THE USE OF PREPOSITION “WITH”
WITH
REFERENCE TO THE CORPUS OF
CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN ENGLISH
BY:
I WAYAN BUDI JUNIARDANA 1201305044
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LETTERS AND CULTURE
UDAYANA UNIVERSITY
This paper is submitted as a
partial fulfillment to obtain the
S1 degree at the English
Department, Faculty of Letters,
Udayana University, Denpasar
Approved by:
The Examining Board of
the English Department,
Faculty of Letters,
Udayana University
Denpasar, June 2016
Chairperson, Secretary,
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to the Almighty
God, Ida Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa, for blessing me with love, joy, guidance, and
protection so that I can finish the final project.
Secondly, I would like to express my gratitude to Drs. I Gede Budiasa, Dip.
M. A. as the first Supervisor and Prof. Dr. I Nengah Sudipa, M. A. as the second
Supervisor who have been really helpful in giving guidance and feedback in editing
and revising my final project.
Third, I would like to express my gratitude to I Gusti Ngurah Parthama, S.S,
M. Hum., as the Head of the English Department, all of the lectures and all of the
members in the English Department, Faculty of Letters, Udayana University for the
support and spirit.
I will not forget to express my gratitude to my parents and my big family
for the support, love and care. For all my supporters: Tirta, Jodi, Fajar and also all
of my friends who cannot be mentioned one by one for the support and the spirit.
I believe that this final project is still far from being perfect; therefore, all
of suggestions are appreciated for the improvement of this final project. Finally, I
present this final project to all the readers and wish that it can be useful.
Denpasar, June 2016
ABSTRACT
This study is entitled “The Use of Preposition “with” with reference to
Corpus of Contemporary American English. The aims of the study are to describe the form and to explain the semantic relation, the function and the meaning of
preposition “with”.
The data was taken from the Corpus of Contemporary American English. Furthermore, at least 1000 examples have been chosen in order to strengthen the result. The method of collecting data is documentation and the technique is note taking. The qualitative method was applied to analyze the collected data. The technique of analyzing the data was furthermore descriptively and qualitatively analyzed.
The main theory which used to analyze the preposition is the theory of
preposition in “A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language” proposed by
Quirk (1985) and some supporting theories, including the prepositional phrase
theory in “The Cambrigde Grammar of the English Language” by Hudleston (2002) and the theory of preposition classification in “Descriptive English Grammar” by
House and Herman (1950).
The result of the analysis shows that the form of prepositional phrases begins with a preposition “with” and consists of the noun phrase or clause as the object of the preposition. Sometimes the object of the preposition has one or more modifiers to describe the object in more detailed. The preposition “with” only indicates the semantic role of process showing the semantic relation of process between the preposition and other elements, such as the manner, means and instrument. According to the examples in the data source, the preposition “with” indicates the function of adjunct and disjunct in the sentence and the meaning of
agentive spectrum. The preposition “with” only indicates the meaning of means and
instrument, support and opposition, manner, and accompaniment. On the other
hand, the preposition “with” sometimes indicates another meaning, including the meaning of having.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
APPROVAL SHEET ...i
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ... ii
ABSTRACT ... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...iv
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background of the Study ... 1
1.2 Problem of the Study ... 3
1.3 Aims of the Study ... 3
1.3.1 General Aims of the Study ... 3
1.3.2 Specific Aims of the Study ... 4
1.4 Scope of Discussion ... 4
1.5 Research Method ... 4
1.5.1 Data Source ... 5
1.5.2 Method and Technique of Collecting Data ... 5
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEWS, CONCEPTS AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 Literature Review ... 7
2.2 Concepts ... 11
2.2.1 Concept of Preposition ... 11
2.2.2 Concept of Prepositional Phrase ... 11
2.3 Theoretical Framework ... 12
2.3.1 Preposition Classification ... 12
2.3.1.1 Simple Preposition... 12
2.3.1.2 Compound Preposition ... 13
2.3.1.3 Phrasal Preposition ... 14
2.3.2 The Theory of Preposition ... 14
2.3.3 The Theory of Semantic Relation ... 31
CHAPTER III THE ANALYSIS OF PREPOSITION “WITH” IN CORPUS OF CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN ENGLISH 3.1 The Form of Preposition “with”... 39
3.2 Semantic Relation between Preposition “with” and Other Elements ... 44
3.4 The Meaning of Preposition “with” ... 47
3.4.1 Preposition “with” Denoting Pervasive ... 47
3.4.2 Preposition “with” Denoting Manner ... 48
3.4.3 Preposition “with” Denoting Means and Instrument ... 49
3.4.4 Preposition “with” Denoting Accompaniment ... 50
3.4.5 Preposition “with” Denoting Support and Opposition ... 51
3.4.6 Preposition “with” Denoting Having ... 52
3.4.7 The Table of Preposition “With” According to Their meaning ... 53
CHAPTER IV CONCLUSION
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
According to Hornby (2005: 834), language is a system of communication
used by a particular country or communities. There are so many languages in the
world which have their own rules and characteristics. English is an international
language used by every country around the world. People in the world study
English because they need it to communicate with other people from other countries
which have a different first language. Furthermore, we must consider the
grammatical structure of the language used.
