What is an adposition?

Adpositions are a class of words used to express spatial or temporal relations, or to mark various semantic roles. Common examples include words like in, under, towards, behind, and of. These words help connect nouns or pronouns to other parts of a sentence, showing how they relate in space or time.

What is the typical function of an adposition in a sentence?

An adposition typically combines with a noun phrase, known as its complement or object, to form an adpositional phrase. This phrase then functions as a grammatical modifier or complement within a larger phrase.

How does English typically use adpositions compared to other languages?

English primarily uses prepositions, meaning words like in, under, and of come before their objects, as seen in "in England" or "under the table." However, some languages, like Turkic languages, predominantly use postpositions, while others, such as Finnish, use both.

What is a circumposition?

A circumposition is a less common type of adposition that consists of two parts, with one part appearing on each side of its complement.

What is the etymological origin of the word "preposition"?

The word preposition originates from Latin, combining the prefix prae meaning "before" and ponere meaning "to put." This reflects the common placement of these words before their complement in languages like Latin and English.

Which languages are mentioned as examples of those that primarily use postpositions?

Turkic languages, Finnish, Sindhi, Hindustani, Hungarian, Korean, and Japanese are mentioned as languages that use postpositions or have both prepositions and postpositions.

What does the term "adposition" encompass?

The term adposition collectively refers to prepositions, postpositions, and circumpositions, using the Latin prefix ad meaning "to."

What is the typical complement of an adposition?

An adposition typically combines with exactly one complement, which is most often a noun phrase. This noun phrase can include its specifiers and modifiers.

What does an adposition establish between its complement and the rest of the sentence?

An adposition establishes a grammatical relationship that links its complement to another word or phrase. It also generally establishes a semantic relationship, which can be spatial, temporal, or of another type.

Provide examples of how English prepositional phrases can function.

English prepositional phrases can function as adjuncts to nouns, such as the weather in March; as predicative expressions after a copula, like The key is under the stone; as adjuncts to verbs, such as danced atop the tables; or as adjuncts to adjectives, like happy for them.

How can prepositional phrases themselves be nominalized in English?

A prepositional phrase can be nominalized, meaning it can function as a noun or subject in a sentence. An example given is In the cellar was chosen as the best place to store the wine.

How do adpositions influence the grammatical case of their complements in English?

In English, the complements of prepositions generally take the objective case where available, such as from him rather than from he.

How do adpositions differ from case markings in terms of grammatical function?

Adpositions are considered syntactic elements that combine with their complement, while case markings are morphological elements that combine with a noun. Although they can express similar meanings, their grammatical classification differs.

Are adpositions typically inflected?

Adpositions are usually non-inflecting, meaning they do not change form based on tense, case, or gender. However, there are exceptions, such as inflected prepositions that have fused with a pronominal object.

What is a characteristic of adpositions regarding their frequency in language?

Adpositions are among the most frequently occurring words in languages that have them. For instance, of, to, and in are among the most common word forms in English.

What is a "closed class" of lexical items?

A closed class refers to a category of words, like adpositions, from which new words cannot be easily or productively created. They are not derived from words of other categories.

What distinguishes a preposition from a postposition?

A preposition precedes its complement, while a postposition follows its complement. For example, in German, mit (with) is a preposition before einer Frau (a woman), whereas in Turkish, ile (with) is a postposition after benim (my).

What is an ambiposition?

An ambiposition is an adposition that can function as either a preposition or a postposition, appearing either before or after its complement. Examples include English notwithstanding and German nach.

How does the position of adpositions (prepositions vs. postpositions) correlate with linguistic typology?

The tendency is that languages with prepositions are head-initial, often exhibiting Subject-Verb-Object word order, while languages with postpositions are head-final, often exhibiting Subject-Object-Verb word order. However, this is a tendency, not a strict rule, as seen with Latin.

What is a circumposition, and where are they commonly found?

A circumposition consists of two or more parts positioned on both sides of the complement. They are very common in languages like Pashto and Kurdish.

What is an "inposition"?

An inposition is a rare type of adposition that appears between parts of a complex complement, rather than before or after the entire complement. An example is the Latin word cum in summa cum laude.

What is the difference between simple and complex adpositions?

