchangeable and where they can't. Okay? So: "over", when
do we use "over"? So, first of all, all of these
prepositions talk about a higher position. When we use "over" we're generally speaking
about the movement of something higher. Right? So: "The clouds moved
over the city." What does this mean? It doesn't mean that the clouds
came and then just stayed there. No. "Over" means they came and they
passed, and they kept going. Right? So we always have that idea of movement
when we're talking about "over". The sheep jumped over the fence. They didn't jump above the fence, because
then they would just be stuck there. There's the fence, there's above, the
sheep is in the middle of the air. Sounds a little bit strange. So they jumped over the
fence, with movement. We use "over" with numbers. Basically, it means more than, but
we use it specifically with numbers. I think you got
my message there. I'm going to have dirty fingers
later, but that's okay. There's soap. More than. "Over 100 people
came to the party." Means more than 100
people came to the party. So, sometimes you'll see something like this:
"100+" it just basically means "over", or: "100+ people came". We use this with numbers. "Cover". "To cover something" means to put something
on top of, but it doesn't necessarily have to be one on top of the other. It just means to cover, to put some
sort of protection on something. So: "Put a hand over your
mouth when you cough." [Coughs] That's my pen thing. Okay. Prefix. We also use "over" as a prefix with nouns,
adjectives, or verbs sometimes to, again, it's... The idea is more than, but it's also in terms
of the verb it means extra, beyond what is normal or beyond
what is necessary. So, if someone is "overweight"
means they have too much weight. Okay? Obese. Not necessarily obese. Obese is even more overweight than
overweight, but again, not thin. To "overestimate", so you have to
guess a certain level of something. So I think there will be 100 people
at my party, but I overestimated. What does that mean? It means that only 75 people
came, so I guessed too far. I reached too far with my guess. "Override" basically
means take control of. So if I... If a system, whatever system we're looking at
is controlled by a computer, I can override the computer, I can basically put my power over
the computer's power-higher than, stronger than-and I can take
control of the system. "Overzealous", too much zealous. So, another way to
think of it is "too". "Zealous" means like eager, really wanting
to do, really have a very focused motivation for something. If you're overzealous, you have too much
of this thing, above the normal level. So, now, speaking of the
normal level: "above". Two... Two ways to use this. One is, of course, in terms of
like physical relationship. Something is higher in
relation to something else. But generally it is
on the same plane. Now, what does "plane" mean? In terms of space, something is on
a same line I guess you could say. Right? If you have a wall, so something
is above something on the wall. So, "over" is listed above "above" because
they're on a flat plane, on the flat whiteboard, one is higher than the other. Now, if we go back to the clouds:
"The clouds lingered above the city." "Lingered" means basically hung
around or stayed for a little while. So here came the clouds. Everybody thought the clouds would go over
the city, but the clouds came and then they just sort of lingered
above the city. Here is the city,
here are the clouds. They're on the same plane, on
the same general area of space. One is higher than the other. So that's the most
common use of "above". We also use "above" when we refer to a
higher position than a reference point. Now, what is a
"reference point"? Means the point by which we compare everything
to or that we relate everything to. So, if we talk about average... Okay? Let's say we're talking about
the house prices in the city. The average house price is
half a million dollars. Okay? We look at all the houses that have been sold
in the last little while, the most, the least, etc., we add them all together, divide by
how many houses, and that's your average. So from this average if a house is selling for
700,000, it is above average price, above average cost. If it's selling for 300,000,
it's below average. We're going to look at
"below" in another lesson. Okay? "Above average",
"above freezing". Now, "freezing" basically
means zero degrees. So although zero is a number,
it's not the same as this number. It's a point, a point on a
scale, a temperature scale. Zero is freezing, then plus one, plus two
degrees, minus one, minus two degrees. Celsius, of course,
I'm talking about. "Above expectations". So, for example, I hire
you to work for me. I'm the boss. I have certain expectations. This is where I expect you to
work or certain standards. If you work at this level, more than I expected,
then you have gone above expectations. Okay? And I'm very happy
about that, of course. Lastly, we have "on"
or "on top of". "On"... They're basically more the same. "On top of" is on, on
something usually. Okay? We talk about in relation to something, so
you're always going to have an object, but most commonly you
have a surface. Okay? So put the books... "Put the book on the table." Here's a table, put
the book on it. Okay? Now, if I have a table and
I have some books on it: "Put the books on top of
the books on the table." So I'm not going to
use "on, on" twice. I'm not going to use "on"
twice to relate to something. I'll use "on" for one, I'll use
"on top of" for the other. And "on top of" usually
has the idea of touching. So something is touching something
else, but it's higher than it. "Above" there's space, "on" usually no
space or "on top of" there's no space. Okay? So, again, these
are the specifics. Now we're going to look at a few sample sentences
to see where they're sometimes interchangeable, where you can use one or the
other and get the same meaning. Okay, so we're going to... We're going to look at a couple of sentences,
or three sentences actually to show you that sometimes they are
interchangeable. So, you have a little fireplace where
in the winter you have a nice fire, you have a nice painting. "Let's hang the painting
over the fireplace.", "Let's hang the painting
above the fireplace." In this case both
would be acceptable. People use either one
interchangeably. The idea is very clear. Now, technically, "over" there's nothing moving,
but we use "over" to mean when two things are very related and
stationary as well. Do you want to use it? That's up to you. If you don't, "above" is okay. Keep in mind people do use "over" regularly in
these situations, and therefore it's acceptable. Okay. "Can you please put a
blanket over my legs?" I'm lying down, I'm cold. Can you put a blanket
over my legs? Means cover. So we said, like, cover
your hand when you cough. Cover my legs. Same idea. Or: "Put them on my legs". So I'm lying down,
just put it on top. Okay? Now, I just want to show you another use
of "on top of", a very common expression: "On top of all my other problems,
I have a new boss to deal with." So now technically
there's no thing here. A problem is an abstract
noun, it's just an idea. But you can stack things,
one on top of the other. So when you have a pile, one goes on top of
the other, you can do this with imaginary things as well. Another way to think of this: "In addition to all my other
problems, I have another one." But we use this very commonly because
it's like my problems are stacking up. Okay? But the same idea, something
on top of something else, touching. Touching, making a pile. Okay? So that's basically it. So, more or less... Again, if you sometimes mix
them up, don't worry about it. Whoever you're speaking to or writing
to will understand you most likely. However, certain situations need the specific
preposition that they need based on what we looked at just a while ago. So practice these, get comfortable
with them, and use them as you would. So, I hope this was all clear and
I hope you enjoyed this lesson. If you did, please subscribe to my
YouTube channel if you haven't already. If you have any questions, go to
www.engvid.com and join the forum. I will be happy
to answer your... All your questions there. There's also a quiz testing your knowledge
of "over", "above", "on", "on top of". And, of course, come back again soon,
watch our next videos, and enjoy. Bye.
