Question

Choose the CORRECT answer:

Oscar Wilde died _ cerebral meningitis _ Paris _ November 30th, 1900.

a) of / in / on
b) with / at / at
c) of / on / in
d) from / on / in

Answer 1

Letter A is the correct

Answer 2

Solução:

Oscar Wilde died of cerebral meningitis in Paris on November 30th, 1900.

Correct answer: A)

Difference of use phrasal verb die of and die from:

1) a primeira dica para a primeira lacuna, vc deve utilizar um dicionário que contenha "phrasal verbs" para entender as principais diferenças e preposições que podem ser utilizadas neste verbo.

To die of AIDS, of bird flu, of hunger, of a heart attack, of cancer, of pneumonia, of childbirth, of a broken heart, of sorrow, of love, of curiosity.

To die from car/road accidents, from disease, from illness, from stroke, from a wound, from smoking, from drinking, from sudden death, from a weapon, from injury, from war, from religion...

To die by (through the means of) the sword, by suicide, by overdose, by a bullet...

and, also,

To die of: Use this when referring to the direct cause, such as cancer, or heart attack.

To die from: Use when referring to an indirect agent.

 So - he died from exposure to radiation (and then the radiation produced cancer, which caused the death).

The sheep died from the heat (which led to dehydration and so, death).

ANALYSIS

Of implies possession. The cause of death “possessed” him.

To die of AIDS, of bird flu, of hunger, of a heart attack, of cancer, of pneumonia, of childbirth, of stress, of overeating, of a broken heart, of sorrow, of love, of curiosity.

From implies origin. The cause of death points to “origin.”

To die from car/road accidents, from disease, from illness, from a wound, from drinking poison, from a weapon, from injury, from war, from religion.

NOTE : The use of died of and died from is not exclusive for some of the reasons. It depends on the nature of the cause. Simply remember that of refers to “possession” and from refers to “origin.”

For a heart attack, one can die of a heart attack and one can die from a heart attack.

One can die of a heart attack, if, for example, it has crippled the person for several years, and then he dies. The heart attack has “possessed” him.

On the other hand, one can die from a heart attack, if the person has one and only one heart attack and from it, the person dies. The heart attack is the origin of the death.

2) Uso da Preposição IN:

Para analisar tem que pesquisar o uso da preposição In, e neste caso a categoria, geralmente os dicionários classificam desta forma a regra e ou uso para está condição.

POSITION

1) inside or towards the inside of a container, place, or area:

Eg. The idea of living in Paris is very appealing.

3) Uso da preposição ON:

Para analisar tem que pesquisar o uso da preposição In, e neste caso a categoria, geralmente os dicionários classificam desta forma a regra e ou uso para está condição.

DATE/DAY

1) used to show the date or day when something happens:

Eg. He's due to arrive on 14 February.

I'm working on my birthday.

P.S.: Eu gosto de pesquisar em dicionários como Oxford e Cambridge, devido as explicações com exemplos de uso de verbos, preposições e phrasal verbs.