Is the word out a preposition

What part of speech is ‘out’? Is the word ‘out’ a preposition? Over the years many have asked these questions again and again. In this article we are going to take a critical look at the word ‘out’ and see if it really is a preposition or not. But before we do that, let us take some time out to find out what exactly a preposition is.

What is a preposition? A preposition can be defined as a word or words that show relationship between words and are always placed before nouns or pronouns to show the relationship between the noun or pronoun and some other word in the sentence. This means that in order for a word or words to work as prepositions they should at least come before a noun or a pronoun.  Some common examples of prepositions are: behind, under, in front of, to, for, beneath, in, inside, outside, above, over, etc.

For example, all the highlighted words in the following sentences are prepositions: The fox jumped over the wall. I hid behind the barrel when I saw the fox move in front of me.

Having now gotten a rudimentary idea what a preposition is, let us turn our attention to the question of the day – ‘is the word out a preposition’?

Ordinarily, the word ‘out’ is an adverb. The reason this is so is because of the fact that it modifies a verb. For example:

Let’s go out.

As an adverb, the word ‘out’ in the sentence above is modifying the verb ‘go’. Other examples of ‘out’ functioning as an adverb are:

• Please speak out.
• Our supplies are beginning to run out.
• If you do not fan the fire, it will go out.

Besides functioning as an adverb, the word ‘out’ can also function as a preposition. Many people might find this quite hard to believe – especially the British. So many grammarians – especially those from Britain do not approve of ‘out’ being used as a preposition, but in American English, the word ‘out’ can be a preposition and function as one.

For a word to function as a preposition, it should be able to come before a noun or pronoun in a sentence and still make the sentence grammatically sound. In British English, this is not done, but in American English it is totally acceptable. Let us take a look at some examples of ‘out’ functioning as a preposition.

• John fell out the window while cleaning it. (Out comes before a noun ‘window’ and functions as a preposition, showing the relationship between John and the window)
• I looked out the window and saw John lying on the ground in severe pain. (Out comes before a noun ‘window’ and functions as a preposition as it shows the relationship between I and the window)
• Out this door is the kitchen. (Out comes before the noun ‘door’ and functions as a preposition because it shows the relationship between the door and the kitchen)

To answer the question of the day, ‘is out a preposition?, we can confidently say that the word can be a preposition in American English, but in British English, it is not accepted as a preposition.

Apart from being an adverb and a preposition (in American English), the word ‘out’ can also function as other parts of speech such as as an adjective in the following sentences:

• Our power went out after the storm. (Out here means not working)
• John went out when he was hit in the head by a brick. (Out here means going unconscious)
• The out part of the car is damaged. (Out in this sentence means the external part of something)
• John wanted to take coffee, but I could not offer him any because we were out. (Here, out means that something no longer exists in a person’s supply)

The word ‘Out’ can also function as a noun when it is used as the name for a person who is out of power. It can also be used informally to mean a means or way of escape. For example: Fred felt that the backdoor was a good out for him.

Finally, we can have the word ‘out’ also functioning as a verb. ‘Out’ functioning as a verb is not very common.

Is «out» a preposition or an adverb in these sentences?

1. «We need to get the hell out of this place.»

2. «We need to get out and leave this place.»

It depends on the grammar that you are following or are being taught. Some traditional grammars categorize the word «out»—depending on how it is used—as either a preposition, or as an adverb, or as a part of a complex preposition, etc.

Modern grammars usually categorize the word «out» differently. In some of these grammars, some traditional adverbs (such as «out») have been re-categorized as being purely as prepositions, which happens to simplify the grammar overall — for instance, according to the 2002 reference grammar by Huddleston and Pullum et al., The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (CGEL), the word «out» is categorized as a preposition. CGEL, on pages 616-7:

• [32] iv. She suddenly jumped out of the window.

• [33] i.b. I ran out of the house.

• [33] ii.b. I ran out.

Notice that their examples are similar to your two examples.

Also, on page 616:

The traditional definition of preposition excludes the underlined words, precisely because they are not followed by NPs. For the most part, these and other words of the same kind are therefore analyzed as adverbs in traditional grammar.

In some cases, however, the similarity between the whole bracketed expression and a PP is recognized, and catered for by analysing the first two words as a single unit. This unit does have an NP as complement, and hence is traditionally analyzed as a preposition — what is often called a ‘complex preposition’.

This topic is also covered in the 2005 textbook by Huddleston and Pullum, A Student’s Introduction To English Grammar, pages 127-33.

