EL001 Pre-Pathway Module 2010Grammar and Vocabulary DevelopmentSession 12

Pattern grammarPrepositions

contrary provide supplied

imposed according explain

saw cared culminated

relied suffer deeply fond

doubted assumes described

disagree

PATTERN GRAMMAR

ANGUS MADDISON, who died on April 24th at the age of 83,

described himself as a chiffrephile—a lover of figures. Like many

men, he had his first serious crush at the age of 13. He read “How

to Pay for the War”, by John Maynard Keynes; it was the annex on

national income that most tickled his fancy. For the next 70 years

he pursued ever more elusive numbers, estimating GDP for a

growing range of countries over a lengthening span of time. In

1995 he published GDP estimates for 56 countries as far back as

1820. In 2001 his romantic adventures culminated in an

estimate for world output in the year 1AD: $105.4 billion at 1990

prices.

GDP is a modern term, but the urge to count the nation’s produce

and compare countries’ standards of living predates Adam Smith.

Maddison saw himself as heir to a tradition that began with

William Petty, the pioneer of “political arithmetick”, who in 1665

estimated the income of England and Wales at £40m. That

calculation was of pressing concern to Petty, who wanted to show

the king how to pay for the war against the Dutch. But why did

Maddison care about the GDP of the distant past?

He believed that the “pace and pattern” of economic activity had

deep historical roots. Economies, he thought, do not “take off”, as

if from nowhere. Even the industrial revolution was too gradual to

warrant the term revolution and too broad to be considered

merely industrial. Take, for example, the progress of maritime

technology. By 1773, John Harrison was claiming a £20,000 prize

from the British Parliament for inventing a seaworthy

chronometer. Captain James Cook had reached Australia’s east

coast, and thanks to sauerkraut and citrus juice, he had lost none

of his crew to scurvy.

Even scholars who believed there was a lot of economic progress

to measure before the 19th century doubted there was enough

data to measure it. Maddison made the most of whatever was

available. He drew on one scholar’s work on probate inventories in

17th and 18th century England, which showed that each

generation passed on more property, furniture and houselinen to

its descendants than the last. His economic portrait of Mughal

India was influenced by a 16th-century survey by Abu Fazl, vizier

to Emperor Akbar. His estimates of Japan’s population relied on

the annual register of religious affiliation, brought in after the

Portuguese were expelled and Christianity outlawed in 1587. One

of his students, Bart van Ark, now chief economist of the

Conference Board, says Maddison urged him to venture beyond

libraries and statistical offices. Even a painting in a museum

might provide some clue to a country’s standard of living

centuries before.

“There is room for two or three economic theorists in each

generation, not more,” wrote Colin Clark, one of Maddison’s

heroes. Every other economist, he added, should be content to

build knowledge by steadily laying “stone on stone”. Maddison laid

the foundations for many big thoughts. Ten days before his death

he was cited in a speech by Robert Zoellick, president of the

World Bank, declaring the end of the “third world”. Maddison’s

figures show that Asia accounted for more than half of world

output for 18 of the last 20 centuries. Its growing clout in the

world economy is, therefore, a “restoration” not a revolution.

Even as they foreshadow the rise of Asia, his numbers also help

explain the historical rise of Europe. His estimates of per head

GDP provide a useful empirical crosscheck for a grand thesis

proposed by Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson

in 2005. They argued that European countries prospered after

1500 in so far as they imposed checks on monarchical power and

enjoyed access to the Atlantic Ocean, with its lucrative trade in

commodities and slaves. Maddison’s estimates also appear in

their work explaining why poor colonies became rich, and rich

colonies became poor. They conclude that sparsely populated

colonies benefited over the long run from the property rights that

European settlers brought with them. Richer, well-populated

colonies suffered from efforts to suck them dry.

Messrs Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson caution that Maddison’s

figures for the years before 1820 are “no more than educated

guesses”. Maddison freely conceded that the further back he

went, the more he had to rely on “clues and conjecture”. In an

intemperate article last year, Gregory Clark of the University of

California, Davis, described these numbers as “fictions, as real as

the relics peddled around Europe in the Middle Ages”. Credulous

economists demanded numbers, “however dubious their

provenance”, and Maddison supplied them.

