Is the word not a preposition

Basic Grammar:

English word classes: taken from Cambridge Grammar online

Major word classes
English has four major word classes: nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. They have many thousands of members, and new nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs are often created. Nouns are the most common type of word, followed by verbs. Adjectives are less common and adverbs are even less common.

Many words belong to more than one word class. For example, book can be used as a noun or as a verb; fast can be used as an adjective or an adverb:

Other word classes
The other word classes include prepositions, pronouns, determiners, conjunctions and interjections.

Prepositions Prepositions describe the relationship between words from the major word classes. They include words such as at, in, on,
across, behind, for:

We went to the top of the mountain. (to describes the relationship
between went and top; of describes the relationship between top and
mountain)

Are you ready for lunch yet? (for describes the relationship between
ready and lunch)

English word classes

He is honest.
he=pronoun
is=a verb
honest=an adjective

There is no preposition in that sentence. There is a relationship between the subject and the predicate there but there is no preposition.

Муниципальное бюджетное
общеобразовательное учреждение города Новосибирска

«Средняя общеобразовательная школа №196»

ИНДИВИДУАЛЬНЫЙ ИТОГОВЫЙ ПРОЕКТ

Тема

«Многозначность предлогов в английском
языке.»

Выполнила: Коломиец Лидия Никитична

ученица 7 класса «Р» МБОУ СОШ №196

Руководитель проекта: Коломиец Анастасия
Сергеевна

учитель английского языка

Новосибирск 2021г.

Сontents

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………3

§1. Preposition as a part of
speech………………………………………………………………4

§2.Types of prepositions and
features of their use………………………………………….6

§3. The polysemy of
prepositions ………………………………………………………………….8
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………10

Appendix
………………………………………………………………………….11

Reference list……………………………………………………………………………………………
.13

Introduction

When we
start learning a foreign language, it is necessary to remember that a simple
knowledge of vocabulary is clearly not enough in order to speak this language.
Learning a new foreign word, you should be very careful with its use: there are
words which can change their meaning with the help of prepositions.

                   The theme of my project
work is “The polysemy of prepositions”.
According to my point of view, this theme is actual for students or language
learners. We study them at school too. The problem of this
question lies in the fact that prepositions are one of the most difficult
linguistic phenomena to use. The specificity of English prepositions lies not
only in their polysemy and variety, but also in the high degree of generality
and abstraction of the meanings of the most of them.

         The
object of my research will be the prepositions in English language.

         The
aim: to create the informational magazine about the polysemy of prepositions.

         In
order to reach the aim, it is necessary to do the following tasks:

—
choose and organize
the necessary material from the rich volume of information

—
to study the classification of English prepositions by their structure and
lexical meaning;

—
to
systematize the information received from different sources and transform it
into the product of project work.

§1. Preposition as a part of speech

A preposition is a service part of speech
that expresses the syntactic connection between a noun, a pronoun, a numeral,
and words belonging to other parts of speech (according to the dictionary of S.
I. Ozhegov).

Preposition is
a part of speech usually coming BEFORE a noun phrase and connecting it
to another part of the sentence. It is one of the nine parts of speech.

The
name preposition (pre + position) means «place BEFORE». A preposition typically
comes BEFORE another word—usually a noun phrase. It tells us about the
relationship between the noun phrase and another part of the sentence. Some
very common prepositions are: in, of, on, for, with, at, by

• The book is on the
  round table. (relationship in space)
• We will meet in November.
  (relationship in time)
• I sent the
  information by email. (relationship
  of method)

If a preposition does not come BEFORE another word, it is still
closely linked to another word:

• Who did
  you talk to?
• To whom did
  you talk?
• I talked to Jane.

Prepositions have no particular form. The majority of prepositions
are single words, but some are two- or three-word phrases:

• one-word
  prepositions (before, into, on)
• complex prepositions
  (according to, but for, in spite of)

Since this is a service part
of speech, it does not answer any questions, does not have any independent
function, and is not a member of the sentence. But, thanks to it, we can change
the meaning of the same verb. Moreover, in combination with nouns, prepositions
in English also determine the case of a noun. For example: “Look at
her!»(accusative) or” I like to dream about her » (prepositional).

The Russian language is a
syntactic language, and the relations between words in a sentence are
established using endings. English is an analytical language, and here the same
function is performed by the fixed word order. In view of the absence of cases
in the English language, prepositions play an extremely important role.

In traditional grammatical
theory, the meaning of a preposition is defined as»relation».
However, the term «attitude» is understood differently by different
scientists. Some researchers under the «relation» understand only the
content of the syntactic function of the preposition, namely the syntactic
relations between its arguments (i.e., between nouns and their equivalents used
in the preposition); at the same time, these researchers deny the presence of a
lexical meaning in the preposition (Meshchaninov, Steblin-Kamensky, etc.). The
position of these scientists is based on the point of view that the semantic
category of relations finds its realization only at the grammatical level of
the language. Accordingly, these scientists reject the presence of a
preposition of its own lexical meaning.