Phrasal Verbs consist of a verb plus a particle:
verb + adverb or verb + preposition or verb + adverb + preposition.
The meaning of this combination is mostly very different from the verb and the adverb or preposition alone.
There are no rules that might explain how phrasal verbs are formed correctly — all you can do is look them up in a dictionary and study their meanings.
In fact many phrasal verbs are metaphorical, and if you understand the metaphors they use, it will be easier to understand and remember their meanings.
Phrasal verbs are mainly used in spoken English and informal texts.
Many phrasal verbs are transitive, meaning that they take an object. Other phrasal verbs can stand alone (intransitive verbs).
Some phrasal verbs are separable (the verb and the preposition can be separated, putting the object in the middle), while others are inseparable (the object must come at the end because the verb and the preposition must stay together).
Separable verb:
Correct: Put on your coat.
Correct: Put your coat on.
Inseparable verb:
Correct: Get on a bus.
Incorrect: Get a bus on.

Phrasal verbs with OUT, their meanings and examples

Preposition OUT is opposite of IN and used to show movement away from the inside of a place or container.

WHEN SOMEONE LEAVES A PLACE:

Be out — Be absent from a place. Your brother was out when I came by to see him.
Book out — Leave a place. I’m in a hurry, so I have to book out right now.
Drive out — Force someone/something to leave a place. Government forces have driven the rebels out of the eastern district.
Get out — Leave/escape from somewhere/socialise away from home. We don’t get out much, as we have a young baby.
Get out of — Leave a car, van, etc./ to avoid doing something that you do not want to do. If I can get out of going to the meeting tonight I will.
Go out — Leave a place/ socialise away from home/Go on strike. Are you going out tonight?
Head out — Go out. We’re heading out at seven, so don’t be late.
Let out — Allow to leave or go out. Would you let the dog out, please?
Log out — Exit a computer system. Don’t log out of your account yet—I want to check something.
Move out — Leave a place you live or work in. He moved out when he was only 18.
Nip out — Go somewhere quickly. She’ll be back in a minute — she’s just nipped out to the shops.
Pile out –Multiple people leaving a place quickly, in a disorganised way. People began piling out of the house.
Pop out — Go out for a short time. He popped out for a quick coffee break.
Pull out — Start moving (train)/Move into traffic/Withdraw. The train pulls out at noon.
Push out — Force someone to leave. I felt I was being pushed out of the job.
Ship out — Send goods to a place/Leave a place. The troops shipped out for the war zone.
Slip out — Leave discreetly. The party was really dull so we slipped out and went to the pub instead.
Spill out — When large numbers of people leave a place at the same time/Express or display emotions openly. People were spilling out of the wine bar onto the street.
Start out — Begin a journey or career. My dad started out as a sales assistant in a shop.
Stay out — to go home late or not go home at night. My mum won’t let me stay out late.
Steal out — Leave in a stealthy or quiet manner. Not wanting to attract attention, she stole out early.
Step out — Leave a place for a very short time. I’m sorry, Karen’s just stepped out for a minute.
Storm out — Leave a place angrily. She got mad and stormed out.
Walk out — Leave work because of a dispute with the management/Leave a place angrily or because you are not satisfied/to end your relationship with your husband, wife, or partner. He walked out on his wife and two kids.
Want out — Want to leave a relationship or arrangement. One of the partners wants out of the business.

OUTSIDE (NOT INSIDE)
Ask out — To invite someone for a date. He asked her out to dinner, but she had other plans.
Cast out — Expel, reject. When I questioned their methods, they cast me out of the group.
Count out – Exclude. Please count me out for the party next Saturday. I have other plans.
Cut out — Exclude/ Cut a picture or similar from a magazine, etc. Non-members have been cut out of the circulation list.
Dine out — Have dinner outside your home. We rarely dine out these days.
Eat out — Eat in a restaurant. Let’s eat out tonight.
Freeze out — Shut out or exclude by unfriendly treatment. I felt I was being frozen out of/from the discussions.
Keep out — Not allow someone to enter. The sign said ‘Danger – Keep out’.
Kick out – Expel. His wife kicked him out of the house.
Mark out — Draw lines to enclose an area. He’d marked out a volleyball court on the beach with a stick.
Show out — Take someone to the exit of a room or building. If you’d like to come this way, I’ll show you out.
Shut out – Exclude. Shut the dog out for awhile.

If information is out, it becomes PUBLICLY KNOWN
Act out — Express an emotion in your behaviour. He acted out of self defence.
Come out — A secret is revealed or an item is published. When does their new album come out?
Give out — Make public. Details of the accident were given out on the nine o’clock news.
Leak out – become public knowledge – either intentionally or by accident. When the story leaked out, my telephone would not stop ringing.

DISTRIBUTE:
Give out – Distribute. He gave out copies of the report.
Hand out – Distribute. The teacher handed out worksheets to the class.

Used for saying that A SOUND OR VOICE IS LOUD AND CLEAR
Bawl out — Scold, shout at someone/ to speak angrily to someone because of something they have done wrong. My boss bawled me out for coming to work late.
Blare out — A loud sound or music. Music blared out from the neighbour’s party.
Cry out — Shout because you are in pain or shock. It’s enough to make most people cry out in horror.
Let out — Make a sound. The children let out shouts of delight when they saw the cake.
Read out — Read aloud rather than silently. He read the list of names out.