Go figure

Quantification can create the illusion of precision. For example,

Maddison assumes that African GDP before 1820 remained more

or less at subsistence levels. If that is all that can be said, does it

add anything to put a number on it ($400-$425 per head)? But he

was not selling comforts to the credulous. He believed that

numbers sharpened debate. Quantification, he wrote, “is more

readily contestable and likely to be contested.” In disputing his

figures, scholars would be inspired to provide their own. Even

those who disagreed with his work would be influenced by it.

Given the length and depth of his career, it is tempting to say that

this intellectual influence is impossible to measure. But that would

be contrary to his faith in quantification. His curriculum vitae

counts 20 books and 130 articles, plus another 19 volumes that

he edited or co-authored. His work has been translated into 12

languages and two books have racked up more than 2,000

citations, according to Google Scholar. He supervised 13 doctoral

students, as well as co-founding the Groningen Growth and

Development Centre at the University of Groningen, which he

joined in 1978, and the Club des Chiffrephiles in 1990. But as

even Maddison admitted, “no sensible person would claim that

[quantification] can tell the whole story.” He was deeply fond of

numbers. And a large number were deeply fond of him.

GDP is a modern term, but the urge to count the nation’s produce

and compare countries’ standards of living predates Adam Smith.

Maddison saw himself as heir to a tradition that began with

William Petty, the pioneer of “political arithmetick”, who in 1665

estimated the income of England and Wales at £40m. That

calculation was of pressing concern to Petty, who wanted to show

the king how to pay for the war against the Dutch. But why did

Maddison care about the GDP of the distant past?

He believed that the “pace and pattern” of economic activity had

deep historical roots. Economies, he thought, do not “take off”, as

if from nowhere. Even the industrial revolution was too gradual to

warrant the term revolution and too broad to be considered

merely industrial. Take, for example, the progress of maritime

technology. By 1773, John Harrison was claiming a £20,000 prize

from the British Parliament for inventing a seaworthy

chronometer. Captain James Cook had reached Australia’s east

coast, and thanks to sauerkraut and citrus juice, he had lost none

of his crew to scurvy.

Even scholars who believed there was a lot of economic progress

to measure before the 19th century doubted there was enough

data to measure it. Maddison made the most of whatever was

available. He drew on one scholar’s work on probate inventories in

17th and 18th century England, which showed that each

generation passed on more property, furniture and houselinen to

its descendants than the last. His economic portrait of Mughal

India was influenced by a 16th-century survey by Abu Fazl, vizier

to Emperor Akbar. His estimates of Japan’s population relied on

the annual register of religious affiliation, brought in after the

Portuguese were expelled and Christianity outlawed in 1587. One

of his students, Bart van Ark, now chief economist of the

Conference Board, says Maddison urged him to venture beyond

libraries and statistical offices. Even a painting in a museum

might provide some clue to a country’s standard of living

centuries before.

“There is room for two or three economic theorists in each

generation, not more,” wrote Colin Clark, one of Maddison’s

heroes. Every other economist, he added, should be content to

build knowledge by steadily laying “stone on stone”. Maddison laid

the foundations for many big thoughts. Ten days before his death

he was cited in a speech by Robert Zoellick, president of the

World Bank, declaring the end of the “third world”. Maddison’s

figures show that Asia accounted for more than half of world

output for 18 of the last 20 centuries. Its growing clout in the

world economy is, therefore, a “restoration” not a revolution.

Even as they foreshadow the rise of Asia, his numbers also help

explain the historical rise of Europe. His estimates of per head

GDP provide a useful empirical crosscheck for a grand thesis

proposed by Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson

in 2005. They argued that European countries prospered after

1500 in so far as they imposed checks on monarchical power and

enjoyed access to the Atlantic Ocean, with its lucrative trade in

commodities and slaves. Maddison’s estimates also appear in

their work explaining why poor colonies became rich, and rich

colonies became poor. They conclude that sparsely populated

colonies benefited over the long run from the property rights that

European settlers brought with them. Richer, well-populated

colonies suffered from efforts to suck them dry.

