A
prepositional idiom consists of a verb followed by a preposition, but unlike an ordinary prepositional phrase, it forms an expression with a nonliteral or idiomatic meaning. Some grammarians consider the prepositional idiom
a type of phrasal verb, others call it
the phrasal verb itself, and still others call it a
verb phrase.
Any way we call a prepositional idiom, however, the distinguishing characteristic of its sense or meaning is largely determined by the preposition that comes after the verb; in fact, a single verb can yield as many as five or many more meanings depending on the preposition that comes after it.
IMAGE CREDIT: AMERICAN ENGLISH AT STATETake the case of the verb “back,” which literally means “to support by material or moral assistance” or “to cause to go back or in reverse.” It yields at least nine different idiomatic meanings when followed by different prepositions, as follows:
1. “back down” – cease defending one’s position in a debate or argument, as in “He’s not the type who’ll
back down from a fight because of veiled threats.”
2. “back away” – get out from a previous commitment, as in “The consortium partner
backed away from the deal for undisclosed reasons.”
3. “back out” – renege from a promise or deal, as in “The boxer
backed out from the title fight due to disagreements over the prize money.”
4. “back up” (1) – provide support to someone or something, as in “The reporter was asked to
back up his exposé with documentary evidence and immediately did so.”
5. “back up” (2) – move backwards or in reverse, as in “She
backed up the car so fast that it hit and toppled the lamppost.”
6. “back out of” – not keep a promise or deal, as in “His lawyer
backed out of the case the day before the trial.”
7. “back into” – hit something while moving backwards, as in “She
backed into a lamppost while getting out of the parking slot.’
8. “back off” – escape or run away from something, as in “The police told the demonstrators to
back off or face dispersal.
9. “back of” – unspoken self-knowledge about the outcome of something, as in “He decided to fight, but
back of his mind he knew that it was a losing battle.”
The verb “shut,” on the other hand, forms six prepositional idioms when paired off with different prepositions: “shut off” (to close), “shut down” (to close permanently), “shut in” (to confine), “shut up” (to stop talking), “shut out” (to prevent participation), and “shut off” (to cut off the flow).
Still another good example is “pass (something or someone), which forms these three prepositional idioms: “pass off” – present something as real, as in “In the film
My Fair Lady, Professor Higgins tried to
pass Eliza Doolittle off as royalty and succeeded magnificently”; “pass out” – become unconscious, as in “Just when the runner was approaching the finish line, she
passed out and fell”; and “pass (something) up” – refuse to take advantage (of an opportunity), as in “True to his word, the governor
passed up the opportunity to get himself reelected.”
IMAGE CREDIT: AMERICAN ENGLISH AT STATEObviously, the prepositional idioms or phrasal verbs are much more vulnerable to misuse than literal prepositional phrases because the specific preposition to use for each of them isn’t intuitive and doesn’t always follow a definite logic; in fact, their nonliteral meanings can be learned only after one gets adequate immersion in the language.
IMAGE CREDIT: THEYUNIVERSITY.TUMBLR.COMPrepositional idioms truly enrich the English language by investing many verbs with a vast trove of figurative meanings when paired with different prepositions. For this reason, however, we should use them with caution and only when we have confidently internalized their meanings and the situations or occasions for which they are appropriate.
This completes and ends the Forum’s five-part, full-dress review of preposition usage.
(Next:
Precisely when do we use the past progressive tense?) May 2, 2019
This essay, 1,141st of the series, appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the Campus Press section of the April 25, 2019 print edition of The Manila Times
, © 2019 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.THE FORUM'S 5-PART PREPOSITION SERIES IN FULL:1. A full-dress review of English preposition usage – 1 (Place and Location) 2. A full-dress review of English preposition usage – 2 (Motion and Direction)3. A full-dress review of English preposition usage – 3 (Time and Duration)4. Prepositions at work in literal prepositional phrases5. Prepositions at work in prepositional idioms THIS POSTING
