preposition and prepositional phrases

Lecture 16 preposition and prepositional phrases Designer: Trịnh Thúy Ngàn Nguyễn Thị Thanh Huệ Nguyễn Thanh Huyền Definition The preposition The prepositional phrase Simple and Complex prepositions Prepositional adverbs The preposition • Are words belonging to closed-systems items • Expresses a relation between two entities, one being represented bye the prepositional complement • May show the relation of place, time, instrument, and cause Eg: the train leaves for Hai Phong at 2 o’clock The prepositional phrase • consists of a preposition followed by a prepositional complement, which is characteristic a noun phrase or a Wh-clause or a V-ing clause • That-clauses and infinitive clauses do not occur as prepositional complement • Other similar verbs and adjectives are: prep prep complement at The bus-stop From What he said by Signing a peace treaty He was surprised that she said this >>> he was surprised at her mark/ her saying this/what she said decide (on), inform (of) ,insist (on) afraid (of) , aware (of) ,sorry (about) sure (of) there are some circumstances in which prepositions are post- positioned, either because the complement has to take first position in the clause, or because it is absent: WH-QUESTIONS : Which house did you leave it at? RELATIVE CLAUSE : The old house which I was telling you about. WH-CLAUSES : What I’m convinced of is that he will be the champion. EXCLAMATIONS : What a mess he’s got into. PASSIVES : She was sought after by all the leading impresarios of the day. INFINITIVE CLAUSES : He’s impossible to work with. Note Simple and complex prepositions Simple prepositions: consist of one word. E.g.: at, on, in, to, from, of, for, since, with, between, under, against, up, down, by, as, etc. Complex prepositions: consist of more than one word, including 3 sub-groups:  Adverb of prep + prep ( along with, as for, away from, out of, up to)  Verb/adj/conjunction/etc + prep ( owing to, due to, because of )  Prep + noun + prep ( by means of, in comparison with, in front of ) Prepositional adverbs • A prepositional adverb is a particle which behaves like a preposition with ellipted complement • The prepositional adverb is respectively an adjunct or a postmodifier: A car drove past the door (past is a preposition) A car drove past (past is a prepositional adverb; i.e.: past something or someone identified in the context) Despite the fine weather, we stayed in all day (place adjunct) The day before, I had spoken to him in the street (postmodifier) Syntactic function of prepositional phrases (PP) adjunct disjunct conjunct Post modifier in a N phr Complement of a verb Complement of an Adj The people were singing on the bus To my surprise, the doctor phoned On the other hand, he made no attempt to help the victim The people on the bus were singing We depend on you I am sorry for his parents Note: PP may occasionally have a nominal function Eg: between six and seven will suit me Subject of a clause adjunct disjunct conjunct adjunct disjunct Post modifier in a N phr conjunct adjunct disjunct Complement of a verb Post modifier in a N phr conjunct adjunct disjunct Complement of an Adj Complement of a verb Post modifier in a N phr conjunct adjunct disjunct Prepositional meaning Place (8) Time (3) Cause Purpose (4) Mean Agentive (4) Accompaniment Support opposition “Having” Concession Reference exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction Place (8) Time (3) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Place (8) Time (3) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Respect standard Reaction Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction Reference exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction Place (8) Time (3) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Reference exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Concession Reference exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Prepositional meaning Place (8) Time (3) Cause Purpose (4) Mean Agentive (4) Accompaniment Support opposition “Having” exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction Place (8) Time (3) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Place (8) Time (3) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Respect standard Reaction Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction Place (8) Time (3) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Concession Prepositional meaning Place (8) Time (3) Cause Purpose (4) Mean Agentive (4) Accompaniment Support opposition “Having” exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction Place (8) Time (3) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Place (8) Time (3) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Respect standard Reaction Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction Place (8) Time (3) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) exception Negative condition Subject matter Ingredient material Respect standard Reaction “Having” Support opposition Accompaniment Mean Agentive (4) Cause Purpose (4) Place (8) Time (3) Place When we use a preposition to indicate place, we do so in relation to the dimensional properties, whether subjectively or objectively conceived, of the location concerned my car is at the cottage Cottage becomes a dimensionless location, a mere point There is a new roof on the cottage Cottage becomes a two- dimensional area There are two beds in the cottage Cottage becomes a three dimensional object [...]