"My wife is a pain"

My American friend C and his Singaporean Chinese wife ML live in Hong Kong. They told me this real story. Some years ago, they had a Japanese couple living a floor below them. The wife was due to deliver a baby anytime. C told the Japanese husband, "Call us anytime. Don't worry what time it is. We'll take you to the hospital immediately."

One morning at 6 a.m., the phone rang. C answered the phone. Their Japanese neighbour was on the phone. He said to C, "My wife is a pain." C thought to himself, "You call me at 6 in the morning to tell me your wife is a pain???"

What the Japanese man meant to say was, "My wife is in pain" and not "my wife is a pain".

What a world of difference in meaning one simple preposition makes!

"My wife is a pain" is not something any husband should be saying about his wife. Even if he felt that way, he should never voice it out in public.

"My wife is in pain" is the condition she was going through and needed to get to the hospital immediately so that their baby could be born safely.

To the learner of English, prepositions are a pain. Which one do I use when? Does it make a difference? In this case, yes! Sometimes, no. How will I know which one to use? Practice makes perfect. Thanks a lot!

I have to admit. English is just plain confusing. I used to dread trying to explain strange things to my students. My simple advice is listen to the BBC all the time. Sooner or later, the right sentence structure will automatically come to mind when you need it. Learning by osmosis? Maybe. Just get it into your head any way you can!

Have fun learning English!

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