PREPOSITIONS AND THE PPLecture #4: 2012-03-14

/pi: pi:/

REVIEWWhat have we done so far?

We introduced…

…the P and the PP.

PREPOSTIONS & PPs v.s. other POSs & XPs

Other POSs and XPs:• Mary is playing

interesting games. [NP]• Mary is playing games.

[NP]

Prepositions and PPs:• Mary is playing in the

garden. [PP: ADVERBIAL] • *Mary is playing in. [PP].• The girl in the garden is

playing tennis [PP: complement of NP]

ENDOCENTRIC PHRASE – THE HEAD DETERMINES THE INTERPRETATION

/MEANING OF THE PHRASE (MEANING OF THE HEAD = MEANING OF THE PHRASE)

AND THE PHRASE DOES NOT REQUIRE ANY COMPLEMENTATION.

EXOCENTRIC PHRASE – THE HEAD DOES NOT HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS THE

WHOLE PHRASE IT REQUIRES OBLIGATORY COMPLEMENTATION.

The PP typically consists of a prepositional head followed by an NP as its complement:PP=P+NP e.g. [PPin [NPa village] ]

however, the complement of the preposition is not always an NP, the prepositional complements can also be a FINITE WH-CLAUSE, NON-FINITE -ING CLAUSE or an ADVERB:

PP=P+Clause e.g. [PPfrom [Clausewhat you wrote] ]

PP=P+Clause e.g. [PPat [Clausereading her novel] ]

PP=P+Adv e.g. [PPfor [Advever] ]

THE PP – its form

• Optionally, PPs can be premodified by adverbs: PP= Adv + P + complement

[straight Adv through HEAD [NPthe wall ] ]

[ right Adv over HEAD [AdvP there ] ]

[ exactly Adv from HEAD [Clausewhat you were saying ] ]

THE PP – its form (continued…)

THE PP – its function

FUNCTIONS OF THE PP

INDEPENDENT i.e. it’s a sentence element

DEPENDENT / PARTS OF OTHER PHRASES

PARTICLES OF PHRASAL VERBS (actually a function of P)

THE PP – its function: independent

PP has an independent function in the sentence

ADVERBIAL

Cs / Co

SUBJECT (rarely)

ADJUNCT:He lives in a village.CONJUNCT:In a nutshell, she’s OK.DISJUNCT:To my surprise , she’s OK.

Cs (subject complement):The play is by Webster.The fence is of wood.

Co (object complement):I consider them at great risk.

SUBJECT:In love is how I want to feel.In my house is where I want to be.

THE PP – its function: dependent

PP is a part of another phrase

PART OF NP

PART OF AP

[ the girl with the funny red hat ]

[ the man in the raincoat ]

[ the book on the table ]

[ grateful for your help]

[ suitable for the job ]

[ complex beyond our expectations]

They can also be parts of AdvP:

He drives faster [PP than John].

THEY ARE TEARING UP THE STREET.

They are tearing it up.ADVERB PARTICLE

?They are tearing up it.PREPOSITIONAL PARTICLE

NOW…

The most complex theoretical section on prepositions!

SEMANTIC CLASSIFICATION OF PREPOSITIONS

IT’S ALL ABOUT MEANING!

BASIC PREPOSITIONAL MEANINGS

PREPOSITIONAL MEANINGS

SPACE

TIME

PROCESSCONTINGENCY

OTHER MEANINGS

WHO IS AT THE BANK?

The robbers are IN the bank. The man is AT the bank.

WHICH HORSE IS IN THE FIELD?

The horse is IN the field. The horse is ON the field.

• The student is ON the Faculty of Philosophy.• The student is IN the Faculty of Philosophy.• The student is AT the Faculty of Philosophy.

Where is the student?

