USES OF
PREPOSITIONS.
Inseparable.
310. Prepositions are used
in three ways:—
(1) Compounded with verbs, adverbs, or
conjunctions; as, for example, with verbs, withdraw,
understand, overlook, overtake, overflow,
undergo, outstay, outnumber, overrun,
overgrow, etc.; with adverbs, thereat, therein,
therefrom, thereby, therewith, etc.; with conjunctions,
whereat, wherein, whereon, wherethrough,
whereupon, etc.
Separable.
(2) Following a verb, and being really a part of
the verb. This use needs to be watched closely, to see whether the preposition
belongs to the verb or has a separate prepositional function. For example, in
the sentences, (a) "He broke a pane from the window," (b)
"He broke into the bank," in (a), the verb broke is a
predicate, modified by the phrase introduced by from; in (b), the
predicate is not broke, modified by into the bank, but broke
into—the object, bank.
Study carefully the following prepositions with
verbs:—
Considering the space they took up.—Swift.
I loved, laughed at, and pitied him.—Goldsmith.
The sun breaks through the darkest clouds.—Shakespeare.
They will root up the whole ground.—Swift.
A friend prevailed upon one of the
interpreters.—Addison
My uncle approved of it.—Franklin.
The robber who broke into them.—Landor.
This period is not obscurely hinted at.—Lamb.
The judge winked at the iniquity of the
decision.—Id.
The pupils' voices, conning over their
lessons.—Irving.
To help out his maintenance.—Id.
With such pomp is Merry Christmas ushered
in.—Longfellow.
Ordinary use as connective, relation words.
(3) As relation words, introducing
phrases,—the most common use, in which the words have their own proper
function.
Usefulness of
prepositions.
311. Prepositions are the
subtlest and most useful words in the language for compressing a clear meaning
into few words. Each preposition has its proper and general meaning, which, by
frequent and exacting use, has expanded and divided into a variety of meanings
more or less close to the original one.
Take, for example, the word over. It expresses
place, with motion, as, "The bird flew over the house;" or rest, as,
"Silence broods over the earth." It may also convey the meaning of
about, concerning; as, "They quarreled over the booty." Or
it may express time: "Stay over night."
The language is made richer and more flexible by there
being several meanings to each of many prepositions, as well as by some of them
having the same meaning as others. |
