Download Grammar Lecture Notes: Prepositions, Conjunctions, Preparatory

ENGALX Campus Grammar
Spring 2010
Anna Linzie
Lecture 5:
Prepositions, conjunctions,
preparatory subjects
Prepositions
A preposition
1. can have many different meanings, relating to things like time, place, cause, means
and exception
2. can have different meanings in different contexts (concrete/abstract)
3. is either simple (at, after, by, despite, since, until) or complex (in front of, in spite of,
according to, by means of, in addition to, with respect to)
4. is the head of a prepositional phrase, which usually functions as either a postmodifier
in a noun phrase or an adverbial
5. is followed by a prepositional complement, typically a noun phrase, but can also be a
verb in the –ing form, a whole wh-clause, or an adverb
6. occurs in many concrete and abstract phrases where the correspondence between
languages (English on, Swedish på) does not hold and these cases must therefore be
learnt one by one (English on duty, Swedish i tjänst)
Preposition or adverb?
Some words can be both prepositions and adverbs. Unlike a preposition, an adverb is not
followed by a complement. Many verbs include a particle which can be either a preposition
or an adverb. If the particle is a preposition, the verb is called a prepositional verb, and the
stress is on the verb. If the particle is an adverb, the verb is called a phrasal verb, and the
stress is on the adverb. Some of these verbs are quite informal, and have a more formal
alternative without a particle (come across vs. encounter, look into vs. investigate). There is
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also a type called phrasal-prepositional verbs, which include both an adverb and a
preposition (get away with, give in to, walk out on).
Prepositional phrases
Prepositions are heads of prepositional phrases. What comes after the preposition to form the
phrase is called the prepositional complement. A preposition is typically followed by a noun
phrase (before the show), but is also frequently used before verbs, in which case the verb is
always in the –ing form (before showing us his new bike). Prepositions can also be used
before whole clauses (down where the playground is) and adverbs (until when is tax
deferred?). Sometimes the prepositional complement can even be another prepositional
phrase (the dog came out from underneath the barn).
A prepositional phrase has two main functions:
1. As the postmodifier in a noun phrase
2. As an adverbial
Differences between English and Swedish
There are many phrases where the English preposition does not correspond to the most
typical Swedish equivalent. Sometimes a Swedish expression contains a preposition whereas
the corresponding English preposition does not (several years ago vs. “för flera år sedan”).
There are other cases where an English expression contains a preposition whereas the
corresponding Swedish expression does not (nothing in common vs. “ingenting gemensamt”).
Problematic preposition pairs
1. against-towards: both correspond to Swedish “mot”, but against is used when you
talk about physical support, and, in a more abstract way, about opposition. Towards is
used to express direction.
2. as-like: both correspond to Swedish “som”, but as is typically used to talk about a
quality that someone/something actually has (“i egenskap av”), whereas like indicates
a comparison with someone/something (“precis som”).
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3. at-in: when these refer to a place, both can correspond to Swedish “i”, but at is used
about small towns and villages (especially British English), whereas in is used for big
cities and other large areas (and also for small places when you talk about the place
where you are right now or where you live). Note: Remember to use at/in (not to)
with the verb arrive.
4. besides-except /for/-apart from: besides is used in positive contexts (“förutom” addition), whereas except /for/ has a negative meaning (“utom, med undantag av” –
subtraction). Apart from can be used in either meaning but is more frequent in the
sense of “except”.
5. during-under: both can be translated into “under” in Swedish, but during refers to
time and under refers to place. Note 1: Do not overuse during! Another preposition is
often required in expressions such as for more than a decade, in the next few days,
over the years. Note 2: The adverb meanwhile is used to translate “under tiden”.
PrePosition + “att” (“... är som hund och katt”)
One very common mistake among Swedish learners of English is to translate two types of
prepositional complement incorrectly into English so that a preposition is followed by the
equivalent of Swedish “att” (functioning as an infinitive marker and a subordinator,
respectively). In English, a preposition cannot be followed by an infinitive or a thatclause.
