THE PREPOSITION - раздел Иностранные языки, Some General Remarks § 342. The Preposition Is A Part Of Speech Characterized By The Following Fea...
§ 342. The preposition is a part of speech characterized by the following features:
Kits lexico-grammatical meaning of 'relations (of substances)'.
2. Its bilateral combinability with a right-hand noun (or
noun-equivalent) and a left-hand word belonging to almost
any part of speech.
3, Its function of a linking word.
§ 343. Prepositions are not characterized by any grammatical categories or typical stem-building elements.
As far as their structure is concerned prepositions, like other parts of speech, fall into the following groups:
1. Simple or primitive, e. g. at, in, of, by, with, for, etc.
2. Derivative, e. g. below, beside, along, etc.
3. Compound, e. g. inside, within, into, throughout, etc.
4. Composite, e. g. instead of, in accordance with, owing to,
in front of, etc.
1 See Каушанская and others, op. cit., 1959, p. 207.
2 Op. cit., p. 392.
3 See § 51.
§ 344. Many prepositions are homonymous with adverbs (about, before, below, down, since, etc.), conjunctions (before, since, etc.), participles (regarding, concerning, etc.), lexico-grammatical word-morphemes (in, on, up, etc.).
§ 345. As elsewhere the lexico-grammatical meaning of prepositions is an abstraction from their individual lexical meanings. Let us compare the following combinations of words:
the book i n the bag,
the book о п the bag,
the book under the bag,
the book near the bag.
In all of them the preposition shows the relation of one noun to another, which reflects the relations of the corresponding substances in the world of reality. This meaning of 'relations (of substances)' common to all prepositions is their lexico-grammatical meaning. But each preposition in the expressions above shows a different relation revealing thus its individual lexical meaning.
It is much more difficult to define the lexical meaning of a preposition than that of a noun or an adjective, because prepositions usually have very general, abstract meanings. Nevertheless the lexical meaning of a preposition is always there, however weak or general it may be. We may call prepositions semi-notional words, but the term form-word often applied to them x is not adequate: they have not only form, but content as well.
§ 346. It is necessary to make some remarks in connection with the classification of prepositions according to their meaning into those of place, direction, time, etc.2. When we say that the prepositions at or by have local meanings in at the window, by the window and temporal meanings in at 6 o'clock, by six o'clock we simply add the meanings of the neighbouring words to those of the prepositions. Originally, a preposition like in is supposed to have had a concrete local meaning. But at present in is used with such a variety of words that it has a very vague and general meaning, some-
1 See M. Qanshina, N. Vasilevskaya, op. cit, p. 249.
2 See В. Л. Каушанская and others, op. cit., p. 209;
Л. С. Б a p x у д а р о в, Д. А. Ш т е л и н г, op. cit., p. 264.
thing like 'inside some sphere'. That sphere may be local as in Moscow, temporal, as in January, abstract as in love, in thought, etc.
Prepositions, like in, at, on, by, etc, which are used with all kinds of nouns, so that the local, temporal, etc. meanings of the prepositional construction do not depend on the preposition, but on the noun, may be called general prepositions. There are some other prepositions which might be called special. They are used chiefly with nouns of certain meaning. For instance, the preposition till can be used with nouns like midnight, dawn, time, but not with window, town, place and the like. That shows that till has acquired a temporal meaning. The causal meaning of the special preposition because of is so strong that it determines the meaning of the prepositional construction irrespective of the noun. Cf. because of the time (place, love, John).
Here are some special prepositions; of time: before, after, during, since, till, until; of place: across, along, among, behind, below, beside, in front of; of cause: because of, in view of, owing to.
§ 347. The combinability of the preposition is rather peculiar. As a rule, it is followed by a noun or a noun equivalent with which it is closely connected. At the same time it is associated with some preceding notional word belonging to nearly any part of speech. We may speak of stable right-hand connections and variable left-hand connections.
|
Parts
| of speech
| Preposition
| Noun (or noun-erjuivalent)
|
| verb
| think
| of
| John
|
| adj.
| clever
| of
| him
|
| adlink
| afraid
| of
| going
|
| num.
| three
| of
| us
|
| pron.
| many
| of
| them
|
| noun
| leg
| of
| mutton
|
| adv.
| west
| of
| it
|
§ 348. Bilateral combinability is typical not only of prepositions but of other linking words as well: conjunctions, link-verbs and modal verbs. But the combinability of prepo-
sitions differs from that of all of them. As stated above, prepositions have stable right-hand and variable left-hand connections. Conjunctions and link-verbs have both connections variable (Cf. He is a student; afraid of being late). Modal verbs have both connections stable1 the subject on the left and an infinitive on the right.
