Meaning of Preposition
According to their meaning prepositions may be divided into prepositions of place and direction (in, on, below, under, between, etc.), time (after, before, at, etc.), prepositions expressing abstract relations (by, with, because of, with a view to, etc.). The lexical meaning of some prepositions is quite concrete (e. g. in, below, between, before, after, till, etc.), while that of some other prepositions may be weakened to a great extent (e. g. to, by, of). For instance, the preposition to generally indicates direction or movement towards something: Every night Sissy went to Rachel’s lodging, and sat with her in her small [...]
Morphological Structure of Preposition
As to their morphological structure prepositions fall under the following groups: Simple Derivative Compound Composite in, on, at, for, with, etc. behind, below, across, along, etc. inside, outside, within, without, etc.); because of, in front of, in accordance with, etc.
Detached (Loose) parts of the Sentence
Detached parts of the sentence are those secondary parts that assume a certain grammatical and semantic independence. This phenomenon is due to their loose connection with the words they modify. Loose connection may be due to the position of these words, the way they are expressed, their meaning, or the speaker’s desire to make them prominent. In spoken language detached parts of the sentence are marked by intonation, pauses, and special stress; in written language they are generally separated by commas or dashes. Adverbial modifiers, attributes, and prepositional indirect objects may stand in loose connection to the word they [...]
Independent elements of the Sentence
The independent elements of the sentence are words arid word groups which are not grammatically dependent on any part of the sentence. They are: Interjections Direct Address Parenthesis Interjections Interjections, such as ah, oh, hurrah, eh, hallo, goodness gracious, good heavens, Oh, if I only knew what a dreadful thing it is to be clean, I’d never come. ( Shaw) “Oh gracious me! that innocent Toots,” returned Susan hysterically. (Dickens) Direct Address Good morning, sweet child! (Douglas) Don’t be tiresome, Marcellus! (Douglas) Parenthesis A parenthesis either shows the speaker’s attitude towards the thought expressed in the sentence or connects a given sentence with another [...]
Sentences with Homogeneous Parts
Two or more parts of the sentence having the same function and referring to the same part of the sentence are called homogeneous parts of the sentence. They are linked either by means of coordinating conjunctions or asyndetically. There can be: #1. Two or more homogeneous subjects to one predicate. From the edge of the bed came a ripple and whisper. (Wells) To her extreme relief, her father and sisters appeared. (Dashwood) #2. Two or more homogeneous predicates to one subject. Simple predicates. That gentleman started, stared, retreated, rubbed his eyes, stared again and finally shouted: “Stop, stop!” (Dickens) A [...]
Differentiating between Adverbial Modifier and other Parts of Sentence
It is not always easy to discriminate between different parts of the sentence expressed by prepositional phrases. The following parts of the sentence are apt to be confusing: a prepositional indirect object and an adverbial modifier; an attribute and an adverbial modifier. #1. A prepositional indirect object and an adverbial modifier of place and manner. Kate removed her eyes from the window and gazed directly at Papa. (Cronin) Decimus had been born in Rome. (Douglas) In the first example, the prepositional phrase at Papa is a pre; positional indirect object as the noun denotes a living being. In the second [...]
Ways of expressing the Adverbial Modifier
It can be expressed by: #1. An adverb. Rachel turned instinctively to prevent a possible intruder from entering. (Bennett) #2. A noun with or without accompanying words. Next day the morning hours seemed to pass very slowly at Mr. Pellet’s. (E. Bronte) They walked miles without finding any habitation. #3. A prepositional phrase. The red dust spread up and out and over everything. (Wells) I walked straight up the lane. (Bennett) #4. A noun, pronoun, adjective, infinitive, participle, or prepositional phrase with a subordinating conjunction. Mary swims better than her sister. My sister plays tennis better than I. If [...]
Adverbial Modifier
The adverbial modifier is a secondary part of the sentence that modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb. According to their meaning, we distinguish the following kinds of adverbial modifiers. #1. The adverbial modifier of time. We shall try it tomorrow. (Heym) While dancing, Cowperwood had occasion to look at Aileen often... (Dreiser) These preparations happily completed, I bought a house in Covent Garden Market. (Dickens) After receiving the cheque back, there seemed to him to be something wrong somewhere. (Galsworthy) #2. The adverbial modifier of frequency. Though they had often bothered him he had never bothered them. [...]
Apposition
An apposition is a special kind of attribute which is expressed by a noun (with or without accompanying words) which characterizes or explains the word modified by giving the person or thing another name. There are two kinds of apposition, the close apposition and the loose or detached apposition. Close Apposition A close apposition is not separated by commas and stands in close connection with the word modified. These word groups generally consist either of the names of a person and a noun denoting a title, rank, profession, or the name of a person and a noun denoting [...]
Ways of expressing the Attribute
It can be expressed by: #1. An adjective (the most common way of expressing an attribute). This big girl is very lazy. I am speaking about the big girl, not the little one. He seems a very silent, awkward, bashful lad. (Thackeray) Meanwhile she was the gayest and most admired woman. (Thackeray) #2. A pronoun (possessive, defining, demonstrative, interrogative, relative). His shrewd, steady eyes had lost none of their clear shining. (Buck) Each of these ladies held fans in their hands, and each, with some touch of colour, some emphatic feather or brooch, testified to the solemnity of the opportunity. [...]