... Above and below, over and under, in front of and behind are converse opposites: The picture is above the mantelpiece = The mantelpiece is below the picture Over and under tend to indicate a direct vertical relationship and/ or spatial proximity, while above and below may indicate simply ‘on a higher/ lower level than’: The castle stands on a hill above (rather than over) the valley Underneath and beneath... By, over, under, etc With verbs of motion, prepositions may express the idea of PASSAGE (i.e movement towards and then away form a place) as well as destination Across, through, past He jumped over a ditch Someone ran behind the goalposts Note the parallel On the grass/across between across and the grass = treat the on, through and in grass as a surface, and suggest short grass In the grass/through...a) Positive position and direction: at, to, on, on(to), in, in(to) Between the notions of simple position (or static location) and direction (movement with respect to a destination) a cause -and- effect relationship obtains Tom went to the door ( the direction) >>> Tom was at the door ( the position) on (=’surface’) and in (=’area’) has various implications according to... phone you between lunch and three o’clock Up to last week, I hadn’t received a reply By specifies a commencement point: By that time he was exhausted (= He was then exhausted)# Until that time he was exhausted (= He was then no longer exhausted) Time (Absence of preposition of time) Prepositions of time are absent from: + Adjuncts having the deictic words: last, next, this, and that, previous, following... that, previous, following + Quantifying words: some and every + Nouns which have last, next, or this as an element of their meaning: yesterday, today, tomorrow I saw him last Thursday Every summer she returns to her childhood home The preposition for is often omitted in phrases of duration: We stayed there (for) three months Cause – purpose Cause, reason, and motive because of…, answer the question “Why?”... respect to, in respect of, and on the matter of Most can be used in post modifying phrases as well as disjuncts I’d like to know your opinions as to / with regard to the burglar’s behavior 10 Exception: except for, but… Exception All the students except/ but John passed the test Except, excepting & but function generally in post modifying phrases But can not occur initially as a preposition: INCORRECT:... There is also a parallel cause and effect relation Tom went away from the door (direction) Tom was away from the door (Tom was not at the door) (position) The negative character of these propositions is shown off = ‘not on’; out of = ‘not in’ c Relative position: by, over, under, etc Prepositions may express the relative position of two objects or groups of objects: He was standing by his brother (=’at’... bus/train With: instrumental meaning: He caught the ball with his left hand Without: negative meaning: I drew it without a ruler Note: - Mode of transport is expressed by on as well as by: on the bus/ the train… - “On” instead of “by” in the phrases: on foot, on horseback c Instrument, agentive: with, by Instrument: inert and inanimate cause of action: The ball that breaks a window Agentive: animate... of with is again without: Women without children (‘childless women’) 8 Concession: in spite of, despite, for +all, with + all, notwithstanding I admire him, in spite of his faults In spite of : general purpose preposition of concession Despite: more formal Notwithstanding: formal & rather legalistic For all & with all: chiefly colloquial 9 Reference: with regard to, with reference to (formal), as to... continents, countries, provinces, and sizeable territories of any kind; but for towns, villages, etc, At/in Stratford-upon-Avon either at or in is appropriate With buildings, also, both at and in can be used At refers to a building in its institutional or functional aspect in refers to it as a threedimensional structure He’s at school (BrE) He’s in school (AmE) b Negative position and direction: away from, . Lecture 16 preposition and prepositional phrases Designer: Trịnh Thúy Ngàn Nguyễn Thị Thanh Huệ Nguyễn Thanh Huyền Definition The preposition The prepositional. in front of ) Prepositional adverbs • A prepositional adverb is a particle which behaves like a preposition with ellipted complement • The prepositional