Prepositions, conjunctions and interjections

Prepositions

Prepositions are words used with nouns, noun phrases(I gave the book to Charlie.), pronouns (I gave it to him.) and gerunds (Charlie devotes his time to reading.)  to express a relationship between one person, thing, event and another.

Form

Simple prepositions consist of one word (at, from, in, to, into...)

Complex prepositions consist of more than one word.

Most of these are in one of the following categories:

adverb or preposition + preposition (along with, as for, away from, out of, up to)

verb/adjective/conjunction + preposition (owing to, due to, because of)

Preposition + noun + preposition (by means of, in comparison with, in front of)

Stress

Monosyllabic prepositions are normally unstressed. (There’s someone at the door. = no stress on "at.")

Polysyllabic prepositions are normally stressed. In complex prepositions, the stress falls on the word preceding the final preposition. (be'hind the 'wall)

Position

Prepositions normally precede nouns, pronouns or gerunds but there are some circumstances in which the prepositions move to the end of the sentence:

1. In wh-questions (Who were you talking to? - informal.  To whom were you talking? - formal. Which house did you leave it at? - informal. At which house is he staying? - formal) It used to be thought ungrammatical to end a sentence with a preposition, but it is now regarded as fully acceptable.

2. In relative clauses (The people I was travelling with - informal. The people with whom I was travelling - formal)

3. In some exclamations (What a mess he’s got into!)

The meaning

Most prepositions are polysemantic, comprising a variety of meanings. The meaning of the preposition is determined by the meaning of the noun before which the preposition stands or on which depends. So, prepositions indicate various relationships between words or phrases, the most usual being those of time, place and mental or emotional attitudes.

Position and movement

Local relations are expressed by prepositional phrases denoting position in a place or movement with respect to a destination. There is a cause-and-effect relationship to them. (direction = Tom went to the door -> as a result -> Tom was at the door = position)

The principal prepositions used to express place are: in, at, on, upon, by, beside, near, before, in front of, behind, beyond, over, under, beneath, below, amidst, among, between, within, without, out, outside, around, round.

We can consider position in place in relation to a point (at the cinema), a line = a place we think of in terms of length (across/along/on a border/river/road), a surface = a place we think of as a flat area (across/off/on a table/floor/wall/ceiling), area or volume = a place which can enclose (in/into/out of/outside/within a room/ship/car/factory) and direction (to, towards, into, along, through, across, on, by, before, over, round, under, out of, from - We ran out of the building.)

A single place (e.g. river) can be viewed from different angles: We went to the river = a point.  Greenwich is down the river = a line. The paper boat floated on the river = a surface. We swam in the river = an area or volume.

Time

Time expresses temporal relations like a point or period of time, answering the question When? (in, at, on, of, by, near, before, after, past, over, beyond, between, within, during, for - He became ill during the night. I shall see him at four o’clock. We camped there for the summer.)

The point of time at which the action starts or terminates, answering the question Since when? (from, since, into, till, until - We slept until midnight.)

AT : Exact time (at 10 o'clock), meal times (at lunch time), other points of time (at noon, at midnight), festivals (at Christmas; at Easter), age (at the age of 27)

ON: Days of the week (on Monday), dates (on June 1st), anniversaries (on your birthday; on your wedding day), festivals (on Christmas Day; on New Year’s Day)

IN: Parts of the day (in the evening), months (in March), years (in 2000), seasons (in spring), centuries (in the 19th century).

Abstract relations

Manner (The task was done in a diligent manner.)

Means or instrument (I go to work by bus/train/car. Someone had broken the window with a stone.)

Purpose or cause (Do it for your own sake. He’ll do anything for money. Because of her, he did not move to another city.)

Conjunctions

Conjunctions have no independent meaning of their own, but serve to connect words and clauses. This connection is brought about either by way of co-ordination or subordination.

Coordinating conjunctions

1. Copulative conjunctions denote that one statement is simply added to another: and, both ... and; not only ... but also, and then, as well as, neither ... nor. (I make the payments and keep the accounts. The fur coat was both soft and warm.  The fur coat was soft as well as warm. He can neither read nor write.)

2. Disjunctive conjunctions denote separation: or, or else, else, either ... or, neither ... nor.  (Take this book or that one. Either my answer or yours is wrong. Neither your answer nor mine is right.)

3. Adversative conjunctions suggest contrast: but, still, while, whereas, yet, in spite of. (The coat was thin but warm. The car was quite old; yet/still...)

4. Causative-consecutive conjunctions: so, for, therefore, thus, hence, consequently. (Our cases were heavy, so we took a taxi. There is fog at Heathrow; the plane, therefore, has been diverted.) FOR gives the reason for something that has already been stated (We rarely stay in hotels, for we can’t afford it.) Unlike because, it cannot begin a sentence and the subject must be repeated after for.

Subordinating conjunctions

They are used to introduce:

1. Noun clauses: that, if, whether. (He said that he would help us. I will come if you want me.)

2. Some conjunctions have more than one meaning and may introduce more than one type of clause. For instance that-clause can occur as a subject (That she is still alive is a consolation) or a direct object (I told him that he was wrong.)

Interjections

An interjection is a word or sound used to express surprise, anger, pleasure or some other sudden feeling or emotion. It is important because of its high frequency in spoken language and represents the most primitive type of utterance.

Emotional interjections express the feelings of the speaker.

      Ah! expressing surprise or satisfaction (Ah! It is you?)

      Oh! expressing pain or surprise (Oh, how cold it is!)

      Alas! expressing sorrow, disappointment = běda! (Alas, we must part!)

Imperative interjections show the will of the speaker to the hearer

      Hush! did you not hear the sound? (= pst! šš!)

Primary interjections are not derived from other parts of speech. Most of them are simple words (ah, oh, eh, hush). Only a few primary interjections are composite (hey-ho! holla-ho!)

Secondary interjections are derived from other parts of speech: well, now, here, there, come, why, dear me.

      There, see that bird! (= hele…) 

      There, I told you so! (= no, inu…)

      Why, you didn’t even see him! (= Vždyť vy jste ho přece ani neviděli!)

      Why, how do you do! (= no tak, tak tedy…)

Imitations of sounds

Among interjections are included imitations of sounds such as mew, swish, blast, boom. These words do not name the sounds produced by animals or things but imitate them.

The dividing line is thin between interjections and exclamations (Good! Bravo! Shame! Nonsense! Stop! Shame on you!)