A sentence as a part of the language must be written clearly in order to be
easily understood by the readers. Preposition is one of the elements used in making
a sentence. “The prepositions are abstract words that have no concrete meaning. They merely show the relationships between groups of words.” (Wheeler, 1998:1)
Therefore, the use of prepositions has an important role in transforming the content
of the sentence.
“Preposition in English marks a relationship between a following noun
forms seem to be used to indicate an extremely wide range of different kinds of relationships,
suggesting a multitude of different meanings for each preposition.
Furthermore, the grammatical uses of preposition are tied to the conceptual meaning of the
noun phrases which come after them. There is a key to understanding the uses of the basic
preposition. The key can be found in the number of regular distinctions between different types of
concepts. The distinctions appear to have their origins in the way in which the complements are
located in space and, more specifically, how spatial locations are perceived.” (Yule, 1998:160). Furthermore, the preposition is the part of grammar in English. Mostly the sentences use the
preposition inside to make overt the covert meaning.
Prepositions introduce prepositional phrases, and express the relation of position, place,
time, possession, manner, etc. Many prepositional phrases seem adverbial in meaning. However,
the same prepositional phrases may be used as adjectives, adverbs, or nouns. Quirk (1985, 665)
defined that there are two kinds of preposition in the English language. They are simple preposition
and complex preposition. Simple prepositions are preposition consisting one word (of, to, with, at,
in, on, etc.). Complex prepositions are preposition consisting more than one word (due to, because
of, next to, up to, as far as, etc.).
This study chose the Corpus of Contemporary America English as the data source because
this word bank contains the examples that is taken from fiction, popular magazine, newspaper,
scientific journal and spoken during 1990 until 2012. This study interested to analyze this corpus,
especially for the preposition “with”, in order to make the readers understand about the preposition
1.2 Problems of the Study
Based on the background above, the problems discussed are as follows:
1) What forms of prepositional phrase with preposition “with” are used in the Corpus of Contemporary American English?
2) How the semantic relations occur between the preposition “with” and other elements found in the Corpus of Contemporary American English?
3) What are functions and meanings of the preposition “with” used in the Corpus of Contemporary American English?
1.3 Aims of the Study
Every study has some objectives which will be their achievement in the study. In this study,
there are two kinds of the objectives. These are general aims and specific aims of the study.
1.3.1 General Aims of the Study
1) To fulfill the academic requirement as a final project.
2) To make the readers fully understand about the form, semantic relation and the meaning of
preposition “with” in the Corpus of Contemporary American English.
1) To describe the forms of prepositional phrase with preposition “with” that are used with reference to the Corpus of Contemporary American English.
2) To analyze the semantic relations between the preposition “with” and other elements found in the Corpus of Contemporary American English.
3) To explain the function and meanings of English prepositions “with” that is found in the Corpus of Contemporary American English.
1.4 Scope of Discussion
Based on the problems, the study focuses on:
1) The forms of prepositional phrase with preposition “with” that are used in the Corpus of Contemporary American English.
2) The semantic relations between the preposition “with” and other elements found in the Corpus of Contemporary American English.
3) The function and meaning of preposition “with” that is used in the Corpus of Contemporary American English according to theory proposed by Quirk (1985).
1.5 Research Method
Research method is an explanation about what method applied by the researcher to his
study. There are three components of the method. They are data source, method and technique of
collecting data, and method and technique of analyzing data.
1.5.1 Data source
The data was taken from the Corpus of Contemporary American English. The Corpus of
a wide array of texts from a number of genders. It was created by Mark Davies, Professor of Corpus
Linguistic at Brigham Young University. The corpus is composed of more than 450 million words
from more than 160.000 texts. Furthermore, it is divided between the five genres (spoken, fiction,
popular magazines, newspapers, and academic journals). The Corpus of Contemporary American
English is chosen as the data source because it contains the data related to this study and the content
was taken from many literary works in 1990-2012. Furthermore, at least 1000 examples were taken
from the data source in order to strengthen the result.