Simple adpositions are single words, like on or in, while complex adpositions consist of a group of words acting as a single unit, such as in spite of or with respect to.

What are "marginal prepositions"?

Marginal prepositions are words that behave like prepositions but are derived from other parts of speech, most notably participles. Examples in English include barring, concerning, and including.

How are "proper" and "improper" prepositions distinguished?

An improper preposition is a word from another part of speech that is used in the same way as a preposition. A proper preposition is one that inherently functions as a preposition.

Besides noun phrases, what other forms can adposition complements take?

Adposition complements can also be nominal clauses, certain types of non-finite verb phrases like gerunds or infinitives, adjective phrases, or adverbs.

What is the grammatical status of "to" when it precedes an infinitive in English?

When to precedes an infinitive in English, such as to run, it is considered a grammatical particle, not a preposition.

Can an adposition have more than one complement?

While typically taking one complement, some adpositions can appear to combine with two. However, this is often analyzed as the adposition taking a small clause as its single complement.

What are the primary semantic functions of adpositions?

Adpositions express a wide range of semantic relations, including spatial (location, direction), temporal (position in time), and others like comparison, content, cause, and purpose.

Why can adpositions cause difficulties in foreign language learning?

Common adpositions are often polysemous, meaning they have multiple meanings, and their primary spatial meanings can extend metaphorically to non-spatial uses. This variety means a single adposition may have many different equivalents in another language depending on the context.

What is the difference between directional and static spatial meanings of adpositions?

Directional meanings involve motion towards a destination or along a path, such as to the store or into the woods, while static meanings indicate only a location, like at the store or behind the chair.

How can the meaning of an adposition affect the grammatical case of its complement, as seen in German?

In German, the preposition in takes the dative case when indicating a static location, as in in seinem Zimmer (in his room), and the accusative case when indicating direction, as in in sein Zimmer (into his room).

What are "inflected adpositions"?

Inflected adpositions are adpositions, usually prepositions, that are marked for grammatical person and or number to indicate meanings like on me or from you.

In which language families are inflected adpositions most commonly found?

Inflected adpositions are primarily found in the Celtic languages, such as Welsh and Irish, and Semitic languages, including Hebrew and Arabic.

Provide an example of an inflected preposition in Welsh.

The Welsh preposition o (of or from) inflects to forms like ohonof (of or from me), ohonot (of or from you), and ohono (of or from him or it), often with optional pronoun suffixes.

How does Arabic handle inflected prepositions?

The Arabic preposition ala (on) inflects to indicate person and number, such as alaj'a (on me), alajka (on you, masculine singular), and alajhi (on him).

What is the distinction between adverbs and adpositions?

Some words can function as both adverbs and adpositions, for example, inside or aboard. Adverbs derived from adpositions might be analyzed as intransitive prepositions because they do not take a complement.

How do particles in English phrasal verbs relate to prepositions?

Many particles in English phrasal verbs, like on in carry on or over in take over, have the same form as prepositions and are used adverbially. In languages like Dutch and German, these correspond to separable prefixes.

What kind of words can function as both adpositions and subordinating conjunctions?

Words like before, after, since, and like can function as both adpositions and subordinating conjunctions, depending on whether they take a noun phrase or a clause as their complement.

What are "coverbs" in languages like Chinese?

In languages like Chinese, words that can function as both prepositions and verbs are often called coverbs. This is because the sequence of prepositional and verb phrases can resemble a serial verb construction.

How do case affixes compare to adpositions in function?

Case affixes and adpositions can serve similar functions; for example, the agent in a passive construction is marked by by in English but by the instrumental case in Russian. However, adpositions are syntactic, while case markings are morphological.

What are some criteria used to distinguish between adpositions and case affixes?

Criteria include the ability to be joined by conjunctions, share complements, be repeated, combine with different phrase types, be separated from their noun, and the overall number of distinct forms available in a language.

In languages like Turkish, Finnish, and Hungarian, how are postpositions distinguished from case markings?

Postpositions are typically independent words, whereas case markings are affixes that form part of a word, often showing vowel harmony or other word-internal effects.

What is a "complex preposition" in English?

A complex preposition is a group of words that functions as a single prepositional unit, such as in spite of, with respect to, or for the sake of.