The Ins and Outs of prepositions: A Guidebook for ESL Students

• Jean Yates• Paperback: 272 pages • Publisher: Barron's

Educational Series (July 1999)

• Language: English • ISBN-10: 0764107577 • ISBN-13: 978-0764107573 • Price: $8.41

English Prepositions Explained: Revised edition • Seth Lindstromberg• Paperback: 286 pages • Publisher: John Benjamins

Publishing Company; 2 edition (August 11, 2010)

• Language: English • ISBN-10: 9027211744 • ISBN-13: 978-9027211743 • Price: $35.39

END OF REVIEW

Let’s start, then…

You are in WHAT?

• I am in Antananarivo.

• I am in a calamitous predicament.

• Prepositions express a wide range of meanings.• However, all those meanings can be analyzed as either

meanings denoting pure notions of physical space or meanings which have been metaphorically/figuratively derived from the meanings denoting pure notions of physical space. E.g.

PHYSICAL SPACE:

– He is in the house. He climbed up the hill. METAPHORICAL EXTENSIONS/FIGURATIVE MEANING:

– He is in danger. He climbed up the social scale.

SEMANTIC CLASSIFICATION OF PREPOSITIONS

SPACEPrepositions denoting spatial relations can be classified into several subgroups on the

basis of two criteria:

TYPE OF REFERENCE POINT

STATIC OR DYNAMIC POSITION

Type of reference point:

• Prepositions expressing spatial relations are of two kinds: – prepositions of location and – prepositions of direction

• Prepositions of location appear with verbs describing states or conditions, especially BE.

• Prepositions of direction appear with verbs of motion.

• We will discuss AT, IN and ON – because they can cause a lot of difficulties.

Prepositions of PHYSICAL Location

• Prepositions differ according to the number of dimensions they refer to. We can group them into three classes using concepts from geometry: point, surface, and area or volume

• Point: prepositions in this group indicate that the noun that follows them is treated as a point in relation to which another object is positioned.

• Surface: prepositions in this group indicate that the position of an object is defined with respect to a surface on which it rests.

• Area/Volume: prepositions in this group indicate that an object lies within the boundaries of an area or within the confines of a volume.

• NOTICE FOR THE MATHEMATICALLY AWARE ONES: although in geometry surface and area go together because both are two-dimensional, in grammar area and volume (2D and 3D) go together because the same prepositions are used for both.

Dimensions and Prepositions

DIMENSIONS - general

Where is…?

• Where is her car? (POINT)• Her car is AT the house.• Where is the WiFi antenna? (SURFACE)• The antenna is ON the house.• Where is the house? (AREA)• The house IN Orange County.• Where is the new laptop? (VOLUME)• The new laptop is IN the living room.

DIMENSIONS - examples

All of these sentences answer a question of the form, "Where is

_______?" but each gives different information.

Where are we at now?

• The children spent a wonderful afternoon AT the theme park.

• The train will be arriving AT platform six.• Then, just as it seemed that the situation

would unwind, two protesters jumped AT a riot policeman.

POINT DESTINATION

DIRECTION

AT – important notes

When should you be more scared?

• Slimer appeared IN the window.

• Slimer appeared ON the window.

IN and ON – important notes

IN and ON – important notes

IN and ON – streets

In and on are also used with means of transportation: in is used with a car, on with public or commercial means of transportation:

in the caron the buson the planeon the trainon the ship

Some speakers of English make a further distinction for public modes of transportation, using in when the carrier is stationary and on when it is in motion.

My friend stayed in the bus while I got out at the rest stop. Two minutes later she called me, while on the bus, to tell me that I had forgotten my backpack.

The passengers sat in the plane awaiting takeoff.The passengers sat calmly on the plane throughout turbulences.

IN and ON - transport

• DIRECTION - prepositions that express movement toward something: to, onto, and into.

The basic preposition of a direction is "to."

TO: signifies orientation toward a goal

When the goal is physical, such as a destination, "to" implies movement in the direction of the goal.

DIRECTION

DIRECTION - compounds

IN and ON with verbs of motion

ONTO/INTO vs. ON/IN

Traditionally, only into and onto are used to show movement or direction, but many people today use in and on in place of them:She ran in the house. VS. She ran into the house.

