- Prepositions are not specific in meaning
1. Bound prepositions
Govern by the words that precede them
§ Verbs (agree on something, with someone, insist on, pay for, amount to, hope for)
§ Nouns (damage to, aliking for, attack on, confidence in)
§ Adjectives (compatible with, opposed to, free from, rich in, lacking in, good at, good for)
2. Free prepositions
The choice is determined by a kind of relationship the speaker wishes to apply
(We flew in / into / out of / through / above / beneath / close to / near to the clouds.)
· Discontinuous prepositional group:
- Preposition is separated from its completive (What are they interested in?)
§ Occurs in cleft clauses (I’m concerned about your health.
Þ to emphasize It is your health I’m concerned about.)
§ Occurs in restrictive clauses (His work is the only thing that he thinks about.)
§ Occurs in passive structures (My opinion is never asked for.)
§ Occurs in paraphrases of clauses with anticipatory it
(It’s easy to get on with my boss. Þ My boss is easy to get on with.)
§ Occurs in interrogative and relative clauses (Who can we rely on?)
(Here’s the book you were looking for.)
® There is strong tendency to perceive a preposition as part of verb
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