Collins Cobuild English Grammar (133 page)

there

underneath

upstairs

Prepositional phrases after nouns

6.100
  As well as being used after verbs, prepositional phrases can be used after nouns to give information about place.

The muscles
below Peter’s knees
were beginning to ache a little.
The chestnut trees
in the back garden
were a blazing orange.
They stood and watched the boats
on the river
.
…the clock
in her bedroom
.
…the low wall
round the garden
.
…the black shapeless masses
to the left and right of the road
.

6.101
  Prepositional phrases can be added after roads, routes, and so on, to specify them by indicating their destination or direction.

…
the main road from Paris to Marseilles
.
…
the road between the camp and the hospital
.
…
the road through the canyon
.

Similarly, doors, entrances, and so on can be specified by adding prepositional phrases indicating where you get to by going through them.

He opened
the door to his room
.
…at
the entrance to the library
.

Prepositional phrases are also used after nouns to say where someone or something comes from.

…a veterinary officer
from Singapore
.
…an engineer
from Hertfordshire
.

Other uses of prepositional phrases

6.102
  Prepositions are often used to talk about things other than place as well, for example to talk about a time, a way of doing something, or a feeling or quality. The following paragraphs from
6.103
to
6.110
describe these uses briefly, and give cross references to fuller explanations elsewhere.

The following prepositions are only or mainly used to indicate things other than place:

after

as

despite

during

except

for

like

of

since

until

referring to time

6.103
  Although the main use of prepositional phrases is to talk about position or direction, they are also used to refer to time.

I’ll see you
on Monday
.
They are expecting to announce the sale
within the next few days
.

The use of prepositions to talk about time is explained in paragraphs
4.100
to
4.108
.

referring to the way something is done

6.104
  Prepositional phrases are also used to say something more about the way in which an action was performed, or the way in which it should be done.

‘Oh yes,’ Etta sneered
in an offensive way
.
A bird can change direction
by dipping one wing and lifting the other
.
He brushed back his hair
with his hand
.

Prepositional phrases such as
on foot
or
by bus
can be used to talk about a method of travelling.

I usually go to work
on foot
.
I travelled home
by bus
.

The use of adverbs to talk about the way things are done is explained in the section beginning at paragraph
6.36
.

6.105
  You can also use prepositional phrases to give more information about the feelings of the person performing the action.

Fanny saw
with amazement
that the letter was addressed to herself.

like
and
as
in comparison

6.106
  You can use the preposition
like
to show that someone or something behaves in a similar way to someone or something else.

She treated me
like a servant
.
She shuffled
like an old lady
.

There is more information about comparison in general in the section beginning at paragraph
2.103
.

6.107
  You can also use
like
and
as
to say that someone or something is treated in a similar way to someone or something else. The noun phrase after
like
or
as
describes the person or thing affected by the action, not the person or thing doing the action.

My parents dressed me
like a little doll
.
Their parents continue to treat them
as children
.
She treated her
more like a daughter than a companion
.

You can also use expressions such as
like this
or
like that
to refer to a particular manner of doing something.

If you’re going to behave
like this
, the best thing you can do is to go back to bed.
How dare you speak to me
like that
?

The use of
like
and
as
in subordinate clauses is explained in paragraphs
8.78
to
8.80
.

6.108
  You can say that one way of doing something has as much of a quality as another way of doing something, by using
as
followed by an adverb followed by another
as
. The second
as
is followed by a noun phrase, a pronoun, an adverbial, or a clause.

The company has not grown
as quickly as many of its rivals
.
She wanted someone to talk to
as badly as I did
.

circumstances of an action

6.109
  You use prepositional phrases to say something about the circumstances of an action.

‘No,’ she said
with a defiant look
.
…struggling to establish democracy
under adverse conditions
.

reason, cause, or purpose

6.110
  Prepositional phrases can also be used to say something about the reason for an action, or the cause or purpose of it.

In 1923, the Prime Minister resigned
because of ill health
.
He was dying
of pneumonia
.

As
is used to show the function or purpose of something.

He worked
as a truck driver
.
During the war they used the theatre
as a warehouse
.

Prepositions used with verbs

in phrasal verbs

6.111
  Some verbs always have a prepositional phrase after them in particular meanings. They are called
phrasal verbs
, and information about them can be found in paragraphs
3.83
to
3.116
.

She
sailed through
her exams.
What are you
getting at
?

verbs with optional prepositional phrases

6.112
  Some verbs can have a prepositional phrase instead of a direct object. For more information on these verbs, see paragraph
3.10
.

The Polish Army fought the Germans for nearly five weeks.
She was fighting
against history
.
We climbed the mountain.
I climbed
up the tree
.

indirect objects of verbs with two objects

6.113
  A prepositional phrase is used as an indirect object when the indirect object comes after the direct object.

For information on verbs with two objects, see paragraphs
3.73
to
3.82
.

If the action described by the verb involves the transfer of something from one person or thing to another, the preposition
to
is used.

I passed the letter
to my husband
.
The recovered animals will be given
to zoos
.

If the action involves a person doing something for the benefit of another person, the preposition
for
is used.

She left a note
for her
on the table.

with reciprocal verbs

6.114
  Some
reciprocal verbs
require a prepositional phrase when a second noun phrase is mentioned.

For information on reciprocal verbs, see paragraphs
3.68
to
3.72
.

Our return coincided
with the arrival of bad weather
.
She has refused to cooperate
with investigators
.

with passive verbs

6.115
  Prepositional phrases are used after verbs in the
passive
.

Ninety men were cut off
by storms
.
Moisture is drawn out
with salt
.

The use of prepositional phrases after passive verbs is explained in paragraphs
9.14
to
9.16
.

position of prepositional phrases and adverbs after verbs

6.116
  When verbs are followed by prepositional phrases and adverbs, a long prepositional phrase is usually placed after the adverb.

He listened calmly
to the report of his aides
.

A short prepositional phrase can come before or after the adverb.

The women shouted
at me
savagely.
Miss Burns looked calmly
at Marianne
.

Prepositional phrases after nouns and adjectives

6.117
  Prepositional phrases are sometimes used after nouns and adjectives to describe the subject or object of a clause rather than the manner of an action or situation. See the section beginning at paragraph
2.275
for more information.

…a girl
in a dark grey dress
.
…a man
with a quick temper
.

particular prepositions after nouns and adjectives

6.118
  Particular prepositions are used after some nouns and adjectives when you are adding information. See paragraphs
2.45
to
2.50
and
2.287
to
2.290
.