END OR FINISH:
Block out — Stop light from entering or leaving/Try not think about or feel something because it is upsetting or painful. The tree outside the window blocks out the sun.
Close out — Bring something to an end. They closed out 2015 by winning three of their final five games.
Die out — Become extinct or disappear. The tribe’s traditional way of life is dying out.
Drop out — Quit a course. He dropped out of school at 14.
Dry out — Stop drinking or taking drugs when addicted/Dry something fully. Water the ground regularly to stop it from drying out.
Give out — Stop working, through age or overuse. At the end of the race his legs gave out and he collapsed on the ground.
Go out — Stop burning, be extinguish. I’m sorry – I let the fire go out.
Sign out — Close a computer program that requires a name and password. Please sign out at reception when you leave the office.
Time out — End or close something because of a time limit. The server connection times out after 15 minutes.

WITH NONE OF SOMETHING LEFT:
Run out of — Have none left. We’re about to run out of coffee and sugar.
Sell out — Have no more of something left because it has been bought. They’d sold out of bread when I got there.

FAIL:
Back out — Fail to keep an arrangement or promise. You agreed to come. You can’t back out now!

Used for saying that someone is UNCONSCIOUS or IS MADE UNCONSCIOUS:
Black out — Fall unconscious. He had blacked just before his car hit the tree.
Knock out — Hit and make somebody unconscious/Sell, distribute. He hit me and nearly knocked me out.
Pass out — Faint, lose consciousness. I don’t remember any more because I passed out by then.

START:
Break out — Start (war, conflict). War broke out in 1914.
Bring out — Release or publish. She is bringing out an eagerly awaited solo album next month.
Carry out — Perform a task. The hospital is carrying out tests to find out what’s wrong with her.

REMOVE:
Cross out — Put as line through some writing to show it is wrong. Just cross out the old address.
Empty out — Empty something completely. Where can I empty this box of rubbish?
Filter out — Remove something unwanted. Reed beds filter out much of the pollution.
Fish out — Remove something from a bag, pocket, etc. She reached into her bag and fished out a pen.
Iron out — Remove small problems or irregularities. They’re meeting in Berlin to iron out the final details of the contract.
Leave out — Not include. She feels left out because the other children don’t play with her.
Miss out — Not do something enjoyable or rewarding/Not include. An important fact had been missed out.
Opt out — Choose not to be part of something. Since the opt-out, the academy has been responsible for its own budgeting
Root out — Look for and find/Find the source of a problem. I’ve rooted out an old pair of shoes that might fit you.
Throw out — Get rid of /Reject/Expel. The crew threw out the rubbish.
Weed out — Remove, get rid of. The first round of interviews only really serves to weed out the very weakest of applicants.
Whip out — Remove quickly. The new assembly line can whip out 30 cases an hour.

OTHERS:
Burn out — Lose enthusiasm and energy to continue. Tom burned himself out in that boring job.
Chill out – Relax. The students could chill out for a week after their exams had finished.
Dig out — Find something you haven’t used, seen, etc, for a long time. Mum dug out some old family pictures to show me. Possibly move
Figure out — Find the answer to a problem. Can you figure out this puzzle?
Grow out of — Grow too large for clothes/Lose interest as you grow older or become more mature. He grew out of his suit.
Hammer out — Negotiate and reach an agreement. The two parties finally hammer out the contract over the weekend.
Hang out — Spend time socially. Is this where you guys hang out all the time?
Hear out — Listen to everything someone has to say. I’m serious about this; hear me out, please.
Let out — Make clothes bigger. I’m going to have this skirt let out.
Lock out — Lock a place to stop someone getting in. She locked him out of the house after an argument.
Look out — Be careful. Look out – there’s a car coming!
Muscle out — Use power, contacts, etc, to force someone out. Are you trying to muscle me out of my job?
Nose out — Find out, discover- usually information, secrets, etc. He soon nosed out the details of the accident by talking to people and making some phone calls.
Pig out — Eat a lot. We pigged out on all the delicious cakes and pastries.
Print out — Make a hard copy of a computer document. Could you print out a copy of that letter for me?
Put out — Broadcast/Extinguish a cigarette, fire, etc. The principal told them to put the cigarettes out.
Rub out — Delete ink or pencil with an eraser. If you make a mistake rub it out and rewrite the answer.
Sniff out — Find something by smell (usually for dogs)/Find out information, especially when people don’t want anyone to know. The dog sniffed the intruder out and the police captured him.
Spit out — discharge something from the mouth / Say something angrily. He spat out an insult and marched out of the room.
Talk out — Discuss a problem. I talked out the problem with a therapist.
Veg out — Relax, do nothing. I think I’ll just veg out this weekend.
Watch out — Be careful (imperative). Watch out – you’re going to hit that car!
Wear out — Use something until it stops working. The rear tyres had worn out.
Work out — End nicely/Find the answer or solution. Things always work out well.
Write out — Write something completely. It only takes a minute to write out a prescription.

LEAVE A COMMENT