Languages & Linguistics
Prepositional Phrase
A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun. It functions as an adverb or adjective, providing additional information about the subject or object in a sentence. Prepositional phrases are commonly used to indicate location, time, direction, or possession within a sentence.
Written by Perlego with AI-assistance
Related key terms
1 of 5
4 Key excerpts on "Prepositional Phrase"
eBook - PDFIntroducing English Syntax
A Basic Guide for Students of English
- Peter Fenn, Götz Schwab(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
4.2 The Prepositional Phrase The Prepositional Phrase is a unit consisting of a preposition + noun phrase: (34) preposition + noun phrase in our garden on the dining room table at work 80 Phrases and their structure (I) As we said in 4.1. above, a preposition cannot form its own phrase alone. It always requires an accompanying noun phrase, which functions as prepositional complement: (35) Prepositional Phrase Head Prepositional complement preposition noun phrase in our garden The triangle under the noun phrase slot indicates that the noun phrase is not further analysed. We have not used this symbol in previous diagrams, but will do so from now on for every phrase that is not broken down into its end components. That, however, is precisely what we will do now for (35). The final, complete analysis looks like this: (36) Prepositional Phrase Head Prepositional complement preposition noun phrase in premodification head possessive det. noun our garden Phrases and their structure (I) 81 As we can now break down Prepositional Phrases properly into their final compo- nents, we are able to provide the following complete analysis for the noun phrase the woman in the red dress by the fishpond from 4.1.2.2. This is based on the serial postmodification version shown in example (31): (37) 4.2.1 Premodification of Prepositional Phrases In the ordinary way, Prepositional Phrases cannot be premodified. However, a restricted type of premodification does occur with specific types of degree adverbs: right outside the station, just by the door, directly after lunch. We deal with these later in a section on special kinds of adverbs (see under 4.4.1). 4.2.2 Sentence functions of Prepositional Phrases In the sentence, a Prepositional Phrase always functions as an • adverbial (A) Billie was waiting at the station. Noun phrase Premodification Head phrase Postmodification 2 Head Postmodification 1 Determiner article noun Prepositional Phrase Prepositional Phrase the woman head prep.
eBook - PDF- Frank Van Eydne(Author)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Bloomsbury Academic(Publisher)
By contrast with the above two classes of prepositional use, the object of the discussion here will be the investigation of prepositions within Prepositional Phrases (henceforth pp's) which function as modifiers within sentences. Some examples of modifier pp's are given in (2) (in capital letters): (2) They will solve the problem WITH THIS NEW THEORY The president spoke to the audience IN ENGLISH FROM THIS BASIS, we can launch into the competitive market BY 1995, there will be a new policy in place. Much of what will be said here can be extended to predicative phrases such as They are in/outside/away from London and to Prepositional Phrases in weakly bound positions - that is, positions where a Prepositional Phrase is required by the governor (verb, adjective, etc.) but where there is a dimension of choice (e.g. the case of put which requires a locative pp with choice between ow, into> onto, etc.). On the whole, I will be particularly interested in cases where a composi-tional Prepositional Phrase maps onto another Prepositional Phrase. While a simple glance at any dictionary or translational corpus will reveal a wide range of solutions to the translation of Prepositional Phrases in modifier position, it is my contention that for many text-types for which MT is feasible a pp to pp mapping yields a high proportion of good translations. At any rate, as we progress, the reader will notice that categories such as np's in modifying position can also be taken care of. 2 3. Two approaches to the meaning of prepositions In the elaboration of a semantic characterisation of prepositions, standard dictionaries represent an important source of monolingual information. Interestingly, prepositions are traditionally seen as quite ambiguous from a lexicographic point of view. Thus, the Longman Dictionary of the English Language recognises the interpretation in (3) among others of the preposition in.
