Over and Above

Hi, everyone!

I hope you like prepositions because I am going to talk about them again today.

The question today comes from our reader Francesca in Rome, Italy. Here it is:

Question:

Hello, thank you VOA. I have a problem using over and above. You will certainly help me. - Francesca, Rome

Answer:

Ciao, Francesca. I am happy to help!

The words over and above can act as prepositions or adverbs, depending on how they are used.

For today's program, I will focus on prepositions. Prepositions are words that show direction, position or time.

Over and above both express that something is in a higher position than something else. And, sometimes, you can use either word.

You can, for instance, say:

The building is over a parking lot (or)

The building is above a parking lot.

They have the same meaning.

But there are times when one word is more suitable than the other.

Motion, movement

For example, the word over suggests movement. Above does not.

When the upper object moves across the lower object, use over, as in these examples:

A plane just flew over city hall.

We walked over the bridge.

Covering, contact

In addition, over suggests contact between two objects. Above does not.

Use over when the higher object covers or is touching the lower object, as in these:

Did you wear a raincoat over your clothes?

Please put foil over the remaining food.

Above is more common when there is no contact between the two objects, as in this:

Many bird species fly above the clouds.

Numbers and measures

We also use over and above with measurements.

Use over for such measures as height, age, speed and time, as in these:

We have been waiting over an hour for a table.

The game is for children over 10 years of age.

Above is generally used in measures of temperature, as in this:

It went above 90 degrees again yesterday.

And that's Ask a Teacher.

I'm Alice Bryant.

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