Messrs Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson caution that Maddison’s

figures for the years before 1820 are “no more than educated

guesses”. Maddison freely conceded that the further back he

went, the more he had to rely on “clues and conjecture”. In an

intemperate article last year, Gregory Clark of the University of

California, Davis, described these numbers as “fictions, as real as

the relics peddled around Europe in the Middle Ages”. Credulous

economists demanded numbers, “however dubious their

provenance”, and Maddison supplied them.

Go figure

Quantification can create the illusion of precision. For example,

Maddison assumes that African GDP before 1820 remained more

or less at subsistence levels. If that is all that can be said, does it

add anything to put a number on it ($400-$425 per head)? But he

was not selling comforts to the credulous. He believed that

numbers sharpened debate. Quantification, he wrote, “is more

readily contestable and likely to be contested.” In disputing his

figures, scholars would be inspired to provide their own. Even

those who disagreed with his work would be influenced by it.

Given the length and depth of his career, it is tempting to say that

this intellectual influence is impossible to measure. But that would

be contrary to his faith in quantification. His curriculum vitae

counts 20 books and 130 articles, plus another 19 volumes that

he edited or co-authored. His work has been translated into 12

languages and two books have racked up more than 2,000

citations, according to Google Scholar. He supervised 13 doctoral

students, as well as co-founding the Groningen Growth and

Development Centre at the University of Groningen, which he

joined in 1978, and the Club des Chiffrephiles in 1990. But as

even Maddison admitted, “no sensible person would claim that

[quantification] can tell the whole story.” He was deeply fond of

numbers. And a large number were deeply fond of him.

He believed that the “pace and pattern” of economic activity had

deep historical roots. Economies, he thought, do not “take off”, as

if from nowhere. Even the industrial revolution was too gradual to

warrant the term revolution and too broad to be considered

merely industrial. Take, for example, the progress of maritime

technology. By 1773, John Harrison was claiming a £20,000 prize

from the British Parliament for inventing a seaworthy

chronometer. Captain James Cook had reached Australia’s east

coast, and thanks to sauerkraut and citrus juice, he had lost none

of his crew to scurvy.

Even scholars who believed there was a lot of economic progress

to measure before the 19th century doubted there was enough

data to measure it. Maddison made the most of whatever was

available. He drew on one scholar’s work on probate inventories in

17th and 18th century England, which showed that each

generation passed on more property, furniture and houselinen to

its descendants than the last. His economic portrait of Mughal

India was influenced by a 16th-century survey by Abu Fazl, vizier

to Emperor Akbar. His estimates of Japan’s population relied on

the annual register of religious affiliation, brought in after the

Portuguese were expelled and Christianity outlawed in 1587. One

of his students, Bart van Ark, now chief economist of the

Conference Board, says Maddison urged him to venture beyond

libraries and statistical offices. Even a painting in a museum

might provide some clue to a country’s standard of living

centuries before.

“There is room for two or three economic theorists in each

generation, not more,” wrote Colin Clark, one of Maddison’s

heroes. Every other economist, he added, should be content to

build knowledge by steadily laying “stone on stone”. Maddison laid

the foundations for many big thoughts. Ten days before his death

he was cited in a speech by Robert Zoellick, president of the

World Bank, declaring the end of the “third world”. Maddison’s

figures show that Asia accounted for more than half of world

output for 18 of the last 20 centuries. Its growing clout in the

world economy is, therefore, a “restoration” not a revolution.

Even as they foreshadow the rise of Asia, his numbers also help

explain the historical rise of Europe. His estimates of per head

GDP provide a useful empirical crosscheck for a grand thesis

proposed by Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson

in 2005. They argued that European countries prospered after

1500 in so far as they imposed checks on monarchical power and

enjoyed access to the Atlantic Ocean, with its lucrative trade in

commodities and slaves. Maddison’s estimates also appear in

their work explaining why poor colonies became rich, and rich

colonies became poor. They conclude that sparsely populated

colonies benefited over the long run from the property rights that

European settlers brought with them. Richer, well-populated

colonies suffered from efforts to suck them dry.

Messrs Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson caution that Maddison’s

figures for the years before 1820 are “no more than educated

guesses”. Maddison freely conceded that the further back he

went, the more he had to rely on “clues and conjecture”. In an

intemperate article last year, Gregory Clark of the University of

California, Davis, described these numbers as “fictions, as real as

the relics peddled around Europe in the Middle Ages”. Credulous

economists demanded numbers, “however dubious their

provenance”, and Maddison supplied them.

