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opposite
1) If one thing is opposite another, it is on the other side of a space from it. Used with verbs:
e.g.
He lived opposite me for many years.
Used with nouns:
e.g.
She lives in the house opposite the church.

2) If one actor or actress stars with another in a film or play, you can say that the first plays opposite the second.
e.g.
Jody Foster played opposite Robert de Niro in 'Taxi Driver'.

other than
1) You use other than, usually after a negative, to introduce the only thing or person involved in a particular situation. Used after a noun or an indefinite pronoun:
e.g.
He was so tired he could think of nothing other than his bed.
I won't discuss this matter with anyone other than my boss.
You can't use this software with any computer other than a Macintosh.

2) You also use other than to specify a group which includes everything of a particular type except the thing mentioned. Used after a noun or an indefinite pronoun:
e.g.
Forensic science is in fact applied most frequently to crimes other than murder.
He is now learning how to program computers other than the Macintosh.
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out of
1) If you go out of a place, you leave it. Used with verbs:
e.g.
He went out of the coffee shop and across the street.
Once he was out of the air-conditioned building, the heat made him dizzy.

2) If you take something out of the container or place where it has been, you remove it so that it is no longer there.
e.g.
He took the car out of the garage and parked it in the street.

3) If you look or shout out of a window, you look or shout away from the room where you are towards the outside.
e.g.
He looked out of the window into the street where his car was parked.

4) If you are out of range of something, you are beyond the limits of that range.
e.g.
He stood watching until the train was out of sight.
They didn't talk until they were sure they were out of earshot.

5) If you are out of the sun or the wind or the rain, you are sheltered from it.
e.g.
Come in out of the rain before you catch a cold.
They say it's best to stay out of the sun these days.

6) If you get or opt out of a situation or activity, you are then no longer in that situation or involved in that activity.
e.g.
It will take them a long time to get out of debt to the bank.
Twenty people signed up for the course but five of them have since opted out of it.

7) If you get pleasure or profit out of doing something, you get it as a result of doing that thing.
e.g.
He gets a lot of fun out of writing humorous articles.
He made a lot of money out of dealing in stocks and bonds.

8) If you get something out of someone, you persuade them to give it to you.
e.g.
He had a lot of trouble getting a loan out of the bank.

9) If you pay for something out of a particular sum of money, you use some of that money to pay for it.
e.g.
He has to pay all the travelling expenses out of his own pocket.

10) You use out of to say why someone does something.
e.g.
He didn't want to go but he said 'yes' simply out of politeness.

11) If something is made out of a particular substance or thing, that substance or thing is used to make it.
e.g.
They make rubber sandals out of old car tyres.
The granite blocks were chiseled out of solid rock.

12) If you are out of a type of thing, you no longer have any of it.
e.g.
The project was abandoned after the company ran out of money.
The car is nearly out of gas.

13) You use out of when indicating what proportion of a group of things you are talking about.
e.g.
In some areas, eight out of ten workers are unemployed.
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outside
The form outside of is also used in informal English, especially American English.
1) If you are outside a building or room, you are not inside it, but you are quite close to it. Used with verbs:
e.g.
Crowds of people waited outside the town hall to hear the election result.
There was nobody outside the door when he looked.
Used with nouns:
e.g.
One of the newsstands outside the station is always full of foreign newspapers and magazines.

2) If people or things are outside a place, area, group or system, they are not in it or are not part of it. Used with verbs:
e.g.
More women than ever are working outside the home.
He learned everything that was useful to him outside of school.
Used with nouns:
e.g.
The company are now promoting sales to countries outside the EC.

3) Something that is outside a particular range of things is not included within it. Used after 'be':
e.g.
The experience was far outside my range of expectations.
Used after a noun:
e.g.
Art and science are uniquely human activities, outside the range of anything an animal can do.

4) Something that happens outside a particular period of time happens before or after that period.
e.g.
Using the automatic teller, you can deposit or withdraw money outside normal banking hours.
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over
1) If one thing is over another or is moving over it, the first thing is directly above the second.
e.g.
They drew water to heat over an open fire.
There is no bridge over the river.

