Features and Functions of Preposition
The root of this word ‘position’ strongly indicates the meaning and primary function of the preposition. It is used to indicate the positional relationship between words in a construction.
Prepositions are ‘hooks’ for making modifiers of nouns and pronouns. A preposition is always accompanied by its object or complement (a noun or a pronoun) which it ‘hooks’ to some other parts of a sentence.
Examine these sentences:
- They live in a bungalow near the village.
- They live in a bungalow in the village.
- The live in a bungalow beyond the village.
The underlined words connect the nouns ‘bungalow’ and ‘village’ to other parts of the sentence and also express different relationships between them. The sentences are essentially the same in all other respects except in the difference in meaning attributable to the different prepositions in use. Therefore, as against the common consideration that prepositions merely link words in a sentence, they actually in addition influence the meaning of the sentence.
i) Simple and Complex Prepositions
Though most prepositions are simple, consisting of single words, there are other prepositions which are complex, consisting of many words.
Simple prepositions include the following:
above
before
for
since
about
behind
into
toward
across
below
inside
through
after
beneath
into
under
against
between
near
up
among
by
of
with
around
down
off
within
ii) Prepositional Idioms
The complex prepositions are also called phrasal verbs, prepositional idioms or prepositional patterns because they are collocative and most times a change in the preposition completely alters the meaning of the construction. e.g.
- Round off - to end
- Round on - to attack verbally
- Round about - encircle
- Round up - put together
Complex prepositions occur in:
a) Preposition + Nominal + Preposition e.g. in the company of, by means of, in comparison with, in addition to, in place of, in love with.
b) Adverbial (Adverb) + Preposition e.g. along with, instead of, apart from.
c) Verb, Adjective, Conjunction + Preposition e.g. but for, owing to, far from, due to.
Quirk and Greenbaum (1979:145) notes generally that:
i) the monosyllabic simple prepositions are normally unstressed in constructions while the polysyllabic prepositions, both simple and complex, are normally stressed. In complex prepositions, the stress falls on the word preceding the final preposition. Such words are adverbs or nouns.
ii) the preposition + nominal + preposition constitutes by far the most numerous category, the noun in some complex prepositions being preceded by a definite or indefinite article.
iii) Postponed Prepositions
These are patterns which tend to defy the notion that prepositions come before their objects. E.g.
- What a problem he got into?
- He is a difficult person to talk to or compliment. In some wh-constructions, exclamations, passive forms and infinitive patterns, prepositions may come after the object/complement.
Some scholars, especially traditional grammarians tend to oppose constructions that end with prepositions like those ones, but this argument is unnecessary since prepositions, like adverbs, can occur at different positions in a construction. Of course, the principles of formal and informal usages may come in handy here.
iv) Functions of Prepositions
Prepositions indicate:
i) relationship in space
- The cat is near the ball.
- This is home away from home.
ii) location
- The house is beside the hill.
- The knife is in the kitchen.
iii) direction
- He walked along the street.
- The water is flowing downward.
iv) duration of a motion
- The programme is on.
- I will sleep at dawn.
v) sequence
- A comes before B.
- Call gentlemen after ladies.
vi) position (support or opposition)
- I will stand by you.
- I am against him.
vii) purpose or intention
- This money is for food.
- Everyone needs someone to lean on.
v) Special Usages of Prepositions
1. We travel by sea, land or air.
2. a. I will see you at 8 o’clock (point of time) b. I will see you at night.
c. I will see you on June 12 (specific day)
d. I will see you in December (not specific)
e. The meeting will commence at 2‘Oclock (Exactly)
f. The meeting will commence by 2’Oclock (at or before)
3. I have known him for two years (length of time)
4. Divide this orange between Okon and Etim (two)
Divide this orange among Okon, Etim and Udoh (three)
5. Stay beside me (near)
Besides, I need him (also, in addition to your plan)
6. We met on the train, bus, boat or plane.
7. I will see you with regard to the journey.
8. I agree with you on the plan.
I agree to for traveling tomorrow.
9. Let’s see about 3.00 p.m. (approximately)
3.2 Features and Functions of Pronouns
Pronouns belong to the closed class or system of words because like the prepositions, they are fixed in number. The major function of the pronoun is to substitute nominals (nouns and noun phrases) in order to avoid monotonous repetition such as this:
- Akpan told Udo’s guest that Udo was away and that Udo would return soon.
This is better written as:
- Akpan told Udo’s guest that he was away and that he would return soon.
Note that the pronoun can only substitute or replace a noun that has already been mentioned in a construction. This noun is called an antecedent of the pronoun. Examine the following:
The girls are happy; they are dancing.
Many students do not read; they play around.
i) Types of Pronouns
a) Personal Pronouns have persons, number, gender and case which constitute the grammatical categories of pronouns. In terms of
persons, there are the first, second and third persons which occur in singular and plural forms, function as subjects and objects
distinctively and indicate possession in different forms.
This table illustrates the grammatical categories of pronouns:
1st person (singular)
1st person (plural)
2ndperson (sing/plu.)