Go figure

Quantification can create the illusion of precision. For example,

Maddison assumes that African GDP before 1820 remained more

or less at subsistence levels. If that is all that can be said, does it

add anything to put a number on it ($400-$425 per head)? But he

was not selling comforts to the credulous. He believed that

numbers sharpened debate. Quantification, he wrote, “is more

readily contestable and likely to be contested.” In disputing his

figures, scholars would be inspired to provide their own. Even

those who disagreed with his work would be influenced by it.

Given the length and depth of his career, it is tempting to say that

this intellectual influence is impossible to measure. But that would

be contrary to his faith in quantification. His curriculum vitae

counts 20 books and 130 articles, plus another 19 volumes that

he edited or co-authored. His work has been translated into 12

languages and two books have racked up more than 2,000

citations, according to Google Scholar. He supervised 13 doctoral

students, as well as co-founding the Groningen Growth and

Development Centre at the University of Groningen, which he

joined in 1978, and the Club des Chiffrephiles in 1990. But as

even Maddison admitted, “no sensible person would claim that

[quantification] can tell the whole story.” He was deeply fond of

numbers. And a large number were deeply fond of him.

Even scholars who believed there was a lot of economic progress to

measure before the 19th century doubted there was enough data to

measure it. Maddison made the most of whatever was available. He drew

on one scholar’s work on probate inventories in 17th and 18th century

England, which showed that each generation passed on more property,

furniture and houselinen to its descendants than the last. His economic

portrait of Mughal India was influenced by a 16th-century survey by Abu

Fazl, vizier to Emperor Akbar. His estimates of Japan’s population relied

on the annual register of religious affiliation, brought in after the

Portuguese were expelled and Christianity outlawed in 1587. One of his

students, Bart van Ark, now chief economist of the Conference Board,

says Maddison urged him to venture beyond libraries and statistical

offices. Even a painting in a museum might provide some clue to a

country’s standard of living centuries before.

“There is room for two or three economic theorists in each

generation, not more,” wrote Colin Clark, one of Maddison’s

heroes. Every other economist, he added, should be content to

build knowledge by steadily laying “stone on stone”. Maddison laid

the foundations for many big thoughts. Ten days before his death

he was cited in a speech by Robert Zoellick, president of the

World Bank, declaring the end of the “third world”. Maddison’s

figures show that Asia accounted for more than half of world

output for 18 of the last 20 centuries. Its growing clout in the

world economy is, therefore, a “restoration” not a revolution.

Even as they foreshadow the rise of Asia, his numbers also help

explain the historical rise of Europe. His estimates of per head

GDP provide a useful empirical crosscheck for a grand thesis

proposed by Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson

in 2005. They argued that European countries prospered after

1500 in so far as they imposed checks on monarchical power and

enjoyed access to the Atlantic Ocean, with its lucrative trade in

commodities and slaves. Maddison’s estimates also appear in

their work explaining why poor colonies became rich, and rich

colonies became poor. They conclude that sparsely populated

colonies benefited over the long run from the property rights that

European settlers brought with them. Richer, well-populated

colonies suffered from efforts to suck them dry.

Messrs Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson caution that Maddison’s

figures for the years before 1820 are “no more than educated

guesses”. Maddison freely conceded that the further back he

went, the more he had to rely on “clues and conjecture”. In an

intemperate article last year, Gregory Clark of the University of

California, Davis, described these numbers as “fictions, as real as

the relics peddled around Europe in the Middle Ages”. Credulous

economists demanded numbers, “however dubious their

provenance”, and Maddison supplied them.

Go figure

Quantification can create the illusion of precision. For example,

Maddison assumes that African GDP before 1820 remained more

or less at subsistence levels. If that is all that can be said, does it

add anything to put a number on it ($400-$425 per head)? But he

was not selling comforts to the credulous. He believed that

numbers sharpened debate. Quantification, he wrote, “is more

readily contestable and likely to be contested.” In disputing his

figures, scholars would be inspired to provide their own. Even

those who disagreed with his work would be influenced by it.

