My favorite online dictionary tells me that jealousy is followed by the preposition of:
jealousy (of so.|sth.) – die Eifersucht (auf jmdn.|etw.)
(LEO)
But when I checked just-the-word, I noticed that of is used only precedent to jealousy.
Prepositions following the noun are between, about and at. Looking at the examples for jealousy about and jealousy at, it seems to me that about and at are the prepositions which are taken when referring to the reason why someone is jealous.
… that it was jealousy about her ideas.
… jealousy at the younger man's superior talents.
As I mentioned above, the dictionary says it is possible to say jealousy of sth. In my understanding, this something can just be the reason but not the thing I'm jealous of.
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(Q1) Is it jealousy of sth or jealousy at sth or jealousy about sth when referring to the reason why someone is jealous?
Note: I mean is it possible to say jealousy of the talents or must it be at as in the given example?I don't find any reliable sources that show the use of jealousy of sb. Though, I know that it is correct since there are many examples for to be jealous of:
They're all jealous of me.
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(Q2) Is it common to say jealousy of sb when referring to the person I'm jealous of?
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Supplementary question: How do I combine in one sentence both pieces of information — the person I'm jealous of and the reason why I'm jealous?
I could probably use a genitive as in Peter's car, but maybe my jealousy does not refer to the car or Peter himself but to his money or his parents' money (suppose they gave him the car as a present). How could I handle such a thing?
(I'm sorry for combining a couple of questions into one question but they are too related to be separated.)
Best Answer
Q1: Is it jealousy of sth or jealousy at sth or jealousy about sth when referring to the reason why someone is jealous?
I would think you would use the same prepositions for jealousy as for jealous.
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you can use either for or over with jealous in either of the latter two senses it holds above.
I have never heard that you could be jealous at something or about something, but if the usages are valid, I would expect that you could use them in the same with jealousy.
Q2: Is it common to say jealousy of sb when referring to the person of whom I'm jealous?
Jealousy of/for/over/at/about something is awkward and in my experience little-used. It is more common to say, "I am jealous of him," as in the example first sentences above.