Lecture 19.

THE PREPOSITION
1. Definition
2. Morphological composition
3. Semantic characteristics
4. Combinability of prepositions
5. Positional characteristics
1. Definition

A preposition is a function word indicating a relation between two notional words. Its
semantic significance becomes evident when different prepositions are used with one and the
same word, as in:

to go to the park, to go across the park, to go round the park, to go out of the park, to go
through the park, etc.

A preposition may altogether change the meaning of the verb:

he shot the officer (he aimed at him and hit him),

he shot at the officer (he aimed at him but probably missed).

Although the tradition of differentiating prepositions from other word classes (conjunctions,
and in some cases adverbs) is well established, it is not always easy to draw the border-line;
nearly all one-word prepositions can also function as adverbs or as conjunctions, their status
being determined only syntactically. A few words - after, before, since, for (with the change of
meaning), behind - may function not only as adverbs, adverbial postpositions, or conjunctions,
but also as prepositions. Compare the following groups of sentences:

They sailed up (postposition).

They sailed up the river (preposition).
Everybody was up at the sound of the bell (adverb).
The milk boiled over (postposition).
He presided over the meeting (preposition).
I can’t tolerate such men as him (preposition).
As he was passing the door he turned back (conjunction).
No one saw him but me (preposition).
But no one saw him (conjunction).
He is stronger than me (preposition).
He is stronger than I am (conjunction).

2. Morphological composition

Most of the common English prepositions are simple in structure:

out, in, for, on, about, but (в значении кроме, исключая), against.

Derived prepositions are formed from other words, mainly participles:

excepting, concerning, considering, following, including, during, depending, granted, past,
except.

There are also many compound prepositions:

within, outside, upon, onto, throughout, alongside, wherewith, whereof, whereupon, herein,
hereafter, withall.
 Composite or phrasal prepositions include a word of another class and one or two
prepositions, as in by virtue of, but for, because of, by means of, instead of, in lieu of, prior to, on
account of, abreast of, thanks to, with reference to, opposite to, in front of, for the sake of, in
view of, in spite of, in preference to, in unison with, for the sake of, except for, due to, in addition
to, with regard to, on behalf of, in line with, at variance with.
A composite preposition is indivisible both syntactically and semantically, that is, no element
of it can be varied, abbreviated, or extended according to the normal rules of syntax. Thus in the
composite preposition for the sake of neither the definite article nor the preposition can be re-
placed by words of similar meaning.

3. Semantic characteristics

Semantically prepositions form a varied group of words. Most of them are polysemantic (in,
to, for, at, from), their original meaning having become vague, others have retained their full
meaning and are accordingly monosemantic (down, over, across, off, till, until, save, near, along,
among, despite, during, etc.). This also applies to prepositions borrowed from Latin: versus, via,
plus, minus.
Relations expressed by prepositions may be of various types:

1) agentive - the letter was sent by a friend of mine;

2) attributive - a drawing in crayon, the people in question (люди, о которых идет речь);

3) possessive and partial relations - one of my friends, the roof of the house, a glass of brandy,
a decline in waste, a rise in production;

4) relation indicating origin, material, or source - a girl from Brighton, made of gold:

5) objective relation – don’t be angry with me, I'II look into the matter, to work at a book, to
speak on the matter (about the matter, of the matter);

6) relation indicating to whom the action is directed - to show it to him, to give lessons to the
children;

7) instrumental relation - to write with a pencil, to cut with a knife;

8) relation of subordination - to be secretary to a Minister;

9) relation defining the sphere or field of activity - the country depends on exports for its
food; Tom is good at football;

10) relation of involvement or association - to cooperate with somebody; coffee with cream,
to compare this with that, to get involved in a discussion;

11) respective relation - he is big for a youngster, I did not know I had a blackguard for a
son;

12) relation of resemblance - he is like his father;

13) relation of dissociation and differentiation - to disburden oneself of one’s past; to be

devoid of something, to disentangle oneself from something; to know something from something,
to deduce from something;
 14) various adverbial relations:

a) of manner, means, style and language - with diligence, by telegram, in slang, in bad
print, in a neat hand, in good style, in brief;

b) of purpose or aim - to send for the doctor, he did it for fun, the police were after the
criminal;

c) temporal relations. These may be subdivided into those denoting precedence, sequence,
duration, etc. -
in good time, at 5 o’clock, before the dawn;

d) of cause or reason - I did it out of fear, through his negligence, I despise you for this;

e) spacial relation, including directional relation - past the gate, by the window, across the
river, at the gate;

f) concessive relation - in spite of the bad weather, despite our protests, for all his
attempts, with all her diligence.