Given the length and depth of his career, it is tempting to say that

this intellectual influence is impossible to measure. But that would

be contrary to his faith in quantification. His curriculum vitae

counts 20 books and 130 articles, plus another 19 volumes that

he edited or co-authored. His work has been translated into 12

languages and two books have racked up more than 2,000

citations, according to Google Scholar. He supervised 13 doctoral

students, as well as co-founding the Groningen Growth and

Development Centre at the University of Groningen, which he

joined in 1978, and the Club des Chiffrephiles in 1990. But as

even Maddison admitted, “no sensible person would claim that

[quantification] can tell the whole story.” He was deeply fond of

numbers. And a large number were deeply fond of him.

“There is room for two or three economic theorists in each

generation, not more,” wrote Colin Clark, one of Maddison’s

heroes. Every other economist, he added, should be content to

build knowledge by steadily laying “stone on stone”. Maddison laid

the foundations for many big thoughts. Ten days before his death

he was cited in a speech by Robert Zoellick, president of the

World Bank, declaring the end of the “third world”. Maddison’s

figures show that Asia accounted for more than half of world

output for 18 of the last 20 centuries. Its growing clout in the

world economy is, therefore, a “restoration” not a revolution.

Even as they foreshadow the rise of Asia, his numbers also help

explain the historical rise of Europe. His estimates of per head

GDP provide a useful empirical crosscheck for a grand thesis

proposed by Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson

in 2005. They argued that European countries prospered after

1500 in so far as they imposed checks on monarchical power and

enjoyed access to the Atlantic Ocean, with its lucrative trade in

commodities and slaves. Maddison’s estimates also appear in

their work explaining why poor colonies became rich, and rich

colonies became poor. They conclude that sparsely populated

colonies benefited over the long run from the property rights that

European settlers brought with them. Richer, well-populated

colonies suffered from efforts to suck them dry.

Messrs Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson caution that Maddison’s

figures for the years before 1820 are “no more than educated

guesses”. Maddison freely conceded that the further back he

went, the more he had to rely on “clues and conjecture”. In an

intemperate article last year, Gregory Clark of the University of

California, Davis, described these numbers as “fictions, as real as

the relics peddled around Europe in the Middle Ages”. Credulous

economists demanded numbers, “however dubious their

provenance”, and Maddison supplied them.

Go figure

Quantification can create the illusion of precision. For example,

Maddison assumes that African GDP before 1820 remained more

or less at subsistence levels. If that is all that can be said, does it

add anything to put a number on it ($400-$425 per head)? But he

was not selling comforts to the credulous. He believed that

numbers sharpened debate. Quantification, he wrote, “is more

readily contestable and likely to be contested.” In disputing his

figures, scholars would be inspired to provide their own. Even

those who disagreed with his work would be influenced by it.

Given the length and depth of his career, it is tempting to say that

this intellectual influence is impossible to measure. But that would

be contrary to his faith in quantification. His curriculum vitae

counts 20 books and 130 articles, plus another 19 volumes that

he edited or co-authored. His work has been translated into 12

languages and two books have racked up more than 2,000

citations, according to Google Scholar. He supervised 13 doctoral

students, as well as co-founding the Groningen Growth and

Development Centre at the University of Groningen, which he

joined in 1978, and the Club des Chiffrephiles in 1990. But as

even Maddison admitted, “no sensible person would claim that

[quantification] can tell the whole story.” He was deeply fond of

numbers. And a large number were deeply fond of him.

Even as they foreshadow the rise of Asia, his numbers also help

explain the historical rise of Europe. His estimates of per head

GDP provide a useful empirical crosscheck for a grand thesis

proposed by Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson

in 2005. They argued that European countries prospered after

1500 in so far as they imposed checks on monarchical power and

enjoyed access to the Atlantic Ocean, with its lucrative trade in

commodities and slaves. Maddison’s estimates also appear in

their work explaining why poor colonies became rich, and rich

colonies became poor. They conclude that sparsely populated

colonies benefited over the long run from the property rights that

European settlers brought with them. Richer, well-populated

colonies suffered from efforts to suck them dry.

