Chapter 12 Spatial, Temporal and Other Relationships (Explanatory material)

• 12.57.1 The most commonly used prepositions are those of one word, such as at, as, about, by  for, from, in, of, to, with. Some words can be used as prepositions and as adverbs. Identify the use of the italicised word as a preposition or an adverb.
• 12.57.1 (2) ! Brain-teaser:  Why is it more natural to say ‘The castle stands on top of a hill’ rather than ‘The hill stands under a castle’?
• 12.58.1 Identify the function of the italicised PP as modifier, Complement or Adjunct in a clause or as a conjunction.
• 12.58.2 Prepositions in English are ‘grammaticised’, or ‘bound’, if they are determined by a verb, noun or adjective. They do not have a full lexical meaning and are not in open choice with other prepositions. (cf. 53.1.3)
• 12.58.3 Fill in the blanks with an appropriate preposition.
• 12.58.4 ‘Lexical’ or ‘free’ prepositions have a full lexical meaning, and are more numerous than the ‘bound’ type. Some prepositions can function as either bound or free. When used as ‘free’, a preposition is in open choice with other prepositions, in accordance with the user’s intention: The dog lay on the rug/before the fire/in its basket/close to the hearth/under the bench, etc. Insert a suitable preposition of movement or position from the options offered.
• 12.58.5 Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions from the list (against, despite/in spite of, down, for, from, of, off, onto, over, up, to, towards, with).
• 12.58.5(2) ! Brain-teaser: Why do we say ‘They sailed to New York on a Cunard liner’, but ‘Let’s go for a row in a rowing-boat’?
• 12.59.1 Say which of the following cognitive patterns is symbolised by the preposition in the following sentences:  (i) a point in space or time, (ii) containment, (iii) in contact with and supported by a surface, (iv) verticality, (v) pervasiveness.
• 12.59.2 Say which of the following prepositions use the cognitive patterns of source, manner, path, passage or goal, within the sentence given. Figure and Ground may also be present.
• 12.59.3 Paraphrase the metaphorical meanings deriving from the image schema ‘exit from a container’ and its extensions.