Let's say Alice sees her boyfriend Bob with Charlotte, another girl. Now, I know the correct usage is "Alice is jealous of Bob". My question is how to connect this predicate (be jealous) to Charlotte. That is:
Alice is jealous [of Bob] ___ Charlotte.
What preposition should come before Charlotte? If there is such a preposition, can I leave the part between the square brackets (of Bob) out?
Or how can I otherwise express this idea with and without including Bob in the equation?
Best Answer
The correct construct is "Alice is jealous of Bob and Charlotte". Jealousy is defined by Merriam-Webster's dictionary as, "an unhappy or angry feeling of wanting to have what someone else has," or, "an unhappy or angry feeling caused by the belief that someone you love (such as your husband or wife) likes or is liked by someone else." (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jealousy)
Therefore, Alice is jealous of Bob for being loved by Charlotte, and Alice is jealous of Charlotte for loving Bob.