Messrs Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson caution that Maddison’s

figures for the years before 1820 are “no more than educated

guesses”. Maddison freely conceded that the further back he

went, the more he had to rely on “clues and conjecture”. In an

intemperate article last year, Gregory Clark of the University of

California, Davis, described these numbers as “fictions, as real as

the relics peddled around Europe in the Middle Ages”. Credulous

economists demanded numbers, “however dubious their

provenance”, and Maddison supplied them.

Go figure

Quantification can create the illusion of precision. For example,

Maddison assumes that African GDP before 1820 remained more

or less at subsistence levels. If that is all that can be said, does it

add anything to put a number on it ($400-$425 per head)? But he

was not selling comforts to the credulous. He believed that

numbers sharpened debate. Quantification, he wrote, “is more

readily contestable and likely to be contested.” In disputing his

figures, scholars would be inspired to provide their own. Even

those who disagreed with his work would be influenced by it.

Given the length and depth of his career, it is tempting to say that

this intellectual influence is impossible to measure. But that would

be contrary to his faith in quantification. His curriculum vitae

counts 20 books and 130 articles, plus another 19 volumes that

he edited or co-authored. His work has been translated into 12

languages and two books have racked up more than 2,000

citations, according to Google Scholar. He supervised 13 doctoral

students, as well as co-founding the Groningen Growth and

Development Centre at the University of Groningen, which he

joined in 1978, and the Club des Chiffrephiles in 1990. But as

even Maddison admitted, “no sensible person would claim that

[quantification] can tell the whole story.” He was deeply fond of

numbers. And a large number were deeply fond of him.

Messrs Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson caution that Maddison’s

figures for the years before 1820 are “no more than educated

guesses”. Maddison freely conceded that the further back he

went, the more he had to rely on “clues and conjecture”. In an

intemperate article last year, Gregory Clark of the University of

California, Davis, described these numbers as “fictions, as real as

the relics peddled around Europe in the Middle Ages”. Credulous

economists demanded numbers, “however dubious their

provenance”, and Maddison supplied them.

Go figure

Quantification can create the illusion of precision. For example,

Maddison assumes that African GDP before 1820 remained more

or less at subsistence levels. If that is all that can be said, does it

add anything to put a number on it ($400-$425 per head)? But he

was not selling comforts to the credulous. He believed that

numbers sharpened debate. Quantification, he wrote, “is more

readily contestable and likely to be contested.” In disputing his

figures, scholars would be inspired to provide their own. Even

those who disagreed with his work would be influenced by it.

Given the length and depth of his career, it is tempting to say that

this intellectual influence is impossible to measure. But that would

be contrary to his faith in quantification. His curriculum vitae

counts 20 books and 130 articles, plus another 19 volumes that

he edited or co-authored. His work has been translated into 12

languages and two books have racked up more than 2,000

citations, according to Google Scholar. He supervised 13 doctoral

students, as well as co-founding the Groningen Growth and

Development Centre at the University of Groningen, which he

joined in 1978, and the Club des Chiffrephiles in 1990. But as

even Maddison admitted, “no sensible person would claim that

[quantification] can tell the whole story.” He was deeply fond of

numbers. And a large number were deeply fond of him.

Go figure

Quantification can create the illusion of precision. For example,

Maddison assumes that African GDP before 1820 remained more

or less at subsistence levels. If that is all that can be said, does it

add anything to put a number on it ($400-$425 per head)? But he

was not selling comforts to the credulous. He believed that

numbers sharpened debate. Quantification, he wrote, “is more

readily contestable and likely to be contested.” In disputing his

figures, scholars would be inspired to provide their own. Even

those who disagreed with his work would be influenced by it.

Given the length and depth of his career, it is tempting to say that this

intellectual influence is impossible to measure. But that would be

contrary to his faith in quantification. His curriculum vitae counts 20

books and 130 articles, plus another 19 volumes that he edited or co-

authored. His work has been translated into 12 languages and two books

have racked up more than 2,000 citations, according to Google Scholar.

He supervised 13 doctoral students, as well as co-founding the Groningen

Growth and Development Centre at the University of Groningen, which he

joined in 1978, and the Club des Chiffrephiles in 1990. But as even

Maddison admitted, “no sensible person would claim that [quantification]

can tell the whole story.” He was deeply fond of numbers. And a large

number were deeply fond of him.