What characteristics indicate that a phrase like "in front of" is a complex preposition in English?

Characteristics include containing words that cannot be used elsewhere, the inability to replace the first preposition, the inability to insert articles or change noun number, and limitations on adjectives or possessive determiners.

What is the difference between telic and atelic directional meanings?

Telic directional meanings imply movement all the way to an endpoint, such as ran to the fence, while atelic meanings do not necessarily imply reaching the endpoint, like ran towards the fence.

What is the difference between projective and non-projective static meanings?

Projective static meanings require knowledge of the observer's perspective, for example, behind the rock, while non-projective meanings do not, such as on the desk.

What is an example of a circumposition in Northern Kurdish?

Examples include bi ... re (with), di ... de (in, for things), and ji ... re (for).

What is the meaning of the Latin phrase *summa cum laude*?

Summa cum laude means "with highest praise," and it is an example of an inposition where cum appears between parts of a complex complement.

Adposition Wiki: Adpositions: Mapping Meaning in Syntax and Semantics

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Terminology

Defining Adpositions

Adpositions constitute a fundamental word class utilized to articulate spatial or temporal relationships (e.g., in, under, towards, behind, ago) or to denote various semantic roles (e.g., of, for). The most prevalent forms are prepositions, which precede their complement, and postpositions, which follow it.

Prepositions vs. Postpositions

In languages like English, prepositions are dominant (e.g., "in England", "under the table"). Conversely, languages with different word orders, such as Turkic languages, predominantly employ postpositions. Some languages, like Finnish, utilize both types.

Broader Terminology

Less common types include circumpositions, which bracket their complement, and terms like ambiposition, inposition, and interposition. Some linguists adopt the term "preposition" generically for all adpositions, irrespective of their position relative to the complement.

Grammatical Properties

Complement and Phrase Formation

An adposition typically governs a single complement, most frequently a noun phrase. This combination forms an adpositional phrase (e.g., prepositional phrase or PP). This phrase establishes a grammatical link between its complement and another element in the sentence, often indicating spatial, temporal, or other semantic relationships.

Semantic and Grammatical Roles

Adpositions define both grammatical and semantic connections. They can function as adjuncts to nouns, verbs, or adjectives, or as predicative expressions following a copula. For instance, "the weather in March" or "happy for them".

Case Marking and Inflection

Adpositions can influence the grammatical case of their complements. While adpositions themselves are typically invariant, some languages exhibit inflected adpositions that incorporate pronominal information (e.g., person, number). Their function often overlaps with case morphology, though adpositions are syntactic elements while case is morphological.

Classification of Adpositions

Prepositions

These adpositions precede their complement. Examples abound in Indo-European languages like English ("with a woman"), German ("mit einer Frau"), and French ("sur la table"). While typically positioned before the complement, some expressions allow for "preposition stranding," where the preposition appears separated from its complement, often at the end of a sentence.

Postpositions

Found in languages like Turkish, Hungarian, and Korean, postpositions follow their complement. For example, in Turkish, "with me" is expressed as "benimle" (literally "my with"). Latin's "mecum" ("with me") is another classic example.

Ambipositions and Circumpositions

Ambipositions can function as either prepositions or postpositions, depending on the context or grammatical structure (e.g., English "notwithstanding"). Circumpositions consist of two parts that enclose the complement, common in languages like Pashto and Kurdish (e.g., "bi ... re" meaning "with").

Inpositions and Interpositions

Inpositions appear within a complex complement, separating its parts (e.g., Latin "summa cum laude"). Interpositions occur between repeated elements, often having a coordinating function (e.g., "word for word").

Stranding

Definition and Examples

Preposition stranding occurs when a preposition is separated from its complement, typically in interrogative or relative clauses. For instance, "What did you sit on?" is more natural in English than "On what did you sit?". This phenomenon is common in English and some other Germanic languages.

Historical Context

Prescriptive grammarians historically discouraged ending sentences with prepositions, often based on analogies with Latin. However, linguistic analysis, notably by Otto Jespersen, highlights that this is an artificial constraint not reflective of natural English usage.

Simple vs. Complex Adpositions

Simple Adpositions

These consist of a single word, such as "on," "in," "for," or "towards." They are typically invariant and among the most frequently used words in languages that possess them.

