Hi AsTeroine
Explaining all the phrasal verbs and the use of all the
prepositions is at least 2 chapters in any grammar book and there really isn’t space on this forum to do that. Have a look at Intermediate Exercises 32/33/34 in the incomplete sentences group and you will see some of the examples I have written.
You see, there sometimes doesn’t seem to be a logical pattern in language structures and phrasal verbs can be quite confusing at times. You are right, the word up can be a preposition meaning above. But it also can be a noun, a verb, an adjective and an adverb with a variety of meanings that depend on the given context. In addition, the preposition up can be combined with a number of verbs to create a multitude of different meanings. You say listen up when you want to catch the attention of your audience or the person you are talking to. If something lets up, it stops or becomes less. For exampe: Even after a week the rain didn’t let up.[YSaerTTEW443543]
AsTeroine (is that your real name?), as far as my Spanish is concered, I’d rather we stuck to English if that’s OK with you.
Regarding your question, yes, to be good at something is a fixed expression. I’m quite sure there are such set phrases in Spanish too. Simply accept that this is how a language works and you will see how quickly you can learn. Don’t try to find a logical explanation why a certain preposition is used in a certain expression or construction. Simply learn them by heart.[YSaerTTEW443543]
Hi Arturo, pleased to meet you. The correct expression is I’m sure he’ll return. You can ommit the ‘that’ here. Or you can say He surely will return.[YSaerTTEW443543]