§ 349. Of certain interest is the model 'verb + preposition 4 noun'. Sometimes the preposition is but loosely connected with the verb. In such cases one and the same verb can be followed by different prepositions depending on the sense, e. g. speak of (about, with, to) a person.
In other cases a verb is regularly followed by a fixed preposition, e. g. depend on (somebody, something).
§ 350. Though bilateral combinability is typical of prepositions, there are cases in the English language when either the left-hand or the right-hand connections are weakened or even lost altogether.
In the sentence In his opinion, they would get copped doing it (Galsworthy) the preposition in has retained no left-hand connection.
In the sentence Had he been laughed a t? (Galsworthy) the preposition at has retained no right-hand connection.
§351. The combinability of at in th'e last example resembles, to some extent, that of an adverb. Cf. to be laughed away (off).
On the basis of sentences like
They bought chairs to sit о п. I have no pen to write with. Children like to read and to be read t o. The book was not looked for.
and the fact that many prepositions are homonymous with adverbs A. 1. Smirmtsky thinks it possible to regard prepositions not as a separate part of speech, but as a group of adverbs 1.
We are definitely against that view.
1. The number of instances when prepositions lose their right-hand connections is comparatively small. According
a '
1 Op. cit., p. 376
to V. I. Artyukhova г it occurs in 65 instances out of 4,575 in The White Monkey by J. Galsworthy. That means that in an overwhelming majority of cases (98,6 per cent) the combinability of prepositions differs from that of adverbs.
2. Many prepositions such as to, at, for, from, among,
with, of, into, out of, in front of, etc. are not homonymous
with adverbs.
3. Those prepositions that are homonymous with adverbs
(down, along, before) are related with the latter by conversion
(see § 57). These relations, as we know, are typical of English
and connect words of different parts of speech. (Cf. home
n. —home adv.; since adv. — since conj. — since prep.).
§ 352. Though the lexico-grammatical meaning, the combinability and function of English prepositions are similar to those of the Russian counterparts, the role of prepositions in the two languages is different. This difference, however, depends not on the prepositions, but on the nouns they introduce.
The lexico-grammatical meaning of prepositions, 'relations (of substances)', approximates to the'grammatical meaning of case (see § 81).
In the Russian language with its six-case system the relations of substances are mostly denoted by case morphemes. Prepositions are but a secondary means of specifying these relations. In English the only positive case morpheme -'s shows but a very limited number of relations. So prepositions become a primary means of denoting relations of substances. . Their role, as we see, is determined by the grammatical system of the language.
In Russian the two means of expressing relations of substances are interdependent. Certain prepositions go with certain cases (к дому, от дома, над домом, etc.). So the preposition is closely connected with the noun it precedes. It cannot be used without the noun. In English the preposition is much more independent. It can be separated from the noun, as in The house I speak of. Several prepositions may refer to one noun in the sentence, as in He ... played
1 В И Артюхова. Характер связей предлога в современном английском языке. «Зб1рник праць 1'сторико-ф1лолопчного ф-ту ДДУ», Хсзркш, 1958, р. 120.
with and read to the children- (Jerome). A preposition may refer not only to a word, but also to a word-combination (That is lor you to decide.) or a clause (7/ all depends on how he will act.).
Все темы данного раздела:
SOME GENERAL REMARKS
§ 1. In this book the phoneme, the morpheme, the word,and the sentenceare regarded as the basic units of language and speech. The definitions of these units have n
INTRODUCTION
§ 6. There exist many definitions of the. term word and none of them is generally accepted. But in the majority of cases pedple actually experience no difficulty in separating one word from
THE STRUCTURE OF WORDS
§ 7. One of the main properties of a word is its double nature. It is material because it can he heard or seen, and it is immaterial or ideal as far as its meaning is concerned. We shall regard the
THE CLASSIFICATION OF WORDS
§ 19. A morpheme usually has more than one meaning. This is the case, for instance, with both the lexical and the grammatical morpheme in the word runs. The morpheme run- has the following m
THE NOUN
§ 64. As follows from our previous discussion of the parts of speech in English, the noun may be defined as a part of speech characterized by the following features:
1. The lexico-grammati
The Category of Number
§ 71. The category of number of Engl ish nouns is the system of opposemes (such as girl — girls, foot — feet, etc.) showing whether the noun stands for оде object or more than
Noun Grammemes in Speech
§ 87. An English noun lexeme may contain four words at most (boy, boys, boy's, boys'). Each of these words, as we know (§ 19), represents not only the lexeme, but a certain grammeme as well.