Given the length and depth of his career, it is tempting to say that this

intellectual influence is impossible to measure. But that would be

contrary to his faith in quantification. His curriculum vitae counts 20

books and 130 articles, plus another 19 volumes that he edited or co-

authored. His work has been translated into 12 languages and two books

have racked up more than 2,000 citations, according to Google Scholar.

He supervised 13 doctoral students, as well as co-founding the Groningen

Growth and Development Centre at the University of Groningen, which he

joined in 1978, and the Club des Chiffrephiles in 1990. But as even

Maddison admitted, “no sensible person would claim that [quantification]

can tell the whole story.” He was deeply fond of numbers. And a large

number were deeply fond of him.

PREPOSITIONS

What’s the fundamental difference between IN, AT, and ON?

PREPOSITIONS IN FIXED EXPRESSIONS

all timesfirst sight

the momentthe age of 15

breakfastlunchsea

arm’s lengththe same time

beginninghome

conclusioncontroldanger

favour ofgeneral

other wordscash

Germanthe news

pairsa loud voice

behalf ofaverage

a dietthe wholehorsebackthe phone

footyour ownpurposearrival

fire

AT

all timesfirst sight

the momentthe age of 15

breakfastlunchsea

arm’s lengththe same time

beginninghome

conclusioncontroldanger

favour ofgeneral

other wordscash

Germanthe news

pairsa loud voice

behalf ofaverage

a dietthe wholehorsebackthe phone

footyour ownpurposearrival

fire

AT IN

all timesfirst sight

the momentthe age of 15

breakfastlunchsea

arm’s lengththe same time

beginninghome

conclusioncontroldanger

favour ofgeneral

other wordscash

Germanthe news

pairsa loud voice

behalf ofaverage

a dietthe wholehorsebackthe phone

footyour ownpurposearrival

fire

AT IN ON

all timesfirst sight

the momentthe age of 15

breakfastlunchsea

arm’s lengththe same time

beginninghome

conclusioncontroldanger

favour ofgeneral

other wordscash

Germanthe news

pairsa loud voice

behalf ofaverage

a dietthe wholehorsebackthe phone

footyour ownpurposearrival

fire

AT

1.Did you feel differently about the UK ____________ of your stay here?2.Are you reading a book ____________? 3.Do you have a pet ____________?4.What was the most important thing in your life ____________ of 15?5.Did you talk to anyone ____________?6.Is there any object that you carry with you ____________?7.Is there anyone you know that you prefer to keep ____________?

AT

1.Did you feel differently about the UK at the beginning of your stay here?2.Are you reading a book at the moment? 3.Do you have a pet at home?4.What was the most important thing in your life at the age of 15?5.Did you talk to anyone at breakfast?6.Is there any object that you carry with you at all times7.Is there anyone you know that you prefer to keep at arm’s length?

IN

1.What’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever paid for ____________?2.Have you been following any stories ____________?3.Have you ever sworn ____________ in public?4.Do you know how to say please and thank you ____________? 5.How important is it for you to be ____________?6.Do you enjoy it in English classes when the teacher makes you work ____________?

IN

1.What’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever paid for cash?2.Have you been following any stories in the news?3.Have you ever sworn in a loud voice in public?4.Do you know how to say please and thank you in German? 5.How important is it for you to be in control?6.Do you enjoy it in English classes when the teacher makes you work pairs?

ON

•Do you ever come to university ____________?•What’s the longest amount of time you’ve ever spent ____________?•What’s the first thing you do ____________ in a new country?•Have you ever set something ____________ for fun?•How often do you see police ____________ in your country?•Would you be happy to go on holiday ____________?•____________, how much time do you spend on the phone each week?•Have you ever physically hurt another person ____________?

ON

•Do you ever come to university on foot?•What’s the longest amount of time you’ve ever spent on the phone?•What’s the first thing you do on arrival in a new country?•Have you ever set something on fire for fun?•How often do you see police on horseback in your country?•Would you be happy to go on holiday on your own?•On average, how much time do you spend on the phone each week?•Have you ever physically hurt another person on purpose?