§ 2. Prepositions may have a lexical meaning of their own.

e.g. Her sister appeared, carrying a wine-glass in which there was

a raw egg, with a little sherry on it. The path felt springy beneath his feet. He dropped into a chair beside his mother. She arrived before lunch.

Prepositions may indicate position in space or direction (e.g. on, in, under, over, at, near, to, into, out of, from, towards, etc.),

time (e.g. after, before, during, for, in, on, at, etc.), various ab- stract relations (e.g. by, with, at, on, for, against, because of, in- stead of, owing to, according to, etc.). Most prepositions are polysemantic.

e.g. I've been here for two weeks. He's brought a letter for you. Did you pay him for his work? I was punished for my little joke. They went out for a walk. They sent for a doctor. The letters MP stand for Member of Parliament.

But the meaning of prepositions is often weakened and some- times becomes even difficult to trace.

e.g. There is a man waiting for you in your office.

The success of the operation depends entirely on your consent. Who is responsible for this decision? There is nothing wrong with him.

§ 3. The choice of prepositions is determined by different fac- tors. Sometimes it is quite free, I.E. It entirely depends on the meaning the speaker wishes to convey.

e.g. There was a photograph of a young girl on his desk. There was a photograph of a young girl in his desk. There was a photograph of a young girl over his desk. There was a photograph of a young girl under his desk.

But more often the choice of the preposition is determined by the head-word.

e.g. No one could account for his objection to our plan. He should be ashamed of himself. You shouldn't rely on him.

Who is going to look after your children while you are away? Your brother was cruel to him. I've been dependent on both of you so long. She was treated for diabetes. He was proud of his elder son. Everyone is conscious of the change in the man.

He is quite good at painting. There is no point in arguing.

It is in this case that the meaning of the preposition often be- comes weakened.

The choice of the preposition may also depend on the noun

that follows the preposition.

e.g. Who was the first to speak at the meeting?

He went there on business.

He is now on a concert tour in Europe.

I'm planning to finish it in February.

He woke up at 8 o'clock.

We discussed it in detail.

No one could help him under the circumstances.

In this case the preposition and the noun often become set phrases (e.g. in the evening, at dawn, by day, by taxi, etc.). The meaning of the preposition is also weakened here.

§ 4. Although prepositions serve to express various relations between the noun (or noun-equivalent) following it and other words in the sentence, they sometimes get separated from the noun (or noun-equivalent). This occurs in:

a) special questions,

e.g. What are you looking for? Who(m) did you speak with? What conclusion did you come to?

b) certain subordinate clauses,

e.g. What he is waiting for is not likely to happen. That is what he wanted to begin with. I know who(m) he is worried about. I'm expecting a letter my plans for the future depend on.

c) certain passive constructions,

e.g. He loved the dogs and they were taken good care of.

They found him so ill that a doctor was immediately sent for. His marriage was very much talked about.

d) certain functions of the infinitive or infinitive phrase,

e.g. He hated to be made fun of.

When he retired he went to live in Dorset, in a charming place his wife had bought for him to retire to.

You have a lot to be thankful for. You've done nothing to be ashamed of. There is nothing more to worry about.

Sometimes one and the same noun is associated with two or more different prepositions. The noun itself need not be repeated after each preposition and is usually placed after the last one.

e.g. It is a book for and about children.

The pronoun much is used of and with uncountable nouns. He cared for and looked after his ageing mother.

It follows from the above examples that the prepositions in this case are retained by the preceding head-word.