1.5.2 Method and Technique of Collecting Data
The method of collecting data is documentation method and the technique is note taking
from the Corpus of Contemporary American English. Documentation method is the research
method in order to collect the data by documenting the data source. Firstly, the data was collected
by searching in the COCA as the data source. Secondly, it was continued by note taking from the
data source. Note taking is a technique collecting the data from the data source by taking a note in
Microsoft Excel. Third, the data was identified according to the text containing preposition “with”. Furthermore, the collected data was classified in accordance with the function and meaning of the
prepositions.
1.5.3 Method and Technique of Analyzing Data
The quantitative method was applied to analyze the collected data. The technique was
furthermore analyzed descriptively and quantitatively, because of the nature of the research
question. The data was analyzed based on the theory applied in the study and the result was
presented descriptively. Furthermore, there are some steps in order to analyze the data. First, the
relation was included the relation between the preposition and the following word and the form is
the formation of the prepositional phrases. Furthermore, the classification was determined by the
following words as the element of the sentence. The data was analyzed according to how the
meaning of preposition “with” was affected by the following words. Second, the function and meaning was classified and analyzed according to the theory of prepositional phrase proposed by
Quirk (1985). Furthermore, the classification of the function and meaning was supported by the
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW, CONCEPTS, AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 Literature Review
In the previous years, there are some students analyzed preposition, which
in different approach, was used as the literature review in this study. The theories
used in those studies were concerned with the analysis of preposition. As they were
discussing about those analysis, as sequence these studies give contribution to this
study.
First, the structure, meaning, and function of prepositions were analyzed in
the undergraduate thesis entitled “The Analysis of Structure and Meaning of Prepositional Phrase with Reference to Ernest Hermingway's The Old Man and The
Sea”. The prepositional phrase was analyzed by Pibriani (2005) and is based on the theory proposed by Quirk (1985) and Wren and Martin (1990). The aims of this
study are to identify and analyze the prepositional phrase found in the story. The
tree diagram is used to describe the prepositional phrases in the data source. The
data had been collected by means of library research method and analyzed
descriptively. The strength of this undergraduate thesis is the data analyzed the
structure, meaning and function of the collecting data with the tree diagram.
8
this study only focused on the preposition “with”. Furthermore, this undergraduate thesis only focuses on the novel, however, this current study focuses on the corpus
containing the novels, magazines, newspaper, spoken, and academic journal.
Second, the undergraduate thesis entitled “The Analysis of Prepositional Phrase Which Focuses on Preposition on, in and at with Special Reference to Novel Sunny
Candler's Return by Sandra Brown” is written by Widarma (2007). The aims of his undergraduate thesis are to analyze the meaning of prepositional phrase preceded by
preposition on, in and at and to analyze the usage of the preposition. The data in this
study was taken from the English sentences found in the first chapter of Novel “Sunny Chandler’s Return”. There are two main theories used to analyze the meaning and the
usage of preposition in this thesis. They are the theories that proposed by Quirk (1985)
and George Yule (1998). The result of this undergraduate thesis shows that the meaning
of prepositional preceded by the prepositions on, in and at indicates the place, time,
purpose and location in metaphor. The difference from this current study is that his
undergraduate thesis focused on the preposition in metaphor and this study focused on
the meaning and semantic relation. The strength of this undergraduate thesis is that this
undergraduate thesis describes the data collection in more detailed. Therefore, the
readers easily understand the topic and the analysis of the data. However, the source of
this undergraduate thesis only taken from the novel.
Third, the undergraduate thesis entitled “The Analysis of Preposition in The
9
Krisnayanti (2008). The aims of this undergraduate thesis are to analyze the syntactic
function of preposition. Furthermore, other functions are to analyze the meaning of
preposition are found in the short story based on the theory proposed by Quirk (1985).
The research method used in this undergraduate thesis is library research. Furthermore,
the data were classified based on the type of prepositions. The result of her
undergraduate thesis shows the preposition at, in, on, for and from indicate place, time,
target, source and purpose. The difference is her undergraduate thesis focuses on the
syntactic function of preposition and this study focuses on meaning and semantic
relation of the preposition “with”. The weakness of her undergraduate thesis is the
scope of discussion. The scope of discussion was too small and lack of the data
accurateness. Furthermore, the strength of this undergraduate thesis is the
undergraduate thesis describes all the data clearly. This undergraduate thesis can cover
all the discussion with a few examples.
