ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: cheated on Mary

Angliholic — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 15:22:18 GMT

Clive wrote:

Hi,

Here are a couple of examples.

John cheated Mary. John deceived/tricked Mary to gain an advantage, eg he cheated her on a card game, or in a business deal.

John cheated on Mary. This is a somewhat informal idiom, relating to sex. John was married to Mary, but secretly he had a lover.

Best wishes, Clive

Thanks, Clive, for clearing up my suspicion.

Re: cheated on Mary

Clive — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 15:02:06 GMT

Hi,

Here are a couple of examples.

John cheated Mary. John deceived/tricked Mary to gain an advantage, eg he cheated her on a card game, or in a business deal.

John cheated on Mary. This is a somewhat informal idiom, relating to sex. John was married to Mary, but secretly he had a lover.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: cheated on Mary

Marius Hancu — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 13:10:10 GMT

cheated on

Re: cheated on Mary

Angliholic — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 13:08:45 GMT

Marius Hancu wrote:
Only the 2nd is OK, IMO

Thanks, Marius, for your reply.

For curiosity's sake, what if I reword the base sentences as the following?

John cheated Mary.

John cheated on Mary.

Do they both sound OK and come across as the same meaning?

Re: cheated on Mary

Marius Hancu — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 12:19:40 GMT

Only the 2nd is OK, IMO

cheated on Mary

Angliholic — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 12:18:06 GMT

John cheated Mary.with Jane.

John cheated on Mary with Jane.

Do both of the above samples sound correct? If yes, do they convey the same idea? Thanks.