Questions about prepositional phrases.
8
votes
2answers
578 views
Comma after introductory phrases
I am no native speaker and always confused about the comma in introductory phrases, in particular in prepositional phrases. Is there any hard rule when a comma must be set? If I make a google search ...
7
votes
3answers
463 views
Using “to” versus “for” between two nouns (“key to success”)
Another user provided an example and I have added others:
Key to exercise
Key for exercise
Answer to a problem
Answer for a problem
Bullet to a gun
Bullet for a gun
She bought ...
6
votes
3answers
10k views
“Consist in” vs. “consist of”
I would like to have this clear once and for all:
What is the correct use of consist in / consist of?
"Meditation consists in/of attentive watchfulness."
"The body consists in/of cells."
...
6
votes
2answers
137 views
On Paddington Station?
I was interested to read that Paddington Bear was found on Paddington Station, not in or at Paddington Station. I would never have chosen this usage (I speak Canadian English). I had a look at Google ...
5
votes
1answer
348 views
Is there a word for a verb which requires an adverb or prep. phrase in order to make sense?
Put is the one I'm thinking of. It is always transitive, but even with a direct object, it still makes no sense without an adverb or prepositional phrase.
I put it somewhere.
I put it on the ...
5
votes
3answers
249 views
When can “very” modify a prepositional phrase?
In Hamlet, when Hammy Jr. asks Polonius whether a cloud looks like a whale, Polly replies,
Very like a whale.
In contemporary English, however, "very like ..." feels ungrammatical. You instead ...
5
votes
1answer
144 views
“An” average of vs. “The” average of
When nouns such as average, total, sum, etc., are modified by a prepositional phrase, how do you choose between the definite and indefinite articles? I cited sentences 1, 3, and 5 below from various ...
5
votes
2answers
626 views
How to distinguish between positions of prepositional phrases?
Is there a name for where prepositional phrases are in a sentence? For example, is there a name to distinguish between the following sentences?
There has not been a queen on the island.
On the ...
4
votes
4answers
200 views
Up my street and down the lane [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Do I travel “up” or “down” to London from north of the city?
Except where there is obvious difference in elevation e.g. on a sloping road, how do ...
4
votes
3answers
295 views
Test for intransitivity of verbs?
Is it true that if any verb is immediately followed by a prepositional phrase, then it has to be an intransitive verb?
As a counter example, I need a sentence which:
(i) has only one verb, and
...
4
votes
3answers
631 views
When are the phrases “in motion” and “in movement” used?
When are the phrases in motion and in movement used?
In motion is the most popular form based on a Google search, but in movement still has 3 080 000 results.
4
votes
2answers
2k views
Is there a difference in meaning between “from the beginning” and “since the beginning”?
He’s been with us from the beginning.
Is there a difference between from and since in the context of the above sentence?
4
votes
4answers
1k views
“'To'/'on' the contrary” in these sentences: is the difference very slight?
I was interested in the following sentences which appeared, respectively, in a news article titled “Can’t Park? Blame a Condo" and in a news article titled "Senator Simmons on the Negro", both in The ...
3
votes
3answers
339 views
Using “connotation of” in an active manner?
How can I use the word connotation is a more active phrasing?
Often, if I want to say an object that suggests magic, I may say "the object has a connotation of being magical".
But this phrasing is ...
3
votes
1answer
2k views
Is single-word “inbetween” becoming more acceptable? How far can it go?
I get the distinct feeling that "inbetween" occurs increasingly often as a single word, but I'm not at all clear on why it's used more in some contexts than others.
What I can is see that in Google ...
2
votes
2answers
246 views
“Can we get this over with?”
I am confused about this sentence because it ends in a preposition, something that I thought was not really grammatically correct:
Can we get this over with?
In addition, I haven't found a ...
2
votes
2answers
125 views
Problems with usages of “of”
I do not understand some of usages.
It's more of a sanity check than anything.
even more of a hack
I'd argue that a course in algorithm design would be of more utility in understanding how ...
2
votes
1answer
101 views
What's the difference between prepositional phrase and adverbial complement?
“I try to give ‘em a reason, you see. It helps folks if they can
latch onto a reason.” (Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird)
When we say ‘prepositional verb’ and ‘adverbial complement,’ are they ...
2
votes
2answers
250 views
What are “up” and “down” in “up there” and “down there”?
"Up there" and "down there" are two of the most frequent expressions that I, myself, use often. I really don't know whether they are just expressions used to refer to a place to go ("I went down ...
2
votes
2answers
620 views
Adverbs, prepositions, nouns, “home”, and “about” [closed]
I'm confused about how the following sentences should be analyzed, in terms of which words are prepositions and adverbs, how the phrases break up, etc.:
She was going home.
She was home.
She was at ...
2
votes
1answer
61 views
Apart from + infinitive
A piece of news from the BBC reads as follows [emphasis in the original]:
The UN has said very little on the matter, apart from to insist it
is immune from legal proceedings.
Now, I knew that ...
2
votes
2answers
375 views
“Exchange emails with whomever you want to put me in contact [with]”
I realize the "never end a sentence with a preposition" rule is controversial these days, but let's assume for the sake of argument that it should be followed. What is the proper construction of a ...