Nowadays, however, the more
common view is that a preposition has its own lexical meaning. Despite the
diversity of views and positions regarding the use of prepositions in the
English language, one thing is indisputable – prepositions not only take part in
the formation of language structures at levels more complex than lexical, but
also contribute to the implementation of semantic relations within these
structures. Thus, for English, where there is no developed system of case
endings, the preposition turns out to be their functional substitute in speech.

§2. Types of prepositions and features of
their use.

According
to their form, English prepositions are divided into several types (scheme
№3).

1.
Simple
prepositions

Simple
prepositions are prepositions that cannot be decomposed into their component
parts. Examples of such prepositions: at, in, for, to, with, on, off, out, etc.
(scheme
№1)

He’s
in the office.

She
sat down on the sofa.

She’s
angry with her.

2.
Complex
prepositions

Complex
prepositions are  prepositions that are formed by word combination
(composition). Such prepositions are usually formed by adding a prefix to a
noun, adjective, or adverb. Examples of such prepositions: above, before,
behind, below, across, among, around, near, between, etc.

I
can’t live without you. I can’t live without you.

Once
upon a time there was a king.

Put
it into your bag.

3.
Compound
prepositions

Compound
prepositions are prepositions that consist of several words (as a rule, these
are combinations of prepositions with other parts of speech: nouns, adjectives,
adverbs, conjunctions, other prepositions, etc.). Examples of such
prepositions: according to, along with, because of, in front of, by means
of, on behalf of, in accordance with, in addition to, with reference to, in
spite of, etc.

She
stood in front of the window.

I’d
like to congratulate you on behalf of the whole crew.

Features
of using English prepositions

1.    
Almost
every preposition in English and Russian is polysemantic, and there is rarely a
complete correspondence between their meanings. For example, the Russian
preposition » in » even in one meaning-to express the time, is translated
into English in different ways, depending on the meaning of the noun:

в мае – in May

в пятницу – on Friday

в 2 часа – at 2
o’clock

2.
In English, prepositions can be omitted (especially in colloquial speech),
which is not typical for the Russian language.

For
example, before the words last, first, next, this —
 prepositions expressing time are omitted (scheme №1) :

I met her  last Friday. Я встречался с ней в прошлую пятницу.

We will discuss the matter next time. Мы обсудим этот вопрос в следующий
раз.       

I will visit my parents this week. Я навещу родителей на этой неделе.

There are some more examples when prepositions can be omitted:

I was here (in) the June before last.    Я был здесь в июне позапрошлого
года.        

They visited them (on) the day before yesterday.  Они навестили их позавчера.        

He left the country (on) the next day.   Он уехал из деревни на следующий
день.      

He lived there (for) three
months.      Он прожил там три месяца.

3.
Some prepositions form stable expressions with verbs, adjectives, and other
parts of speech. Such prepositions are called fixed prepositions. Some English
verbs and adjectives are used with fixed prepositions, while the same Russian
verbs and adjectives do not use them.

For example:

listen to (somebody)
– слушать (кого—либо)

wait for (somebody)
– ждать (кого—либо)

aware of (something)
– знать (что—либо)

§3.The polysemy of prepositions

Most of the prepositions have
many uses. There are some prepositions which are common in every type of
preposition as they function in a versatile way (scheme№2).

·        
Prepositions of Time

·        
Prepositions of Place and
Direction

·        
Prepositions of Agents or
Things

·        
Phrasal Prepositions

Prepositions of Time:

Prepositions of time show
the relationship of time between the nouns to the other parts of a sentence.

On, at, in, from, to, for, since, ago, before, till/until, by, etc. are the most common preposition of time.

Examples:

He started working at 10 AM.

The company called meeting on 25 October.

There is a holiday in December.

He has been ill since Monday.

Prepositions of Place and Direction:

Prepositions of place show the relationship of place between the nouns to the
other parts of a sentence.

On, at, in, by, from, to, towards, up, down, across, between,
among, through, in front of, behind, above, over, under, below, etc. are the most common prepositions of place/direction.

Example:

He is at home.

He came from England.

The police broke into the house.

I live across the river.

Prepositions of Agents or Things:

Prepositions of agents or things indicate a casual relationship between nouns and other parts
of the sentence.

Of, for, by, with, about, etc.
are the most used and common prepositions of agents or things.

Example:

This article is about smartphones.

Most of the guests have already left.

I will always be here for you.

He is playing with his brothers.