DIRECTION – other prepostions

• Along, off, at, on, by, from, out of, to, toward(s)

• The women walked along the river.• The women walked from the river.• The women walked out of the river.• The women walked to the river.• The women walked toward the river.

TIME

One point in time

On is used exclusively with days:• I will see you on Monday.• The week begins on Sunday.

At is used with noon, night, midnight, and with the exact time of day:• My plane leaves at noon.• The movie starts at 6 p.m.

In is used with other parts of the day, with months, with years, with seasons (generally: LARGE SECTIONS OF TIME):

• He likes to read in the afternoon.• The days are long in August.• The book was published in 1999.• The flowers will bloom in spring.

POINT IN TIME

Extended time

To express extended time, English most frequently uses the following prepositions: since, for, by, from—to, from-until, during,(with)in

• She has been gone since yesterday. (She left yesterday and has not returned.)

• I'm going to Paris for two weeks. (I will spend two weeks there.) • The movie showed from August to October. (Beginning in August and

ending in October.)• The decorations were up from spring until fall. (Beginning in spring and

ending in fall.)• I watch TV during the evening. (For some period of time in the evening.)• We must finish the project within a year. (No longer than a year.)

EXTENDED TIME

PROCESS

CONTINGENCY

OTHER MEANINGS

TIPS AND TRICKSregarding Ps and PPs

EVIL PREPOSITIONS: complex prepositions

• When you think of a preposition, you mostly think of words such as IN, AT, ON, FROM, etc.

• However, many propositions are COMPLEX:• according to, in reference to, ahead of, in

regard to, apart from, in spite of, because of, instead of, by means of, on account of, by way of, out of, in back of, up to, in front of, with respect to, etc.

COMPLEX PREPOSITIONS• Use in a Sentence• According to [Jim], the plan is

perfect.• The project was completed ahead of

[schedule]. • Apart from [a few complaints],

everyone was satisfied. • Work stopped because of [the

storm].• The problem was solved by means

of [a complex formula]. • Take a look at these examples by

way of [a contrast].• A stranger stood in front of [me].• No one was in back of [us].

• Meaning• Jim’s opinion

• before expected, earlier than scheduled

• except for a few complaints

• the cause was the storm

• by using a complex formula• as a contrast

• before me• behind us

THE MOST EVIL PREPOSITIONS: participial prepositions

THE MOST EVIL PREPOSITIONS: participial prepositions

• This is a small category of prepositions but one that has some important uses.

• The present participial form of certain verbs, although not true prepositions, sometimes have the characteristic of a preposition and are used as prepositions.

• However, there are only a few such participles:• Concerning, following, considering, regarding

and excluding are the most frequent ones.

PARTICIPIAL PREPOSITIONS: you have to distinguish them from other POS

• Use in a Sentence• This is [concerning to me].• He often wrote me concerning [this

problem].• The club [was considering] buying

new equipment. • The group spent countless hours

considering [this issue].• Why are you excluding our old

friends? • We shall meet every Tuesday

excluding the first Tuesday in May.• An old woman was following us..• The show will go on following one

more rehearsal.

• Meaning• participle used as an adjective• preposition (about this problem)

• V in the present participle form

• AMBIGUOUS: V or preposition (on this issue)

• V in the present participle form• preposition (except the first

Tuesday in May)• V in the present participle form• preposition (after one more

rehearsal)

THE END

OF PREPOSITIONS

CLASS #1: AP

CLASS #2: AP/AdvP

CLASS #3: AdvP, PP

CLASS #4: PP

CLASS #5: ADVERBIALS

CLASS #6: ADVERBIALS

CLASS #7: MIDTERM OVERVIEW AND SIMPLE SENTENCE INTRO

MIDTERM TEST

CLASS #8: SIMPLE SENTENCE

CLASS #9: SIMPLE SENTENCE

CLASS #10: COMPLEX SENTENCE

CLASS #11: COMPLEX SENTENCE

CLASS #12: COMPLEX SENTENCE , WRAP-UP & ORAL EXAM HINTS

THE END

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!CU NEXT WEEK OR IN 30 MINUTES!