Complex Adpositions

These are multi-word units functioning as a single adposition (e.g., "in spite of," "with respect to," "next to"). The distinction between complex adpositions and free combinations can be blurred due to grammaticalization. German orthography, for example, allows variable spelling for some complex forms (e.g., "anstelle" / "an Stelle").

Identifying Fixed Expressions

Complex adpositions often exhibit characteristics of fixed expressions: containing non-productive words ("by dint of"), unchangeable prepositions ("with a view to"), inability to insert articles, limited adjective modification, fixed noun number, and inability to use possessive determiners.

Marginal Adpositions

Participles as Adpositions

Marginal adpositions share characteristics with other word classes, notably participles. They function syntactically as adpositions but derive from other parts of speech. English examples include "concerning," "considering," "including," and "notwithstanding."

Proper vs. Improper Adpositions

Proper Adpositions

These are words exclusively functioning as adpositions. They are considered "proper" or "essential" adpositions.

Improper Adpositions

These are words from other categories (e.g., nouns, verbs) that are used in an adpositional function. Italian examples include "prima di" (before) and "davanti a" (in front of). In Ancient Greek, "improper" referred to adpositions that could not also function as verb prefixes.

Forms of Complements

Standard Complements

Typically, adpositions take noun phrases as complements. This can also include nominal clauses or certain non-finite verb phrases, such as gerunds ("about solving this problem") or infinitives ("pour encourager les autres").

Atypical Complements

In some instances, complements can be adjective phrases ("from blindingly bright to pitch black") or adverbs ("until recently"). These might be analyzed as distinct syntactic categories or as nominalized forms.

Multiple Complements?

Constructions like "With Sammy president" might appear to have two complements. However, linguists often analyze "Sammy president" as a "small clause," which then serves as the single complement of the preposition "with."

Semantic Functions

Polysemy and Metaphor

Adpositions are highly polysemous, often possessing a primary spatial meaning that extends metaphorically to temporal or abstract uses. This semantic flexibility can pose challenges in language acquisition, as direct translation is often insufficient.

Spatial and Temporal Relations

Core functions include indicating location ("at the store"), direction ("to the store"), and time ("after lunch"). Meanings can be static ("on the table") or dynamic ("into the water"), with some languages using case marking to differentiate these nuances (e.g., German "in").

Grammatical and Idiomatic Uses

Adpositions also mark grammatical roles like possession ("pen of my aunt"), agency in passive constructions ("killed by a gunman"), or recipient ("give it to him"). Many expressions are idiomatic, where the adposition's meaning is fixed within the construction (e.g., "listen to," "proud of").

Inflected Adpositions

Celtic Languages

In Welsh and Irish, many prepositions inflect for person and number, incorporating pronominal elements. For example, Welsh "ohonof" means "of/from me."

The preposition "o" (of/from) inflects:

		Singular	Plural
1st Person		ohonof (i) (of/from me)	ohonon (ni) (of/from us)
2nd Person		ohonot (ti) (of/from you)	ohonoch (chi) (of/from you)
3rd Person	Masculine	ohono (fe/fo) (of/from him/it)	ohonyn (nhw) (of/from them)
3rd Person	Feminine	ohoni (hi) (of/from her/it)	ohonyn (nhw) (of/from them)

Semitic Languages

Hebrew, Arabic, and Amharic also feature inflected prepositions. Arabic "ʿalā" (on) inflects to "ʿalayya" (on me) or "ʿalayki" (on you).

Other Languages

Persian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Bororo (an indigenous Brazilian language) exhibit various forms of inflection or contraction when adpositions combine with pronouns. For instance, Spanish "conmigo" means "with me."

Overlaps with Other Categories

Adverbs and Particles

Many adpositions share forms with adverbs (e.g., "inside," "underneath"). Some words function as both, leading to analyses of "intransitive prepositions" or adverbial particles in phrasal verbs (e.g., "carry on").

Conjunctions

Words like "before," "after," and "since" can function as either prepositions (taking noun phrases) or subordinating conjunctions (taking clauses). This suggests a potential analysis of conjunctions as prepositions governing entire clauses.