Phrasal Prepositions:

A phrasal preposition is
not a prepositional phrase, but they are a combination of two or more words
which functions as a preposition.

Along with, apart from, because of, by means of, according to, in
front of, contrary to, in spite of, on account of, in reference to, in addition
to, in regard to, instead of, on top of, out of, with regard to, etc. are the most common phrasal prepositions.

Example:

They along with their children went to Atlanta.

According
to the new rules, you are not right.

In
spite of being a good
player, he was not selected.

I’m going out of the city.

Conclusion.

English language learners whose native
language is Russian should first realize that there are significant differences
between the systems of the two languages. Although structurally similar
features can be noted in English and Russian (for example, the allocation of
mostly identical parts of speech, the coincidence of many grammatical
categories, the presence of structural and semantic parallels, etc.),
nevertheless, it is the differences in the ways of expressing the same thought
in these two languages that present tangible difficulties in understanding and
producing English speech; and it is they who should be paid special attention
to when studying the grammar of this language.

Prepositions and prepositional phrases, due
to their significant dissimilarity with the Russian language, are the most
difficult to understand and assimilate.

As you know, prepositions of the English
language are difficult to learn, and even those who speak English well enough
make mistakes when using prepositions.

Having in many cases an abstract meaning, prepositions are often
used by native speakers automatically. Since all the automated elements of the
language are poorly understood by the speakers, there is an identification of
English prepositions with their correlates in the native language.

After considering and analyzing the polysemy and generality of
prepositions in English, we can conclude that knowledge and correct use of
objects and prepositional phrases is a guarantee of the correctness of the
language.

APPENDIX 1

Scheme №1. Simple
prepositions and their polysemy

APPENDIX 2

Scheme №2. Prepositions
of time, movement and place

Scheme №3. Types of
prepositions

Reference list

1. Bagramova N.V.,
Blinova S.I. Practice of the English language (teaching vocabulary). St.
Petersburg: Soyuz, 1998 — 144 p.

2. Questions of
Linguistics No. 3, Moscow: Nauka, 2001-160 p.

3. Dobronetskaya E. G.
Grammatical difficulties of the English language.

Publishing house of Kazan
University, 2004, 198 p.

4. Kachalova K. N.
Izrailevich E. E. Practical grammar

of the English language.
Moscow: Unves, 1995 — 555 p.

5. Lebovic G. P. Jump in
the English edition No.2. Mn.: Savigar, 2000

g-224 p.

6. Leach D., Svartvik Ya.
Communicative grammar of the English language

as: A manual for teachers
(in English). — Moscow: Prosveshchenie,

1993-304 p.

7. https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/preposition-what.htm

This list of prepositions will help you understand what a preposition is. But let’s start by having you learn the preposition song. Singing this song is an easy way to help you memorize some of the prepositions. I’ll sing it for you in the video below.

This list contains one-word, two-word, and three-word prepositions. Sometimes, words act together to form one preposition.

WARNING: Keep in mind that the words on this list have the potential to be prepositions. Many of these words can also function as adverbs and other fun things. How can you tell the difference? I’ll teach you all the secrets below this list.

A aboard, about, above, according to, across, after, against, ahead of, along, amid, amidst, among, around, as, as far as, as of, aside from, at, athwart, atop

B barring, because of, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides, between, beyond, but (when it means except), by, by means of

C circa, concerning

D despite, down, due to, during

E except, except for, excluding

F far from, following, for, from

I
in, in accordance with, in addition to, in case of, in front of, in
lieu of, in place of, in spite of, including, inside, instead of, into

L like

M minus

N near, next to, notwithstanding

O of, off, on, on account of, on behalf of, on top of, onto, opposite, out, out of, outside, over

P past, plus, prior to

R regarding, regardless of

S save, since

T than, through, throughout, till, to, toward, towards

U under, underneath, unlike, until, up, upon

V versus, via

W with, with regard to, within, without

If you’d like to see even more prepositions, check out Wikipedia’s list of English prepositions page.

The Mean Thing About This List
(The Secret About Prepositions)

Many times, words on this list of prepositions don’t act as prepositions. 

That’s not very nice, is it? You probably feel a bit like you were tricked. I’m sorry about that. I would change the rules of language if I could so that it would be easier for you to figure all of this out.

Of course, I can’t do that, but I can help you use that powerful brain of yours to tell when a word is a preposition and when it’s not a preposition. Are you ready? Good. 

Here is the one thing that you need to remember: prepositions are ALWAYS in prepositional phrases.

Look at these examples of prepositional phrases with the eye of a detective. What do you notice about them?

All three of those prepositional phrases begin with a preposition (to, up, around) and end with a noun (park, tree, block), and that sums up what a prepositional phrase is.

Prepositional phrases begin with a preposition (to, up, around) and end with a noun or pronoun called the object of the preposition (park, tree, block).