The international journal of English linguistics vol. 3 no. 2 with the article
entitled Compound Prepositions Used by Iraq EFL University Students was written by
Ahmed Muhammed Ali Abu Humeid. It discussed about the compound preposition
error used by the Iraq EFL university student. The aims of this article are to identifying
and analyzing the errors which Iraqi EFL university students are liable to make in using
compound prepositions and is giving a clearer rationale for the possible causes
including such errors. The result shows that the majority of Iraqi EFL university
10
the function of such prepositions because they do not discern their meanings and most
books of grammar do not enlist their meanings or uses. The researchers refer the
meaning proposed by Hornby (2006). This article and this study focus on the same
topic, such as the preposition. However, this article analyzes the application of
preposition and this study analyzes the preposition “with”. The strength of this article
is that the data source is taken from the real life and the data is described in more
detailed. However, some parts of the article are difficult to understand.
International Journal of English language and Translation studies vol. 2 with
the article entitled Speaking in their Language: An Overview of Major Difficulties
Faced by the Libyan EFL Learners in Speaking Skill was written by Pathan, Aldersi
and Alsout from University of Sebha. The aims of this article are to identify and analyze
the English errors of the students. This article analyzed the data based on the theory of
lexical errors (Zughoul, 1985) and syntactic errors (Kambal, 1980). The result shows
that the students speaking skill is influenced by their mother tongue leading them to
commit errors in almost every aspect of their English, including pronunciation,
sentence construction, proper collocation, use of adjectives, preposition, idioms, etc.
The difference is this article does not only focus on preposition but also on other
elements and this current study only focuses on the preposition “with”. The strength of this article is that the data is clearly described and make the readers easily understand
the discussion. Furthermore, this article gives the contribution on how the preposition
11
2.2 Concepts
2.2.1 Concept of Preposition
Quirk (1985; 657) stated that a preposition expresses a relation between two
entities, one being that is represented by the prepositional complement. Those of place
and time are the most prominent and easiest to identify. Other relationships such as
instrument and cause may also be recognized, although it is difficult to describe
prepositional meanings systematically in terms of such labels. Some prepositional must
be analyzed by seeing a prepositional related to a clause.
Preposition in English mark a relationship between a following noun phrase
and a preceding noun phrase, verb or adjective (Yule, 1998: 160). In his opinion, the
basic one-syllable forms seem to be indicating an extremely wide range of different
kinds of relationships, suggesting a multitude of different meanings for each
preposition.
2.2.2 Concept of Prepositional phrase
Quirk (1985: 657) argued that prepositional phrases consist of a preposition
followed by a prepositional complement, which characteristically a noun phrase, clause
or gerund.
Huddleston (1984: 566) also adds where the prepositional phrase is a
12
determined or severely limited by the verb, adjective or noun head which the
prepositional phrase is the complement.
2.3 Theoretical Framework
The study discusses about the analysis of the preposition. The semantic relation
and the meaning of the preposition were described in the analysis. Furthermore, this
study need some certain theories to analyze them, especially the theories related to the
preposition, the theories as follow:
2.3.1 Preposition Classification
According to Quirk (1985; 665), there are two kinds of prepositions; they are
simple and complex preposition. Simple prepositions are preposition consisting one
word (of, to, with, at, in, on, etc). Complex prepositions are preposition consisting more
than one word (due to, because of, next to, up to, as far as, etc.).
Based on the theory stated by House and Harman (1950: 175), the preposition
can be divided into three groups. They are simple preposition, compound preposition
and phrasal preposition.
2.3.1.1 Simple preposition
The oldest and the most frequently used prepositions in English are those which
are the simplest in form, many of them being monosyllable: at, but, by, for, in, of, off,
13
and therefore were called prepositions. At, by, down, for, in, of, on, over, through,
under, up, and with are prepositions when they govern nouns or pronouns, however,
they are adverbs when they merely modify verbs and do not show relationship between
words.
Example:
a. I live by mill.
b. I came here for you.
(House and Herman, 1950: 176)
2.3.1.2 Compound preposition
Prepositions have been formed from time to time by beginning words into
compounds to show relations which the simple (or primary) prepositions could not
express. The compounds prepositions represent the middle age in the development of
prepositions and many of them being of Old and Middle English origin. They have
been formed and are still being formed by various combinations.
Example:
a. He came in to see us.
