Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum, A STUDENT'S INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH GRAMMAR (Cambridge University Press, 2005)
1. For each of the following sentences (all from the opening pages of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein), underline the complement of the doubly underlined preposition — all the words that make up the complement, but no other words. In each case give the category of the complement.
Ex {For GKP}
2. List ten word sequences other than the ones discussed in this chapter that are standardly described (or could plausibly be taken) as `complex prepositions'. Provide evidence for their degree of fossilisation, classifying them as less fossilised (like the cases in [40i] of this chapter, e.g., by means of) or more fossilised (like those in [40ii]).
| A | Two such sequences are those underlined in |
| on account of his remorse less fossilised (like [40i]) | |
| in spite of his remorse more fossilised (like [40ii]) | |
| Some degree of fossilisation is evident from the fact that the first preposition is not normally omissible: *Account of his remorse led to a reduced sentence; *Spite of his remorse didn't affect the sentence. The former is less fossilised than the latter in that the first noun does not invariably immediately follow the preposition: we can say, for example, on this account but not *in this spite. |
3. Determine which of the verbs below belong to the class of prepositional verbs. For those that do, identify the preposition(s) they select and provide relevant examples. (Do this exercise with the help of a good dictionary.) For each verb + preposition sequence say whether or not it is fossilised, and provide evidence that your claim about fossilisation is correct.
| Ex | admire |
| A | Not a prepositional verb |
| Ex | believe |
| A | A prepositional verb selecting the preposition in, as in Do you believe in
God? Not fossilised, for we can have either the principles which I believe in or the principles in which I believe (where in is not adjacent to the verb) |
| Ex | take |
| A | A prepositional verb selecting (among others) the preposition after, as in She takes after her mother. This is fossilised, with the preposition unable to be fronted with its complement: compare the parent whom she takes after and *the parent after whom she takes. |
4. The word up is a particle in We folded up the map but not in We climbed up the mountain. What syntactic differences can you find between the two constructions? Use these differences to say for each of the following which of the two kinds of construction it belongs to.
| Ex | i | She jumped off the wall. | |
| ii | She took off her coat. | ||
| A | One difference between the two constructions is that the particle up in We folded up the map can be placed after the map: We folded the map up. In We climbed up the mountain, by contrast, the non-particle up cannot be placed after the mountain: *We climbed the mountain up. In the fold example, up and the map are separate complements of the verb, able to occur in either order; in the climb example, up the mountain forms a single constituent, a PP with up as head and the mountain as its complement. (Further evidence for differentiating the structures in this way is provided by relativisation: investigate the possible relative clause constructions based on the two examples.) Of the two examples given above, it is [ii] that belongs to the particle construction, with off the wall in [i] forming a single PP constituent. The difference is brought out by testing to see whether the above order change is possible. It is in [ii], giving She took her coat off, so off is a particle. But it is not possible in [i]: *She jumped the wall off is completely unacceptable. |
5. For each of the following words, decide whether it is a preposition or an adjective, and give arguments to support your view: [i] about; [ii] ahead; [iii] aloof; [iv] aloft; [v] around.
| Ex | above |
| A | This is a clear instance of a preposition. (a) It allows an NP complement: I placed it above the door. (b) It is non-gradable: *You should place it more above the door. (c) The predicand requirement does not apply: Above the door there was a crucifix. (d) It cannot normally head the complement of become: *The hang-glider had quickly become above us. |
| Ex | tough |
| A | This is a clear example of an adjective. (a) It doesn't allow an NP complement: They were tough towards the kids, not *They were tough the kids. (b) It is gradable and inflects for grade: He's tougher than me. (c) The predicand requirement applies: Tougher than we'd given her credit for, she had no difficulty in finishing the course (with she as predicand), but not *Tougher than we'd given them credit for, there was a a long battle. (d) It readily occurs as complement to become: They are becoming quite tough. |
6. {No model answer for Ex 6.}
7. Which of the following prepositions can occur in declarative main clauses either with or without an NP complement? Give examples to illustrate both uses, noting those which occur without an NP complement only in a restricted subset of their uses/meanings:
| Ex | behind |
| A | Occurs either with an NP complement (I hid behind the desk) or without one (I stayed behind). |
| Ex | into |
| A | Occurs with an NP complement (I crept into the room), but not on its own (*I crept into). |
8. The following examples have stranded prepositions. Construct corresponding examples with a fronted preposition. If you find any of your examples ungrammatical, mark them with * in the usual way.
| Ex | I'm looking for someone I can rely on |
| A | Version with fronted preposition: I'm looking for someone on whom I can rely. |
| Ex | It's a question of who we can rely on. |
| A | Version with fronted preposition is ungrammatical: *It's a question of on whom we can rely. |
9. The following examples have fronted prepositions. Construct corresponding examples with a stranded preposition. If the example turns out to be ungrammatical, mark it with *.
| Ex | To which guests did she introduce her father? |
| A | Version with stranded preposition: Which guests did she introduce her father to? |
| Ex | The committee was chaired by Liz Court, than whom nobody could have been more impartial. |
| A | Version with stranded preposition is ungrammatical: *The committee was chaired by Liz Court, whom nobody could have been more impartial than. |
10. Classify the following words as adverbs or prepositions, basing your answers on the criteria discussed in Ch. 7 and citing the relevant evidence:
| Ex | underneath |
| A | A clear example of a preposition. (a) It can take an NP complement (underneath the bridge). (b) It can function as modifier to a noun (The room underneath is used as an office. (c) It can function as complement to be in its ascriptive sense (Kim was on top and I was underneath). |
| Ex | rather |
| A | A clear example of an adverb. (a) It can't take an NP complement (not a sufficient criterion, but indicative that it is at least not a prototypical preposition). (b) It can function as modifier to an adjective (rather good), an adverb (rather slowly), a verb (I rather like her), but not a noun (*a rather success). (c) It cannot function as complement to be is its ascriptive sense (*She has been rather). |