THE ADJECTIVE
§ 101. Adjectives are a part of speech characterized by the following typical features:
1. The lexico-grammatical meaning of 'attributes (of substances)'. It should be understood that
Adjective Grammemes in Speech
§ 110. An English adjective lexeme may contain three words at most (strong — stronger — strongest) representing three grammemes. The fourth grammeme contains words with the oblique me
THE ADVERB
§ 116. The adverb is a part of speech characterized by the following features: *
1. The lexico-grammatical meaning of "qualitative, quan titative or circumstantial characteri
THE NUMERAL
§ 130. The numeral as a part of speech is characterized by
1) its lexico-grammatical meaning of 'number',
2) the category of numerical qualification represented in opposemes l
PRONOUNS
, § 139. It has been shown above that words fall into classes known as parts of speech in accordance with their lexico-grammatical meanings, morphological categories, typical stem-building element
Хаймович и др
But what is more important, pronouns can be substituted «not only for nouns, but for othe
Generalizing Pronouns
§ 178. Here belong such pronouns as all, both, each, either, every and its compounds (everyone, everybody, everything, everywhere) which give a generalizing indication of persons, th
THE VERB
§ 187. Analysing the verb in Modern Russian, V. V. Vi-nogradov characterizes it as "the most complex and capacious part of speech" J. Likewise, A. I. Smirnitsky 2 st
The Category of Voice
§ 203. The category of voice is the system of two-member opposemes (loves — is loved, loving — being loved, to love — to be loved, has loved — has, been loved, et
The Category of Aspect
§ 218. The category of aspect is a system of two-member opposemes such as works — is working, has worked — has been working, to work — to be working showing the characte
The Indicative Mood
§ 229. The indicative mood is the basic mood of the verb. Morphologically it is the most developed system including all the categories of the verb.
Semantically it is a fact mood. It serve
The Subjunctive Mood
§ 239. Probably the only thing linguists are unanimous about with regard to the subjunctive mood is that it represents an action as a 'non-fact', as something imaginary,
1
The Imperative Mood
§ 247. The imperative mood represents an action as a command, urging, request, exhortation addressed to one's interlocutor^). It is a direct expression of one's will. Therefore it is much more 's
Verb Grammemes in Speech
§ 251. When used in speech a word has but one of its lexical meanings and all of its grammatical meanings (see § 21). Thus in the sentence He writes to me every week, the verb writes
Indicative Mood Grammemes
The Present, Non-Continuous, Non-Perfect
§ 253. As a part of the verb system it may be said to present an action in the present (present tense) unspecified as to its character (non-contin
Voice Grammemes
§ 288. In the' system of the English language the active (non-marked) and the passive (marked) members of the voice opposeme are equal in rank, mutually complementing each other. This is not the ca
Subjunctive Mood Grammemes in Speech
§ 293. As we know, there is not a single subjunctive mood grammeme which has no homonyms in the indicative or in the imperative mood (or both). The discrimination of homo-nymous grammemes rests on
Imperative Mood Grammemes in Speech
§ 302. In most cases they serve to present an order, command, exhortation, request, etc. as a direct expression of the speaker's will.
In certain surroundings, however, mostly in
The Gerund
§ 321. The gerund is a verbid characterized by the following features:
1. Its dual lexico-grammatical meaning of an action partially viewed as a substance.
2. The categories
THE RESPONSE WORDS
§ 334. The response-words yes and no are characterized as a separate class by
a) their meaning of 'response statement',
b) their negative combinability,
c)
THE INTERJECTION
§ 337. The interjection is a part of speech characterized by the following features.
1. It expresses "emotions or will without naming them.
2. It has no grammatical categorie
THE CONJUNCTION
§ 353. The conjunction is a part of speech characterized by the following features.
1. Its lexico-grammatical meaning of 'relations between substances, actions, properties, situations,
THE ARTICLE
§ 364. The two words a(n), the form a separate group or class characterized by
a) the lexico-grammatical meaning of '(in)definiteness', •b) the right-hand combinability with nouns,
THE PARTICLE
§ 372. The particle as a part of speech is characterized by the following features:
1. Its lexico-grammatical meaning of 'emphatic specifi cation'.
2. Its unilateral combina,
INTRODUCTION
§ 378. The basic unit of syntax is the sentence.There exist many definitions of the sentence, but none of them is generally accepted 1. But in the majority of cas
L/j8 Хаймсшич и
tences when the predicate verb contains no morphological word-morphemes.