eBook - PDFWorking with English Grammar
An Introduction
- Louise Cummings(Author)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
Each utterance contains a prep- ositional phrase. You should (i) identify the Prepositional Phrase including any pre-modifiers and/or post-modifiers, and (ii) indicate if the Prepositional Phrase is a post-modifier in another type of phrase. How does the use of Prepositional Phrases by these children with SLI compare to the use of these same phrases by typically developing children like Lara and Ella? The gender and chronological age of each child are indicated in brackets: (a) April was like so mad at Sally (male; 9;4 years) (b) Sit on this bench for a while (male; 8;6 years) (c) Longnose was running toward the water (female; 9;9 years) (d) The ball fell right into the pool (male; 9;7 years) (e) The bunny put some more sand on the castle (female; 9;7 years) (f) There was an elephant playing with a ball near the pool (male; 9;7 years) (g) An elephant with a net came (male; 9;7 years) (h) The bunny is full of food (female; 9;3 years) (i) The elephant felled in love with the zebra (male; 9;8 years) (j) The moose was swimming in the water (female; 9;7 years) KEY POINTS Prepositional PhraseS • A Prepositional Phrase consists of a head preposition and all of its modifiers. Unlike other phrases, the head in a Prepositional Phrase cannot stand on its own. Constructions such as *Mary lives next to and *Tom likes the vase with, which contain head prepositions with no post-modifier, are ungrammatical. 205 Summary SUMMARY In this chapter you have seen the following: • Phrases have an internal structure that consists at a minimum of a head and either a pre-modifier or a post-modifier, or both. • The structures that may be pre-modifiers in phrases vary with phrase type. The pre-modifier in the noun phrase cold weather is an adjective and in the verb phrase nearly missed the bus is an adverb phrase. • The structures that may be post-modifiers in phrases also vary with phrase type.
eBook - PDFBiblical Aramaic and Related Dialects
An Introduction
- Edward Cook(Author)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
CHAPTER 9 Prepositions Form and Function §174. Prepositions, by and large, stand outside of the three-consonant root system, although some triliteral nouns have developed into prepositions. Prepositions, and especially the single-consonant proclitic ones (§176), tend to have only very general meanings and as a rule are best interpreted in context. The main functions of each are laid out below, but for a comprehensive description, the dictionaries should be consulted. Prepositional PhraseS §175. a. The Prepositional Phrase is composed of preposition plus a noun, noun phrase, or pronominal suffix, which is the object or complement of the preposition. b. The phrase has four functions: (1) to mark verbal complements (direct or indirect objects or other kinds of complements), (2) to express adverbial modification of a clause; (3) to modify nouns directly or in a relative clause (§148); (4) to serve as predicate of a copular clause (§377). These functions are distinguishable only in context and not morphologically. c. Structurally, the preposition, whether proclitic or not, occurs immediately before the noun that is its complement. The complement may be the head of a further noun phrase or may be an entire noun phrase, as in the following examples: ל ַ ח ֲ נ ַ נ ְ י ָ ה מ ִ י שׁ ָ א ֵ ל ו ַ ע ֲ ז ַ ר ְ י ָ ה to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah Dan 2:17 בּ ִ ר ְ ג ַ ז ו ַ ח ֲ מ ָ ה in anger and rage Dan 3:13 The preposition may also be repeated before each conjunct (§142b). d. For emphasis, the preposition may have a pronominal suffix that refers forward to (“anticipates”) a following noun: בּ ֵ הּ ־ ז ִ מ ְ נ ָ א at that very time Dan 3:8 9 116 בּ ַ הּ ־ שׁ ַ ע ֲ ת ָ א at that very moment Dan 3:6 מ ִ נּ ַ הּ מ ַ ל ְ כ וּ ת ָ ה from that very kingdom Dan 7:24 PREPOSITIONAL SURVEY Simple Proclitic Prepositions: ל ְ , ב ּ ְ , כ ְּ , מ ִ ן ־ §176. These very common prepositions are directly attached to a host noun complement (or pronominal suffix).
Index pages curate the most relevant extracts from our library of academic textbooks. They’ve been created using an in-house natural language model (NLM), each adding context and meaning to key research topics.
