Getting to Know the Prepositional PhrasesPrepositions are those function words that we need to tack on to a noun phrase so we can properly modify it or elaborate on it when forming a sentence. Prepositions typically establish a relationship between ideas within the same clause, in contrast with conjunctions or conjunctive adverbs, which establish a relationship between clauses, between sentences, and across paragraphs.
In the passage below, for instance, the words “in” (1), “of” (4), “but” (1), “at” (1), “into” (4), and “across” (1) are prepositions that interconnect two or more ideas within the same clause with one another:
“What is perhaps little appreciated
in this dizzying train
of inventions is that the modern computer and the Web have been essentially a continuing
but silent Hindu-Arabic-European-American co-production, and that at the root
of it was the ancient Indo-European language and the Arabic number system. We know,
of course, that these twin foundations
of our civilization moved
into Europe and jumped across the English Channel
into England, polishing themselves
into the English language and
into the Arabic number system that we know so well today.”*
There are roughly 76 prepositions in all in the English language, and here they are in alphabetical order:
about, above, according to, across, after, against, along, along with, among, apart from, around, as, as for, at, because of, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, but, by, by means of, concerning, despite, down, during, except, except for, excepting, for, from, in, in addition to, in back of, in case of, in front of, in place of, inside, in spite of, instead of, into, like, near, next, of, off, on, onto, on top of, out, out of, outside, over, past, regarding, round, since, through, throughout, till, to, toward, under, underneath, unlike, until, up, upon, up to, with, within, without.We must keep in mind that English uses prepositions in two general ways: as literal components of prepositional phrases, or as nonliteral components of so-called prepositional idioms.
The Prepositional Phrases IMAGE CREDIT: WEBAPPS.TOWSON.EDUWe will first take up the prepositional phrases, which come in two types:
(1) The first type: a phrase that begins with a preposition and ends with an object along with any associated adjectives or adverbs.
Example of the first type: “The plane flew above the thick clouds for five minutes.”
In this sentence, “above the thick clouds for five minutes” is a prepositional phrase that functions as an adverbial modifier of the verb “flew.” It consists of the preposition “above,” the noun phrase “the thick clouds” as the object of the preposition, and the adverb phrase “for five minutes” (which by itself is another prepositional phrase) as a modifier.
IMAGE CREDIT: ENGLISHSTUDYPAGE.COM(2) The second type (the “phrasal verb” or “verb phrase”): a phrase that consists of a verb form that ends in a preposition.
Example of the second type: “How you spend your weekends is something we are not
concerned with.”
In this sentence, “concerned with” is a prepositional phrase, one that by grammatical convention should always end with the preposition “with” and never with, say, other prepositions like “of,” “for,” or “about.”
In both cases, the phrase is meant to be taken in its literal sense in relation to the rest of the sentence.
Common Phrasal Verbs or Verb PhrasesHere are some common prepositional phrases that we need to master so we won’t trip too often when using them:
1. Phrasal verbs or verb phrases, shown in their correct usage against the incorrect one:
“adapt
from a source” (not
to a source), “adapt
to a situation” (not
for or
with a situation), “agree
on a plan” (not
to a plan), “agree
to a proposal” (not
with a proposal), “agree
with a person” (not
to a person), “approve
of something” (not
with something), “charge
for a purpose” (not
with a purpose), “charge
with a crime” (not
of or
for a crime), “contend
for a principle” (not
of or
with a principle), “contend
with a person” (not
against a person), “correspond
with a person” (not
to a person), “differ
about or
over a question” (not
on a question), “differ
from in appearance” (not
to in appearance), “differ
with a person” (not
to a person), “disappointed
by or
with a person” (not
in or
on a person), “disappointed
in or
with a thing” (not
on or
by a thing), “infer
from” (not infer
to or
with), “inferior
to” (not inferior
with), “oblivious
of or
to one’s surroundings” (not
in or
on one’s surroundings), “occupied
by a person” (not
with a person), “occupied
in study” (not
by or
on study), “occupied
with a thing” (not
by or
of a thing), “part
from a person” (not
with a person), “part
with a possession” (not
of a possession), “rewarded
by the committee” (not
from the committee), “rewarded
for something done” (not
with something done), “rewarded
with a gift” (not
of a gift), “wait
at a place” (not
in or
on a place), “wait
for a bus” (not
of a bus), “wait
for a person” (not
of a person), “wait
on a client” (not
in a client).
2. Adjectives with prepositional phrases: COMPOSITION OF ADJECTIVES WITH PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES
IMAGE CREDIT: SLIDEPLAYER.COMHere's a list of common adjective phrases shown in their correct usage against the incorrect one:
“accountable
for” (not accountable
of or
with), “accountable
to a person” (not accountable
with a person), “angry
with Gina” (not
of Gina), “angry
at a thing” or “angry
about a thing” (not
of or
with a thing), “capable
of” (not capable
with), “convenient
for a purpose” (not
to a purpose), “identical
with or
to” (not
of), “impatient
at her conduct” (not
of her conduct), “impatient
of restraint” (not
with restraint), “impatient
for a raise” (not
of or
with a raise, “impatient
with a person” (not
in or
for a person), “independent
of” (not
from), “inferior
to” (not inferior
of), “oblivious
of something forgotten” (not
with something forgotten), “prior
to” (not prior
from), “similar
to” (not similar
with), “superior
to” (not superior
of or
from).
We can thus see that the 76 prepositions in the English language make unique or specific grammatical combinations with verbs and adjectives in forming the prepositional phrases. And this is not all. As we will see in the next lesson, the prepositions make hundreds of combinations with other words to form the prepositional idioms—expressions that don’t follow the usual grammatical rules and yield nonliteral meanings that can only be learned through experience.
(Next:
Dealing with the Prepositional Idioms) October 21, 2018
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*This is a passage from my 2002 essay, "The Tree of Life," that postulates that the Tree of Knowledge in the Biblical Garden of Eden was actually a very powerful digital computer.