But why? Why do prepositions need to be in prepositional phrases?

The answer comes to us when we look at the definition of a preposition.

In order for a preposition to do its job (to show the relationship between a noun/pronoun and another word in a sentence), it needs to be followed by that noun or pronoun.

I sense that you may be furrowing your brow in a state of confusion right now, so it’s the perfect time for us to look at some sentence diagrams, which will make all of this visual.

Sentence diagrams are pictures of sentences that show us how the words are grammatically related. 

In the diagram, the preposition to, which is on a slanted line, is connecting the noun park with the verb walked. It almost looks like a little bridge, doesn’t it? You can think of a preposition as a noun bridge if that helps. 

to the park = prepositional phrase

to = preposition

park = noun (object of the preposition)

Prepositional phrases are always diagrammed like that. The preposition goes on a slanted line between the object of the preposition (the noun or pronoun at the end of a prepositional phrase) and a word in the rest of the sentence.

Why? Because the preposition is telling us how that special noun called the object of the preposition relates to the rest of the sentence. It acts as a little noun bridge. 

Psst! You can learn more about how to diagram prepositions and prepositional phrases here if you’d like. 

Preposition or Adverb?

Did you know that words on the preposition list are often used as adverbs rather than prepositions? It’s true! I’m going to use that fact to see if you’ve been paying attention. Are you ready for a tiny quiz? Great! In which sentence is down a preposition? 

A. The cat ran down the tree.

B. The tree fell down.

I’ll give you a hint and show you the sentence diagrams of those sentences. (In which diagram is down a bridge between a noun and the rest of the sentence? That’s the diagram with the preposition!)

Are you ready for the answer?

In sentence A, down is a preposition. It’s in the prepositional phrase down the tree. 

In sentence B, the word down isn’t in a phrase, so it’s not a preposition. (In this sentence, down is an adverb telling us where the tree fell.)

If you wanted to, you could change sentence B so that down was a preposition instead of an adverb. Can you think of how you would do that?

HINT: Add at least a noun (and probably an adjective as well) after down so that you create a prepositional phrase.

The tree fell down. (adverb)

The tree fell down the hill. (preposition)

Here are two other examples of words from this list functioning as adverbs and as prepositions. I’ll bet that you can see the difference now, right?

My sister just walked past. (adverb)

My sister just walked past us. (preposition)

Carefully crawl inside. (adverb)

Carefully crawl inside the tent. (preposition)

The moral of the story is that in order for a word to be a preposition, it must be in a prepositional phrase.

Preposition or Phrasal Verb? 

As you saw above, words on this list of prepositions are only potential prepositions. We need to look at how each word-in-question is functioning within a sentence in order to say what part of speech it actually is. 

I’m sure you remember that the words on this list are only prepositions when they are in prepositional phrases.

In our last example above (The tree fell down.), you saw how words from the list of prepositions could also function as adverbs.

Another common function of words on this list is for them to be a part of something called phrasal verbs. (I’ll underline the phrasal verbs below.) Notice that the words out, up, and off are not prepositions in these sentences.

I work out every Saturday.

He dressed up for the concert.

I was so tired that I nodded off during the class.

Phrasal verbs are two-word or three-word phrases that function as the verb in the sentence. They are made up of a verb (word, dressed, nodded) and a word from the preposition list (out, up, off), and they form a meaning that’s different from the meaning that the words have all by themselves. 

When words like out, up, and off are in phrasal verbs, they have a special name. They’re called particles. 

Let’s look at a sentence diagram with a phrasal verb. That way, you can see that particles (words from the preposition list that are functioning in phrasal verbs) are not prepositions.

Look at the sentence diagram and notice that the word in isn’t on a little noun bridge. If in were a preposition, it would be diagrammed on a noun bridge like the word to in the diagram below.  

Preposition or Conjunction?

I have a feeling that you already know where I’m going with this. Some words on this list can also function as conjunctions. Let’s look at an example. 

A. I’m looking for bananas. (preposition)

B. He felt energized, for he had just won the competition. (conjunction)

In sentence A, for is in the prepositional phrase for bananas.

In sentence B, for is connecting the two clauses he felt energized and he had just won the competition.

Summary

Sometimes it helps to have a summary of everything you’ve learned. For your learning pleasure, here are the main points we covered on this page.

• Singing some of the prepositions to the tune of «Yankee Doodle» can help you memorize a handful of words from the preposition list. 
• Words on the preposition list are not always used as prepositions.
• They are only prepositions when they are in prepositional phrases (preposition + noun).
• Words from the preposition list often act as adverbs. They can also be in phrasal verbs or function as conjunctions. In these cases, they are not prepositions.

This is original content from https://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/list-of-prepositions.html