2) If there is something over something else, the first thing is covering the second.
e.g.
The prisoners had blindfolds over their eyes.
He spilled his coffee over the keyboard.

3) If you wear one piece of clothing over another, the first piece of clothing is closer to the outside than the second.
e.g.
It was cold so the soccer team wore track suits over their shorts and shirts.

4) If a window has a view over a place, you can see the place from that window. Used with verbs:
e.g.
High windows looked out over a wooded valley.
After a noun:
Most rooms in the hotel have a view over the moors.

5) If someone or something moves over an area or place, they move across the surface from one side towards the other.
e.g.
They drove back over the hills to the San Fernando Valley.

6) If you go over something such as a river or boundary, you cross it.
e.g.
Refugees began pouring over the border seeking safety.

7) If something is on the opposite side of a road, river or border, you can say it is over the road, river or border. Used after 'be':
e.g.
The post office is just over the road.
Used after a noun:
e.g.
He works in that shop over the road.

8) If you look over something, you look across the top of it.
e.g.
He glanced over his shoulder to see if there was anyone following him.

9) If someone or something gets over a barrier, they go across the top of it.
e.g.
The thief was caught before he could jump over the wall.

10) If someone or something is over a particular age or amount, they are more than that age or amount. Used after a noun:
e.g.
Children over school age have to pay half-fare.
People over six feet often have trouble getting clothes to fit.
Used after 'be':
e.g.
He is well over school-leaving age.

11) If you can influence or control people or things, you have influence or control over them. Used after a noun:
e.g.
His quick mind gives him a natural advantage over his classmates.

12) You use over to indicate what a disagreement, feeling, thought or action relates to or is caused by. Used with verbs:
e.g.
Children are often quick to quarrel over small things.
Several politicians were forced to resign over the corruption scandal.
Used with nouns:
e.g.
There was a slight misunderstanding over the government's education policy.

13) If you go over something such as a piece of writing, you check it.
e.g.
Before you submit a paper in English, it's best to have a native speaker go over it.

14) If something happens over a period of time, or over a meal or a drink, it happens during that time or meal.
e.g.
I did a lot of reading over the New Year.
We discussed his proposal over lunch.
The number of cars on the road has doubled over the last twenty years.
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owing to
You used owing to when indicating the cause of something.
e.g.
The project has been cancelled owing to the financial cut-backs.
The successful conclusion of the negotiations was entirely owing to his efforts.
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past
1) If you go past a person or thing, you pass them as you go somewhere. Used with verbs:
e.g.
They drove past crowds of soccer fans on their way to the game.
Also used as an adverb:
Two of his colleagues walked past on the way out.

2) If something is situated past a place, you pass that place when getting to it. Used with verbs:
e.g.
The post office is just past the bank buildings.
After a noun:
e.g.
There is a small castle two miles past the village.

3) You use past when you are stating a time which is thirty minutes or less after a particular hour. Used after a number, 'half' or '(a) quarter'.
e.g.
The meeting was finished by ten past nine.
Also used as an adverb:
e.g.
We'll try to finish early-about twenty-five past.

4) If someone or something is past a state or a stage, they are no longer in that state or at that stage. Used after 'be':
e.g.
Once the children were past infancy they began to speak both languages fluently.
He is past caring about other people's feelings-he wants to quit.
Used after a noun:
e.g.
He has the look of an athlete past his peak.

5) If something is past belief or description, it cannot be believed or described.
e.g.
The team's performance so bad it was past belief.
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pending
If something is done pending a future event, it is done as a temporary measure because that event may make other action necessary; a formal word.
e.g.
The hospital said that the new unit had been closed pending an enquiry.
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per
You use per to express rates and ratios. Per is put in front of the single unit involved in the rate or ratio.
e.g.
Gasoline costs about 100 yen per litre.
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END of Chapter Nine