He came into the station.
b. Mother came up on the fast rain.
We came upon them suddenly.
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2.3.1.3 Phrasal Preposition
A phrasal preposition consisting two or more words written separately, on the
other hand, is used as a single unit to show relation between a noun or a
noun-equivalent and another element. They are: according to, along with, as for, as to,
because of, out of, regardless of, etc.
Example:
a. According to Dina, this novel has good story.
b. He waved and sang along with Stevie on all his song.
2.3.2 The Theory of Preposition
According to Quirk (1985: 657), the prepositional phrases have some of the
syntactic functions, as follows:
1) Postmodifier in a noun phrase
2) Adverbial
a) Adjunct
b) Subjunct
c) Disjunct
d) Conjunct
On the other hand, Quirk (1985: 673) explains about the meaning of
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1) The Meaning of Preposition: Place
a. Dimension
When we use a preposition to indicate place, we do so in relation to the
dimensional properties, whether subjectively or objectively conceived, of
the location concerned. Consider the following examples:
My car is at the cottage
There is a new roof on the cottage
There are two beds in the cottage
(Quirk, 1985: 674)
The use of at makes cottage a dimensionless location, a mere point in
relation to which the car’s position can be indicated. With on, the cottage becomes a two-dimensional area, covered by a roof, though on is also
capable use with a one-dimensional object, as in ‘Put your signature on this
line’. With in, the cottage becomes the three-dimensional object which in reality it is, though in is capable of being used with object which are
essentially two-dimensional, as in ‘The cow in the field’, where field is conceived as an enclosed space.
b. Positive Position and Direction
Between the notions of simple position (or static location) and direction in
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DIRECTION POSITION
Ann went to Oxford as the result: Ann was at
Oxford
Ann climbed onto the roof as the result: Ann was on the
Roof
Ann dived into the water as the result: Ann was in the
water
(Quirk, 1985: 675)
c. Source or Negative Position: away from, off, out of
There is a cause and effect relation with negative destination and position
parallel to that of positive destination and position.
Example:
Tom got out of the water as the result: Tom is out of the
water
(Quirk, 1985: 675)
d. Relative Position
Apart from simple position, preposition may express the relative position
17
Example:
We placed the skis on top of the car.
(Quirk, 1985: 679)
The example above generally indicates a contiguous relation.
e. Space
Other prepositions are denoting space are by, beside, with, near, between,
among, around, round, about, etc.
Example:
He was standing beside the door. (at the side of)
(Quirk, 1985: 679)
f. Relative Destination: over, under, behind, etc.
As well as relative position, the prepositions have meaning of relative
position that can also express relative destination.
Example:
He threw a blanket over her.
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g. Passage: over, behind, under, etc.
With verbs of motion, preposition may express the idea of passage
(movement toward and then away from a place), as well as destination.
Example:
He jumped over a ditch
Someone ran behind the goalposts
(Quirk, 1985: 681)
h. Passage: across, through, past
The sense of ‘passage’ is the primary locative meaning attached to across (dimension type 1 or 2), through (dimension type 2 or 3) and past (the
passage equivalent to by which may also, however, be substituted for past
in a ‘passage’ sense).
Example:
The ball rolled across the lawn.
(Quirk, 1985: 682)
i. Movement with Reference to a Directional Path: up, down, along, etc.
The prepositions above with verb of motion make up a group of preposition
19
Example:
We walked up the hill and down the other side.
(Quirk, 1985: 682)
j. Orientation: beyond, over, past, up, across, etc.
Most prepositions expressing relative destination, passage, and movement
with reference to a directional path can be used in a static sense of
orientation.
Example:
The live across the moors.
The village is through the wood.
(Quirk, 1985: 683)
k. Resultative Meaning: from, out of, over, past, etc
Prepositions showing the meaning of motion can usually have a static
resultative meaning when combined with be, indicating the state of having
reached the destination.
Example:
The horses are over the fence. (‘have now jumped over’)
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l. Pervasive Meaning: over, throughout, with, etc.
Over (dimension type 1 or 2) and through (dimension type 2 or 3),
especially when preceded by all, have pervasive meaning. Sometimes with
indicate the pervasive meaning in the sentence.
Example:
The child was running (all) over the flower border.
The garden was buzzing with bees.