3rd person singular
3rd person plural
Subject
Object
Possessive form
I
we
you
he, she, it
they
me
us
you him,
her, it
them
mine
ours
yours
his, hers, its
theirs
Of these, the most troublesome is the second person which is the same in the singular and plural forms as well as the subject and object cases. It does not also show gender. This should be particularly noted.
b) Relative Pronouns feature in (relative or adjectival clauses). They include who, what, which, whom, whose, that, whoever, whichever. Relative pronouns show contrasts. Usually, ‘who’ and ‘whom’ refer to persons while ‘which’, ‘what’ and that refer to things.
c) Interrogative Pronouns are used in asking questions in the subjective, objective or genitive cases. E.g.
who are you?
which is this?
whose is that?
d) Reflexive Pronouns refer to self or selves. They exist in compound forms and occur in first, second and third persons with
appropriate number as follows:
Person
1st person
2nd person
3rd person
Singular
myself
yourself
himself
Plural
ourselves
yourselves
themselves.
herself
itself
Reflexive pronouns sometimes perform emphatic function. E.g.
- He himself knows the truth
- I myself cannot imagine that.
e) Indefinite Pronouns refer to persons / things in general. They do not really specify a person or a thing. They include: each, both,
all, everyone, everything, anybody, somebody, someone, somewhere, anything, any, nothing, nobody, nowhere, none,
little, few, one, etc.
f) Reciprocal Pronouns express relationship between two or more persons or entities. They are
each other - (for two) one another - (for more than two)
e.g. - Atim and Alice love each other
- Atim, Alice and Janet love one another.
g) Demonstrative Pronouns point at entities. They should not be mistaken for adjectives:
- This/that is mine. (pronoun, singular)
- This/that book is mine. (adjective qualifying book)
- These/those are mine. (pronoun, plural)
- These/those books are mine. (adjective qualifying books)
3.4 Features and Functions of Interjections
This constitutes the smallest group of words in any language. Quirk and Greenbaum (1979:18) provide some examples in English. These are oh! ah! ugh!phew!
Interjections usually take exclamatory marks and they merely serve to express emotions such as fear, surprise, admiration, joy and anger. Common examples are: How wonderful! Look at! Watch out! Alas!
They can also be found in some thoughtful expressions and expressions of wish or regrets.
E.g. Good morning!
Fare well!
Hello! Hi!
Goodbye!
Had I known!
Long live our country!
3.5 Features and Functions of Conjunctions
Conjunctions specifically connect or join grammatical patterns (words, groups, clauses and sentences). Three types of conjunctions are
operational within the closed class. These are subordinators, coordinators and the correlatives.
i) Subordinators join elements of unequal weight. This means that one pattern which is joined to the other is subordinate to it. They include: after, if, since, that, though, until, till, yet, while, etc.
ii) Coordinators join elements of equal rank. There are three in English, namely: and, but, or.
- Grace sings and dances well
- Atim sings well but dances awkwardly.
- Buy the dress or keep back the money.
iii) Correlatives occur in pairs. They usually have intervening words or phrases between them. They include: either … or, neither nor, only … but also, both … and, etc.
iv) Functions of Conjunctions
The multiplicity of the functions of conjunctions can easily lead to confusion between them and prepositions or adverbs. The principle is to find out the function of each word before attributing it to any part of speech.
Davidson (1959: 573) indicates the following groups of subordinating conjunctions according to their functions:
- Cause
:
because, in as much as, since;
- Purpose
:
that, so that, in order that, lest;
- Comparison
:
than, as, as if, as well as;
- Condition
:
if, unless, whether, in case;
- Result
:
that, so that;
- Time
:
after, before, since, when, while;
- Concession
:
although, though;
- Place
:
where;
- Manner
:
how, as though;
- Degree
:
as far as, as much as;
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE (SAE) 1
Review the types and functions of prepositions
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE (SAE) 2
What are the main functions of pronouns?
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE (SAE) 3
What is the main function of interjections?
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE (SAE) 4
Review the different kinds of conjunctions and their functions
4.0 CONCLUSION
In this unit you have studied the features and functions of prepositions, pronouns and interjections in English. The detailed analysis of these
concepts, as presented in this unit, has further clarified the relationship between ‘content’ words and grammatical words in English.
5.0 SUMMARY
The main points raised in this unit are:
Prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions and interjections being members of the closed class are fixed in number; they cannot change by inflection or derivation.
Prepositions indicate various relationships between constructions; they are simple, complex, prepositional idioms and postponed prepositions.
Pronouns substitute nouns and nominals to avoid repetition. The types of pronouns include: personal, interrogative, demonstrative, reflexive, reciprocal and indefinite pronouns.
Interjections constitute the smallest class of words in any language.
The main function of interjections is to express emotion.
Conjunctions join grammatical units.
Three main types of conjunctions often identified are:
subordinators, coordinators and relatives.
6.0 TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT (TMA)
Assess the importance of closed class items in English language
structure
7.0 REFERENCES / FURTHER READINGS
Davidson, D. (1959) American Composition and Rhetoric. New York:
Charles Scribner’s Sons
Eka, D. (1996) Elements of Grammar and Mechanics of English.
Uyo:Samuf Educational.
Quirk, R. and Greenbaum, S. (1980). A University Grammar of English, Longman, London.
Semmelmeyer, M. and Bolander, D. (1984) Instant English Handbook. Illinois: Career Publishing Inc.
Udofot, I. and Ekpenyong , B. 2004.A Comprehensive English Course
for Schoools and Colleges. Lagos: Quantum Co.Ltd.
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