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The following are single-word prepositions that take clauses as complements. Prepositions marked with an asterisk in this section can only take non-finite clauses as complements. Note that dictionaries and grammars informed by concepts from traditional grammar may categorize these conjunctive prepositions as subordinating conjunctions.
Prepositions may optionally be modified by other phrasal categories. Adverb phrases, noun phrases, and prepositional phrases can function as pre-head modifiers of prepositions (that is, modify prepositions that follow them), and prepositional phases can also function as post-head modifiers (that is, modify prepositions that precede them).
If separating words using spaces is also permitted, the total number of known possible meanings rises to 58. [38] Czech has the syllabic consonants [r] and [l], which can stand in for vowels. A well-known example of a sentence that does not contain a vowel is Strč prst skrz krk, meaning "stick your finger through the neck."
Prepositions form a closed word class, [28] although there are also certain phrases that serve as prepositions, such as in front of. A single preposition may have a variety of meanings, often including temporal, spatial and abstract. Many words that are prepositions can also serve as adverbs.
The underlined phrases in the following sentences are examples of prepositional phrases in English. The prepositions are in bold: a. She walked to his desk. b. Ryan could see her in the room. c. David walked on top of the building. d. They walked up the stairs. e. Philip ate in the kitchen. f. Charlotte walked inside the house. g. As a student ...
[e] All these words can also be used as prepositions, but the prepositional use is distinct, and modern dictionaries may list, for example, to (particle) and to (preposition) as separate lexemes. [f] In the particle verb construction, they cannot be construed as prepositions because they are not being used as part of a prepositional phrase. f.
Some examples of the use of English prepositions are given below. In each case, the prepositional phrase appears in italics, the preposition within it appears in bold, and the preposition's complement is underlined. As demonstrated in some of the examples, more than one prepositional phrase may act as an adjunct to the same word.
[9] Many examples of terminal prepositions occur in classic works of literature, including the plays of Shakespeare. [5] The saying "This is the sort of nonsense up with which I will not put" [10] [5] satirizes the awkwardness that can result from prohibiting sentence-ending prepositions. Misconception: Infinitives must not be split.