1. Infinitives introduced by “att”. A Swedish construction with a preposition followed
by an “att”-infinitive corresponds to an English construction with a preposition
followed by a verb in the –ing form. The –ing form is particularly difficult to
remember when the preposition is to, since it looks the same as the infinitive marker
to. To find out which one it is, try to put a noun phrase after to. If it is possible, to is a
preposition. If not, to is an infinitive marker. Note 1: One construction is particularly
problematic: be used to (“vara van vid”). Here, to is a preposition, followed by a verb
in the –ing form (I am used to driving to work). It can be confused with the marginal
modal used to (“brukade”) where to is an infinitive marker (I used to drive to work).
Note 2: Two prepositions, but and except, are followed by verbs in the bare infinitive
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rather than by –ing forms. The graduate student had nothing to do except finish his
thesis.
2. Dependent clauses introduced by “att”. A) Very often a Swedish construction with
preposition + subordinator “att” corresponds to an English construction with a verb in
the –ing form. I was surprised at them/their making fun of me. When a pronoun or a
noun comes between the preposition and the verb in the –ing form, it can either be a
possessive pronoun/a noun in the genitive (more formal) or a personal pronoun/an
ordinary noun (more informal). B) After some adjectives (annoyed, aware, convinced,
disappointed, happy, surprised) and some verbs (convince, inform, remind, warn), an
alternative is to omit the preposition and keep that. We were disappointed that she
was not included. C) Sometimes we can insert a phrase like the fact (especially after
despite) or the idea between the preposition and that. Despite the fact that it has been
known for a long time, people are often surprised by the idea that this process begins
at birth.
Prepositional variation in English
There are many phrases with prepositions where there is more than one correct alternative.
Sometimes there is regional variation between British and American English. For instance,
British speakers of English tend to say fill in a form whereas American speakers tend to say
fill out a form. In some cases there is one form with a preposition and one form without: stay
home vs. stay at home, a couple things vs. a couple of things. The structures without a
preposition are more frequent in American English (and informal language) than in British
English (and formal language).
The placement of prepositions also varies in some cases. A so-called stranded preposition,
where a preposition separated from its complement comes last, is often used with whquestions and relative clauses. Who(m) did you want to talk to? In formal contexts, the
preposition is often placed at the beginning of the clause instead. To whom did you wish to
speak? (Remember: The form whom – not who – is used after a preposition.)
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Conjunctions
There are two types of conjunctions, a small group of coordinators (or coordinating
conjunctions) and a much larger group of subordinators (subordinating conjunctions).
A coordinator
1. is a word that connects two things at the same level (two noun phrases, two adjective
phrases, two clauses of the same type)
2. can be either simple (and, but, or) or complex (as well as, both…and, either…or,
neither…nor)
3. does not usually occur at the beginning of a sentence in formal and written language
A subordinator
1. is a word that introduces a dependent clause, which usually functions either as an
adverbial or as the postmodifier in a noun phrase1
2. can be either simple (as, because, where) or complex (as if, as long as, so that)
3. contributes to expressing one of a number of different meanings, such as time (while),
place (where), comparison (as if), intention/result (in order that), cause/reason
(because), condition (in case), contrast/opposition/exclusion (whereas), question
(whether)
4. can express different meanings in different contexts (since time/cause, if
question/condition)
The most frequent subordinator is that, which is often left out, especially in informal
language. He said /that/ you were in town.
Two common subordinator mistakes made by Swedish learners of English are to use now
when instead of now that (“nu när”), and it won’t be long until instead of it won’t be long
before (“det dröjer inte länge förrän”).
While even though can only be used about something that is a fact, even if can also be used
about an idea.
In formal writing, whether is often preferred to if. In some cases, whether is the only
acceptable alternative: A) after a preposition, B) when introducing a structure with or not, C)
before an infinitive.
1
A dependent clause is not always introduced by a subordinator, but can also start with an interrogative or a
relative pronoun or directly with a non-finite verb form.
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Some words in the subordinator class also belong to the preposition class (after, as, before,
like, than, since), and a few others also belong to the adverb class (when, where).
