“It’s the question … posed of Senator Obama …”

Common English Blunders, Prepositions

I heard this yesterday on the Hugh Hewitt talk-radio show.

Problem:
The wrong preposition was used.

Explanation:
The talk-show host was describing a question that Senator Barack Obama received during a recent presidential debate.

The origin of the verb “pose” when it means to baffle, as by a difficult question is the obsolete verb “appose”, which is a variation of the verb “oppose”, used in the sense of the Latin word for to put to.

So, when one poses a question, one poses the question to a person, not of a person.

Unfortunately, “posing of” has become a common English blunder.

Solution:
“It’s the question … posed to Senator Obama …”