2
votes
1answer
100 views
Is it preferable to generally use nested prepositional phrases or a hyphenated adjectival phrase?
I've recently run into some sticky situations involving how to write out complicated concept descriptions. Take this example:
Which metrics are appropriate for evaluating the accuracy of a ...
2
votes
1answer
89 views
When should the subject agree with the object of the preposition?
Quite often while I'm looking through research articles, I see sentences that start like this one:
The tensile strengths of the composites changed...
I generally change strengths to strength in ...
2
votes
2answers
204 views
“I've decided not to leave A.I. Town” versus “I've decided to not leave A.I. Town” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Order of “not” with infinitive
Last month I decided to change my residence and shift to another town. After some days, due to some reasons, I cancelled my ...
1
vote
4answers
289 views
Preposition used after “do”
I am an English native speaker working as a teacher in Germany.
When marking my pupils' essays I often encounter the phrase "to do something against something", which is as far as I know simply a ...
1
vote
6answers
188 views
“I will go up to the stores”
What is the meaning of the following sentence, said from a person that is at home, and is going outside?
I will go up to the stores.
1
vote
3answers
120 views
“compiled with gcc” vs “compiled in gcc”
"This program was compiled with gcc."
"This program was compiled in gcc."
"This program was written in C++."
"This program was written with C++."
Note: gcc is a widely used compiler ...
1
vote
3answers
62 views
“running on windows” vs “running under windows” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“Run on an OS” vs. “run under an OS”
"This application can run on windows" versus "This application can run under windows"
Which is more natural, or what's the ...
1
vote
1answer
593 views
What part of speech are the words in the phrase “as well as”?
In the sentence:
My car as well as my lap top were stolen last night.
What part of speech are the words in the phrase as well as?
I believe the first as is the preposition of the phrase, that ...
1
vote
2answers
306 views
Infinitive or Gerund for celebration of an event?
Which of the following sentences would be correct in a baby shower invitation.
My grandparents are looking forward to celebrate my arrival in February.
My grandparents are looking forward to ...
1
vote
1answer
318 views
What is the “adjunct of space” in this sentence?
Can the adjunct of time be introduced in a sentence by the word to.
like in the case The case, which opens in the High Court on Thursday, has led to the discovery of 300 boxes of documents filling ...
1
vote
1answer
633 views
Prepositional phrases on the internet
Is there any online dictionary or database of prepositional phrases? What I would like is to enter e. g. "justification" and it would give me: "justification to somebody", "justification of ...
1
vote
1answer
154 views
“Available from” versus “available on”
What is the difference between available from and available on?
Do the following sentences have a different meaning?
Check the information available from [URL of a web page].
Check the ...
1
vote
0answers
40 views
Help sheet for determiners and prepositions [closed]
I'm trying to produce a simple help sheet for foriegn speakers on English determiners and prepositions.
Specifically, a basic description of when to use each type of determiner, and then the list of ...
0
votes
2answers
59 views
Technicalities about “%”?
Usage of "%"
I'm almost positive it's a prepositional phrase since it's really means "per cent" or "per 100".
So in a sentence like:
90% of my street are doing lawn work.
It would be "are" and ...
0
votes
1answer
837 views
Starting a sentence with “In Winter 2010,”
Would that be permissible? It just sounds awkward.
Use Cases:
In winter 2010, two penguins, named Jony and Rony, were born.
In winter 2010, five ice-skaters , each in the 130 lb category, ...
0
votes
1answer
123 views
“For clarity” vs. “To make clear” [closed]
Compare:
"He modified the sentence for clarity."
vs
"He modified the sentence to make it clear."
Any difference here?
0
votes
2answers
1k views
“Support of” vs. “Support for”
"Show your support for the XYZ (Organization name) this season" or "Show your support of XYZ (Organization name) this year"?
I have seen support of and support for both being used. Is there a rule?
...
0
votes
0answers
78 views
“between __ and __ and between __ and __”: commas? unnecessary “between”? [closed]
In this sentence,
The contrast between the paradoxical associations she makes between earthly matters and ethereality and between heaven and solidity serves as a memorable way to convey to the ...
-1
votes
3answers
109 views
two prepositional phrases
The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time.
(Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
Are ...
-1
votes
2answers
128 views
Is “off to somewhere with a car” correct?
I wonder if the structure of the following sentence is correct:
I'm off to my place with my car.
I'm the one driving the car, but I prefer not to use the verb drive. Would the following ...
-1
votes
4answers
173 views
More terse form of “the topic of which was”
I'm looking for a phrase to replace the topic of which was, with the goal of brevity. For example, could something like
The novel, the topic of which was whaling, proved to be excellent
...
-1
votes
1answer
30 views
preposition plus as little noise as possible
The side-passage door was fastened; I opened it with as little noise
as possible. (Jane Eyre)
What do you call grammatically ‘as little noise as possible’ after ‘with’? I’m very confused ...
-3
votes
1answer
138 views
When do we use “to” as an infinitive marker? [closed]
In these two sentences:
I look forward to get.
I look forward to getting it.
Why is the first sentence incorrect? When do we use to as an infinitive marker?