The relations enumerated above to a great degree depend on the meaning of the words con-
nected by prepositions. Sometimes the relation indicated by a preposition is too abstract to be de-
fined in words, as its use is often figurative or metaphorical, as in:

He broke away from them on some vague pretext.

The role of the preposition is difficult to define when it introduces predicatives, when its
meaning is ‘in the capacity of’, ‘in the role of’, ‘having the quality of’.

As a friend he was admirable, but one cannot praise him as a husband.

His career as a lawyer was short.

We regard him as a fool.
She went to the ball with her aunt as chaperone.

When a preposition is used figuratively, the concept expressed by the preposition may be so
blurred or weak that one preposition may be replaced by another without any essential alteration
to the relation between the words. Thus the following words may be used with different
prepositions without change of meaning:

aversion from, to
disgust against, at, towards
repugnance against, for, to
along, down, over the centuries

Words of the same root can be used with different prepositions:

to pride oneself on, to be proud of, pride in;

to confide in, confidence in, to be confident of.
 4. Combinability of prepositions

As a rule a preposition governs a noun. However it may also be followed by a pronoun, a

gerundial phrase or a clause with nominal function, as in:

for advantage, at five o’clock, at taking measures, he was surprised at what he saw.

As prepositions indicate only the relationship between two words their position is clearly
defined.
Many prepositions tend to form a phrase called a prepositional phrase, often combining
either with the preceding verb or adjective, or with the following noun. Such prepositions cannot
be replaced by others.
Phrases comprising verbs with prepositions to laugh at, to call for, to refer to, to look for (at,
after) very often function as idioms, making one whole, so that the verb retains the preposition
even if its complement is transferred, as in the passive construction:

quick action was called for, the book is often referred to.

With some polysemantic verbs the preposition often indicates its meaning, as in:

to look for - искать

to look at - смотреть (на)
to look after - присматривать (за)
to look through - просматривать

Some verbs are used with or without a preposition, with but slight difference as to content.
Thus no preposition is used in the boy climbed the tree, but it is found in he climbed up the tree.
Similarly a preposition is often so closely connected with the adjective or stative it follows,
that it has practically no separate meaning, and may be said to be nothing but a formal means of
connecting the word with its complement:

She was afraid of the dog; The country is rich in minerals.

Prepositions with nouns or clauses may modify a preceding noun, as in:

men at work, method of teaching, the novel about which we've been speaking.

5. Positional characteristics

Normally a preposition stands between two words to express the relation between them.
However, there are cases when one of the two words with which the preposition combines either
takes the initial position or is not used at all. In these cases the preposition is attached to the
remaining word. It occurs in:

1) special questions, both direct and indirect:

What are you driving at?
Who shall I send it to?
What train shall I go by?
I asked him who the flowers were for.

However, the preposition may precede the interrogative or relative words. In this case the
sentence sounds more formal.
 To whom shall I send this?
By what train shall I go?
He did not know to whom he should turn for help.

The preposition precedes the interrogative when the preposition forms a stock phrase with a
noun.

In what respect was he suspicious?

To what extent is this true?

In abbreviated sentences and clauses consisting only of a preposition and an interrogative

word the preposition normally precedes it.

- But to whom?

In colloquial style the preposition is at the end.

- Who by?
- “Apologize?” she said. “What about?”

2) some clauses beginning with conjunctive and relative pronouns and in subordinate contact
clauses:
What I am thinking of is how he got there.
The man I told you about is my relative.
The girl he is in love with studies at the University.
It is his talents he relies on.

In formal style however, the preposition precedes the connective:

The man about whom I told you is a relative of mine.

3) exclamatory sentences:

What a nice place to live in!

4) passive constructions:
The doctor was immediately sent for.
How strange it is to be talked to in this way.

5) some syntactical patterns with the infinitive or gerund:

He is difficult to deal with.
It is not worth worrying about.
This is not a suitable house to live in.

Note:
If two or more prepositions refer to one word, the second (third) preposition may be used
absolutely:

Holly thought of the lashes above and below Val’s eyes, especially below.
His wife was attached to, and dependent on, him.