Many subordinators express meaning similar to the meanings of adverbs and it can be
difficult to keep them apart. Compare the following examples:
1. He proceeded to distribute the exam, although the students complained loudly.
(Subordinator, used to introduce a dependent clause linked to the rest of the sentence by
a comma)
2. He proceeded to distribute the exam. However, the students complained loudly.
(Adverb, used in a main clause separated from the previous sentence by a full stop and
a capital letter).
If although is used to introduce a sentence standing on its own, we have a sentence
fragment. *He did it. Although they complained. If however is used in a dependent clause
connected to the previous clause by a comma, we have a run-on sentence. *He did it,
however they didn’t like it. Knowing about subordinators will help you avoid these types of
problem sentences.
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Preparatory subjects: there and it
Sometimes there are two subjects in a clause, an extraposed subject and a preparatory
subject. Especially in cases where the subject is long and complex, it can be “extraposed” –
moved further back to the end of the clause - to avoid clumsiness. A “dummy” subject then
takes its place at the beginning of the clause. This extra subject is called the formal,
preparatory, or introducing subject.
There are two types of preparatory subjects in English, it and there. While there is the
preparatory subject when the extraposed subject is a noun phrase, it is the preparatory subject
when the extraposed subject is a clause. This tends to cause problems for Swedish learners of
English, because the same Swedish word, det, is used in both cases.
THERE
There is used with extraposed subjects that are noun phrases, to express some kind of
existence (det finns, det förekommer…). There are other verbs besides be (but with related
meanings) that can be used here (come, exist, follow, occur, remain), and sometimes another
verb comes between there and the linking verb be (be said to, be supposed to, happen to,
seem to): There is a playground in the park. There followed a long pause. There was
supposed to be a big party that evening. A common mistake is to use it instead of there. Also,
note that you must put the verb in the plural if the extraposed subject is in the plural: There
were two playgrounds in the park.
Some English expressions have there and an extraposed subject, where Swedish only has det
(and no other subject): There was a knock on the door… (“Det knackade på dörren…”) Some
Swedish expressions with det must be rephrased completely in English: We are out of... (”Det
är slut på…”) What’s the score? (“Vad står det?”) I like... (“Det är gott med...”)
IT
If the subject in a sentence consists of a clause, it seldom comes first. Instead we use the
preparatory subject it. The clause can be either finite (usually starting with that) or non-finite
(usually starting with a to-infinitive): It’s a pity that they were not able to come. It was
interesting to hear about this.
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Exception: If the clausal subject consists of or begins with a verb in the –ing form, it tends to
come first. Hiking in the mountains is one of my favorite pastimes. (Not: It is hiking in the
mountains that is…) However, there are a few expressions where the extraposed subject
begins with a verb in the –ing form: It’s no use saying that if you don’t mean it. It’s no good
coming here without a purpose. (In American English, there’s no use is also possible. In
British English, there’s no point in…)
Sometimes it is used as a preparatory subject in a for-to construction: It is crucial for them to
win.
“Empty” IT
Besides the preparatory subject + extraposed subject construction with it, there is also a
construction with an “empty” it and no extraposed subject. In both English and Swedish, this
construction is used mainly with verbs referring to the weather, temperature, time, and
distance (Swedish VATT – väder, avstånd, tid, temperatur): It’s raining. It’s ten degrees. It’s
3 pm. How far is it? When weather is expressed by means of a noun phrase, there is used
instead of it: There was a terrible storm.
Exception: The word weather itself is an exception, since it is used instead of there.
Remember that weather is uncountable (does not take the indefinite article): It was lovely
weather.
Also, it is used when we are talking about a point in time, but not about a period of time.
It’s time for a break. (“Det är dags”…)
There’s time for a break. (”Vi har tid för… Det finns tid till…”)
An “empty” it is also used in cleft sentences (emfatisk omskrivning, kluven sats), in order
to put extra focus on a certain item: It was the house on the beach that I wanted. It was my
mother who made it possible.
Note: Sometimes you can exclude the preparatory subject: There was a girl in the room. A
girl was in the room. But not always: *A storm was last night.
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