(Quirk, 1985: 684)
m. Metaphorical or Abstract Use of Place Prepositions
Many prepositions of place have abstract meanings clearly related, through
metaphorical connection, to their locative uses. Sometimes prepositions
used to keep the grouping (in terms of similarity or contrast of meaning),
when they used in literal reference to place. One may perceive a
stage-by-stage extension of metaphorical usage in such a series as:
in shallow water (purely literal)
in deep water (also metaphorical = ‘in trouble’) in difficulties (the preposition is used metaphorically)
in a tough spot (‘in a difficult situation’; both the preposition and the noun are metaphorical since literally spot would require at).
21
2) The Meaning of Preposition: Time
Quirk (1985: 687) also explains about the preposition which has meaning of
time. A prepositional phrase of time usually occurs as adjunct (for example,
‘He came on Friday’), or predication adjunct (for example, ‘That was on Friday’), however, it can occasionally be itself the complement of a temporal
preposition.
a. Time When: at, on, in
At, on and in as prepositions of time when are to some extent parallel to
the same items as positive prepositions of position, although in the time
sphere there are only two ‘dimension-type’, ‘point of time’, and ‘period of
time’.
Example:
at ten o’clock
on New Year’s Day
in August
(Quirk, 1985: 688)
b. Measurement into the Future: in
To denote measurement from the present time, the postposed adverb ago is
used in order to a span back to a point of time in the past, and in for similar
22
Example:
We meet three months ago.
We will meet in three months time.
We will meet in three months from now.
(Quirk, 1985: 688)
c. Duration: for, during, over, (all) through, throughout
Preposition phrases of duration answer the how long? Duration is usually
expressed by for.
Example:
How long did you camp in Scotland?
We camped there for the summer. (‘all through, from the beginning to the end of the summer’)
(Quirk, 1985: 689)
d. Duration: from…to, until, up to
From…to (till) is another pair of preposition whose locative meaning is
transferred to duration.
Example:
We camped there from June till September.
23
3) The Cause/ Purpose Spectrum
a. Cause, reason, motive: because of, on account of, for, from, etc
At one end of the cause/ purpose spectrum, we have prepositions expressing
either the material cause or the psychological cause (motive) for a
happening. Phrase of cause, reason, and motive answer the question why…?
Example:
We had to drive slowly because of the heavy rain.
On account of his wide experience, he was made chairman.
(Quirk, 1985: 695)
b. Purpose, intended destination: for, to, so as to, in order to
Phrases of purpose or destination answer the questions why…? What…for?
Where...for? or Who…for?
Example:
He will do anything for money.
Everyone ran for shelter.
24
c. Recipient, goal, target: for, to, at
When for is followed by noun phrases denoting persons or animals, the
meaning is rather one of intended recipient. In contrast to the notion of
intended recipient expressed by for, the preposition to express actual
recipient. At, in combinations such as aim at (where the prepositional phrase
is complementary to the verb), express intended goal or target.
Example:
He cooked a dinner for her
He laid a trap for his enemies
She ran to me.
(Quirk, 1985: 697)
d. Source, origin: from
From is used with reference to ‘place of origin’ Example:
He comes from Scotland / Glasgow. (He is a Scot/ a Glaswegian).
(Quirk, 1985: 698)
4) The Means/ Agentive Spectrum
a. Manner: in…manner, in…way, like, with
Manner can be expressed by in…manner and with. With transitive and
intransitive verb, like can also have the meaning of ‘in a manner
25
‘resemblance’. Furthermore, the preposition will give the meaning about how something or someone takes the attitude.
Example:
The job was done in a workmanlike manner.
We were received with the utmost courtesy
The army swept through the city like a pestilence.
(Quirk, 1985: 698)
The meaning of ‘resemblance’ is common with in sentences whose main
verb may be noncopular.
Example:
Bill writes poetry like his brother. (‘in a manner resembling that of his
brother’s poetry’)
Like his brother, Bill writes poetry. (‘resemblance’) Bill writes poetry, like his brother. (‘resemblance’)
The last pair of examples showing the difference in meaning is not
entirely a matter of ordering. Furthermore, unlike is used with the meaning
of negative resemblance ‘not like’.
Example:
Unlike his brother (who write poetry), Bill writes science fiction.
26
There is frequently commutability between manner phrases and manner
adverbs: with courtesy – courteously. Manner phrases and manner adverbs
can both sometimes be evoked by the question How…? especially if the sense of ‘means’ is excluded by the context of verb meaning.
Example:
A: How did you speak? B: She spoke competently
with great skill
B: How did you travel? B: By air.
Comfortably.
b. Means and Instrument: by, with, without
Phrases of means and instrument answer the question how…? The
preposition “by” can express the meaning ‘by mean of’. The preposition “with”, on the other hand, expresses instrumental meaning.