§ 392. A unit of a higher level, as we know, contains units of the next lower level. A sentence contai
THE STRUCTURE OF A SENTENCE
§ 396. As defined (§ 3), when studying the structure of a unit, we find out its components, mostly units of the next lower level, their arrangement and their functions as parts of the unit.
A. As to Their Structure
§ 403. Sentences with only one predication are called simple sentences. Those with more than one predication have usually no general name 3. We shall call them
Combinations of Sentences
§ 416. The sentence is usually the limit of grammatical analysis. Conrbinations of sentences have never got adequate attention on the part of linguists. Yet the necessity of extending linguistic an
THE SIMPLE SENTENCE PARTS OF THE SENTENCE
§ 420. Traditionally the subject and the predicate are regarded as the primary or principal parts of the sentence and the attribute, the object and the adverbial modifier — as the secondary parts
The Predicate
§ 430. The predicate is the member of a predication con taining the mood and tense (or only mood) components of predicativity. "
E. g. This dictionary employs a pronunciat
G) Adverbials of attending circumstances
He sank down in his chair, resting his chin in his hand. (Dreiser). -
§456. Qualitative and quantitative adverbial complements are more closely connected with their headword
Attributes
§ 459. Attributes are secondary parts of the sentence serving to modify nouns or noun-equivalents in whatever functions they are used in the sentence.
In simple sentences attributes can
Extensions
§ 467. Extensions are adjuncts of adjectives, adverbs and adlinks in a sentence. They differ from complements and attributes in being usually modifiers of modifiers, or ter-tiaries,
Connectives
§ 469. Connectives are linking-words considered as a secondary part of the sentence. They are mostly prepositions and conjunctions.
She played and sang to him. (London).
C
Го-Specifiers
§ 471. The peculiar combinability and functions of particles distinguish them from all other words in the sentence. They .-are not adjuncts of definite parts of speech like complements, .attributes
Parenthetical Elements
§ 473. Parenthetical elements are peculiar parts of the sentence.
a) They are characterized by negative combinability with the other words of the sentence.
b) They are, as it
WORD-ORDER IN SIMPLE SENTENCES 1. The Position of the Subject and the Predicate in the Sentence
§ 477. We have already dwelt upon the fact that in Modern "English syntactical relations of words in the sentence are very often indicated by the position the words occupy in the sentence.
II. The Position of the Object
a) The Place of the Direct Object
§ 479. The direct object is usually placed after the verb unless the indirect object precedes it.
He offered me his help.
However
THE COMPOSITE SENTENCE
§ 492. Composite sentences, as we know (§ 403), divide into compound and complex sentences. The difference between them is not only in the relations of coordination or subordination, as usually st
THE COMPOUND SENTENCE
§ 496. The clauses of compound sentences are of equal rank, but usually the clause preceding the conjunction is regarded as the initial clause to which the other clause is related. These relations
THE COMPLEX SENTENCE
§ 498. The principal clauses of complex sentences are usually not classified, though their meanings are not neutral with regard to the meanings of the subordinate clauses.
Cf. He will c
Complement Clauses
a) Predicative Clauses
§ 509. The sentence The question is where he can be found consists of the principal clause the question is and the predicative clause where he can
Attribute Clauses
§ 518. Attributive clauses are postpositive adjuncts of nouns. They are commonly divided into relative and a'pposi-tiveclauses. Relative clauses are introduced by pronouns (or asyn
Extension Clauses
§ 520. Extension clauses are postpositive adjuncts of adjectives, adverbs and adlinks.
E. g. It is indeed doubtful how he had become aware that
Ro
Parenthetical Clauses
§ 521. Most authors who do not regard parenthetical elements as parts of the sentence treat It is past ten, I think as a simple sentence 1. We do not find this view convin
COMPOUND-COMPLEX AND COMPLEX-COMPOUND SENTENCES
§ 523. Sometimes subordination and coordination may be combined within one sentence, in which case we may have compound-complex and complex-compound sentences.
1 See M. Ganshma,
DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH
§ 524. Among the composite sentences of English and other languages we find a peculiar type differing from the rest.
Cf. He said, "/ love you". (Greene). ,
CONCLUSION
§ 530. We have made a survey of the morphological and syntactical systems of Modern English, resorting, where appropriate, to comparison with Modern Russian. Now, by way of summing up, we shall ma
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