Verbs (Coverbs)

In languages like Chinese, words serving as prepositions can also function as verbs (coverbs). "dào" can mean "to" (preposition) or "to arrive" (verb). This blurs the line between prepositional phrases and serial verb constructions.

Case Affixes

The function of adpositions often parallels grammatical case markings. For example, the agent in an English passive sentence is marked by "by," while Russian uses the instrumental case. While adpositions combine syntactically and cases morphologically, the distinction can be nuanced, particularly in languages like Japanese and Korean.

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References

An example is Huddleston & Pullum (2002) ("CGEL"), whose choice of terms is discussed on p. 602.

VÃt BubenÃk, From Case to Adposition: The Development of Configurational Syntax in Indo-European Languages, John Benjamins Publishing 2006, p. 109.

Matthew S. Dryer, "Order of Adposition and Noun Phrase", in The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Retrieved 2015-01-01.

Quirk, Randolph, Sidney Greenbaum, Jan Svartvik, & Geoffrey Leech. 1985. A comprehensive grammar of the English language. London: Longman. 667-68.

Zwarts, Joost. 2005. "Prepositional Aspect and the Algebra of Paths." Linguistics and Philosophy 28.6, 739â779.

Creswell, Max. 1978. "Prepositions and points of view." Linguistics and Philosophy, 2: 1â41.

A full list of references for this article are available at the Adposition Wikipedia page

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Adpositions: Mapping Meaning in Syntax and Semantics

💡 Dive in with Flashcard Learning! 💡

Terminology 🏷️

➡️ Defining Adpositions

🧩 Prepositions vs. Postpositions

🔄 Broader Terminology

Grammatical Properties ⚙️

🔗 Complement and Phrase Formation

🎯 Semantic and Grammatical Roles

🗂️ Case Marking and Inflection

Classification of Adpositions 📚

⬆️ Prepositions

⬇️ Postpositions

🔄 Ambipositions and Circumpositions

📍 Inpositions and Interpositions

Stranding 🚶

❓ Definition and Examples

📜 Historical Context

Simple vs. Complex Adpositions 🧱

➖ Simple Adpositions

➕ Complex Adpositions

🔒 Identifying Fixed Expressions

Marginal Adpositions ⭐

🎭 Participles as Adpositions

Proper vs. Improper Adpositions ⚖️

✅ Proper Adpositions

⚠️ Improper Adpositions

Forms of Complements 🧩

🗣️ Standard Complements

↔️ Atypical Complements

➕ Multiple Complements?

Semantic Functions 💡

🌐 Polysemy and Metaphor

📍 Spatial and Temporal Relations

⚙️ Grammatical and Idiomatic Uses

Inflected Adpositions ➕

Celtic Celtic Languages

🇸🇦 Semitic Languages

🌍 Other Languages

Overlaps with Other Categories 🔗

➡️ Adverbs and Particles

🔗 Conjunctions

🗣️ Verbs (Coverbs)

🗂️ Case Affixes

Teacher's Corner 🧑‍🏫

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📜 Important Notice

Dive in with Flashcard Learning!

Terminology

Defining Adpositions

Prepositions vs. Postpositions

Broader Terminology

Grammatical Properties

Complement and Phrase Formation

Semantic and Grammatical Roles

Case Marking and Inflection

Classification of Adpositions

Prepositions

Postpositions

Ambipositions and Circumpositions

Inpositions and Interpositions

Stranding

Definition and Examples

Historical Context

Simple vs. Complex Adpositions

Simple Adpositions

Complex Adpositions

Identifying Fixed Expressions

Marginal Adpositions

Participles as Adpositions

Proper vs. Improper Adpositions

Proper Adpositions

Improper Adpositions

Forms of Complements

Standard Complements

Atypical Complements

Multiple Complements?

Semantic Functions

Polysemy and Metaphor

Spatial and Temporal Relations

Grammatical and Idiomatic Uses

Inflected Adpositions

Celtic Languages

Semitic Languages

Other Languages

Overlaps with Other Categories

Adverbs and Particles

Conjunctions

Verbs (Coverbs)

Case Affixes

Teacher's Corner

True or False?

Test Your Knowledge!

Gamer's Corner

Discover other topics to study!

References

Feedback & Support

Disclaimer

Important Notice