Furthermore, the prepositional phrase will explain how the relation between
the sentence meaning and the following elements.
Example:
I usually go to work by bus.
He caught the ball with his left hand.
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Example:
I drew it without (using) a ruler. (‘Idid not draw it with a ruler.’)
(Quirk, 1985: 699)
c. Instrument and Agentive: with, by
Sometimes the preposition has same relation with another preposition and
supports each others.
Example:
Someone had broken the window with a stone.
The window had been broken with a stone by someone.
(Quirk, 1985: 700)
Preposition with in the first sentence express the meaning of instrument. In
the passive sentence, the agentive is expressed with a by-phrase.
Furthermore, preposition by in the second sentence expresses the meaning
of agentive; however, the agent by-phrase is actually omitted. On the other
hand, they can be a difference in meaning, as appear more clearly in the
following two sentences below:
My car has been damaged by the branch of a tree.
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The preposition “by” would exclude a human agency: a storm may have caused the branch to cause the damage. By contrast, with in the example
would exclude the natural cause and would suggest human agents had used
the branch broken from a tree to inflict the damage. Thus, it makes the
distinction between agentive, i.e. the animate being instigating or causing
the happening denoted by the verb, and the instrument, i.e. the entity
(generally inanimate) which an agentive use to perform or instigate a
process. Both the agentive and instrument may be said to denote the
semantic role of agency.
d. Stimulus: at
The relation between an emotion and its stimulus (normally an abstract
stimulus) can be expressed by at or by the instrumental by.
Example:
I was alarmed at his behaviors
Both of these can be treated as passive equivalent of:
His behavior alarmed me
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I was furious with John.
I was delighted with the present.
(Quirk, 1985: 701)
e. Accompaniment: with
Especially when followed by an animate complement, with has meaning in
company with or together with (commutative function). Furthermore, the
preposition will indicate the relation between the subject and the
prepositional complement.
Example:
I am so glad you are coming with us.
Jack, (together) with several of his noisy friends, was drinking in his
apartment.
(Quirk, 1985: 702)
In the second example, the with-phrase serves a function very close to
coordination with and. However, unlike and, with has a singular verb, as
in:
Jack and several of his noisy friends were drinking…
With is also used to express accompanying circumstances, and to introduce
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With all the noise, she was finding it hard to concentrate.
It all started with John (‘s) being late for dinner.
In both these uses, with implies cause: ‘Because of all the noise…’ in the
sentence “With all the noise, she was…” and ‘it all started as a result of
John (‘s) being late…’ in the sentence “It all started with John…”
On the other hand, without is the negative of with indicating the meaning
of ‘unaccompanied by’.
Example:
You never see him without his dog.
Without you, I am not going.
(Quirk, 1985: 702)
f. Support and Opposition: for, with, against
For coveys the idea of support (in favor of) and with that of solidarity or
movement is sympathy.
Example:
Are you for or against the plan? (Do you support or opposite the plan)
Remember that every one of us is with you. (‘on your side’)
There is no negative without contrasting with with. The contrary idea of
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Example:
It is prudent to go with rather than against the tide of public opinion.
The movement against nuclear acts (‘anti nuclear’)
However, the preposition “with” conveys the idea of opposition between people in fight with, quarrel with, argue with, etc.
Example:
He is always arguing with her sister.
(Quirk, 1985: 703)
2.3.3 The Theory of Semantic Relations
According to Quirk (1985: 479), the theory of Semantic Relation is divided
into seven categories, as follows:
1) Space
We can readily distinguish five semantic relations expressed by prepositional
phrase in relation to physical space, including the ordinary senses of ‘place’, a term we shall also use when this is convenient. First there is position, normally,
associated with verbs referring to stasis:
a. He lay on his bed.
However, they can occur also with verbs referring to motion:
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Second, there is direction, which may refer to directional path without
locational specification, as in:
c. They drove westwards.
Or it can refer to direction along with a locational specification as in:
d. She walked down the hill.
e. Their house faces towards the sea.
Third, involving a positional aspect of direction, we can distinguish goal, as
in:
f. She walked (down the hill) to the bus stop.
The interrelationship between position, direction, and goal are shown by the
fact that, in particular contexts and with particular verbs. Furthermore, they can
elicit by questions with where:
g. Where was she walking? In the park. (Position)
h. Where was she walking? Down the hill. (Direction)
i. Where was she walking? To the bus. (Goal)
There are alternative question forms that are more role-specified, such as:
j. Which way was she walking? (Direction)
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Fourth, another semantic relation is source, as in:
l. She walked (down the hill) from the school.
