Abstract
In the Romanian language, there are differences in the assessment of prepositions based on the linguistic knowledge. For the analyzed structures of the Romanian language, the article uses the competence theory of Coseriu (1980, 1988). In his theory there are three forms of judgment used as criteria to distinguish between the different types of knowledge: the first type refers to the general language competence, the ability of the speaker to speak congruently, the second type refers to the ability to use a single language correctly and the third rated the ability to speak appropriately corresponding to the matter, to the listeners and to the situation. The structures like: pahar de apă / pahar cu apă (water glass/ glass (with) water) are for many linguists - including Coseriu – a very confusing example of language use. Since the reasons for that (and the solutions) have not been so clearly presented in the research as in the case of the regional varieties, the aim of the article is to present more precisely - based on Coseriu’s competence theory - the nature of the deviations in the use of language and the circumstances under which mistakes are accepted.