Questions concerning source would usually be expressed through a more
general verb of motion than walk, especially one that is oriented to the speaker,
and the ‘source’ preposition would have to be expressed. Finally, there is spatial measure, expressed as distance, as in:
m. She had driven (for) fifty kilometres.
2) Time
As with space, several subroles can be distinguished, some of them are closely
analogous to those of space. First, there is time seen as a fixed position on a
temporal scale (time as stasis). Example:
a. She drove to Chicago on Sunday.
b. He was there last week.
The relation is elicited by when and is often referred to as ‘time when’.
c. When did she drive to Chicago? On Sunday.
Second, there is duration. Furthermore, the meaning indicates the duration of
the time:
d. I shall be staying here till last week.
Third, there is frequency, which is elicited by How often…?, as in:
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I like to go frequently, however, in fact I’ve been only three times this year.
Finally, there is the expression of relationship between one time and another,
again a complex notion, and in this case with no role-specific question form.
For example:
f. I was already writing my novel in 1980 and I’m afraid it is still in progress.
g. He had visited his mother already when I saw him yesterday.
3) Process
The semantic relations indicating the process is divided into four subclasses,
such as manner, means, instrument, and agentive.
Example:
a. The student was politely [A1] assessed by the teacher [A2],
impressionistically [A3] by means of interview [A4].
b. The patient was carefully [A1] treated by the nurse [A2],
medically [A3] with a well-tried drug [A4].
In each sentence, A1 indicates manner, A2 indicates agent, A3indicates means
and A4indicates instrument. Furthermore, the three subclasses, such as manner,
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only between means and instrument, it should be noted that manner is not
necessarily always distinguished clearly from them. In principle, the distinction
is clear enough, such as manner is relatively subjective; means and instrument
is objective.
4) Respect
This is much broader and more abstract semantic category than time and place.
Furthermore, it was concerned with the use of a preposition to identify a
relevant point of reference in respect of which the clause concerned derives its
truth value.
For example:
a. So far as travelling facilities are concerned, we have obviously made a
popular decision; but with respect to the date, many people are expressing
dissatisfaction.
b. They are advising me legally. (where the adverbial does not mean
‘lawfully’ or ‘not illegally’, but ‘on point of law’ or ‘ in respect to law’)
On the last example, the respect role is often expressed by means of an adverbial
form which could be used equally to express a different semantic relation.
Moreover, the respect role may interact with another clause element such as it
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5) Contingency
There are some subclasses in this semantic relation, such as:
a. Cause
Example: She died of cancer.
She helped the stranger out of a sense of duty.
b. Reason
Example: He bought the book because of his interest in metaphysics.
c. Purpose
Example: He bought the book so as to study metaphysics.
d. Result
Example: He read the book carefully, so he acquired some knowledge of
metaphysics.
e. Condition
Example: If he reads the book carefully, he will acquire some knowledge
of metaphysics.
f. Concession
Example: Though he didn’t read the book, he acquired some knowledge
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6) Modality
This semantic relation can be divided into three subclasses, such as emphasis,
approximation, and restriction.
For example:
a. She has been enthusiastic about her work. (main sentence)
b. She has certainly been enthusiastic about her work. (emphasis)
c. She has not been enthusiastic at all about her work. (emphasis)
d. She has probably been enthusiastic about her work. (approximation)
e. She has not really been enthusiastic about her work. (approximation)
f. She has been enthusiastic only about her work. (restriction)
g. She alone has been enthusiastic. (restriction)
The truth value or force of the main sentence can be enhanced. On the one hand,
there can be emphasis on the positive or negative poles of the statement, like
the second and third example. On the other hand, the middle ground between
these poles can be indicated by approximation, like the fourth and fifth
example. The last subclass of modality is restriction, especially with a view to
directing focus upon a particular part of the sentence, as in the sixth and seventh
example. Furthermore, the negative particle not serves the function of denying
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7) Degree
There are some subclasses in this semantic relation, such as amplification,
diminution, and measure.
For example:
a. I badly want a drink. (amplification)
b. She is increasingly adding to her work load. (amplification)
c. He does not like playing squash (very) much. (diminution)
d. She helped him a little with his book. (diminution)
e. He likes playing squash more than his sister does. (measure)
f. She had worked sufficiently that day. (measure)
