Rationale of the study
Learning foreign language is getting more and more important in our society nowadays When we know a foreign language, we will understand and
Prepositions, though fewer in number compared to nouns and verbs, are crucial for constructing correct sentences Understanding and using them accurately can be challenging Throughout my four years of studying English, I, along with many other students, have often found ourselves confused about the proper use of prepositions.
In my exploration of books and documents about prepositions, I discovered various types, with a particular interest in English prepositions of time These prepositions play a crucial role in sentence construction, facilitating grammatical and semantic coherence among elements that denote time, periods, and durations of events Consequently, I chose to focus on prepositions of time for my B.A graduation paper.
Aims of the study
Give an overview on English prepositions and their subclasses In particular, prepositions of time
Help the learners at intermediate level understand the difference between preposition of time „when‟ and time „duration‟ in English
Identify problems of English foreign language learners when using prepositions of time
Give suggested solutions to the problems of English language learners when using prepositions of time
Preposition of time is a comparatively wide part in English preposition I am fully aware that my graduation paper cannot cover all aspects of prepositions in
This article explores the concept of English prepositions, specifically focusing on prepositions of time It provides an overview of their significance, analyzes their various dimensions, and addresses common challenges encountered when using them Additionally, the article offers practical solutions to these issues, enhancing the reader's understanding and application of prepositions of time in English.
To achieve the study's objectives, I diligently gathered relevant materials from reference books, websites, and dictionaries This research is grounded in linguistic analysis and contrasts, drawing on my four years of experience studying at Hai Phong Private University Additionally, discussions with classmates and guidance from my supervisor have significantly contributed to the development of my paper.
My graduation paper is divided into three parts:
The first part is introduction of the paper consisting of the rationale, the aims, the scope, the method, the design of the study
The article is structured into three main chapters focusing on the development of prepositions Chapter one provides a theoretical background on English prepositions and prepositional phrases Chapter two investigates the prepositions of time, exploring concepts such as "when" and "duration," along with an analysis of their various types Chapter three addresses the challenges faced by English language learners in using prepositions of time and offers potential solutions The conclusion summarizes the key discussions from the previous chapters, effectively wrapping up the study.
PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT Chapter I: Theoretical Background I.1 Overview on English preposition
I.1.1 Definition of preposition in English
A preposition is traditionally defined in the following ways:
“A preposition is a word that indicates a relation between the noun or pronoun it governs and another word which may be a verb, an adjective or another noun or pronoun” ( Curme, 1935: 87)
(b) She was depends on us
(c) Her opinion of us improved
In the examples provided, the prepositions "against," "on," and "of" illustrate their grammatical roles: "against" connects to the verb "voted," "on" establishes a relationship between the adjective "dependent" and the pronoun "us," while "of" links the noun "opinion" to the pronoun "us."
The term "indicating a relationship" lacks clarity and requires significant refinement to effectively differentiate prepositions from other linguistic elements such as verbs and coordinating conjunctions For instance, both verbs like "loves" in "Ed loves Kim" and conjunctions like "and" in "Kim arrived" can also connect noun phrases (NPs).
Prepositions play a crucial role in sentence structure, yet standard grammar definitions often describe them vaguely as words that indicate the relationship between nouns or pronouns and other words in a sentence.
The key word in this definition is „relation‟ Relations signaled prepositions as just noted, are both grammatical ( e.g, modifier of noun or verb) and semantic
(e.g, recipient, benefactive) This double role of prepositions will often provide important clues to the structure sentences
A preposition is followed by a "noun" It is never followed by a verb
By "noun" we include: noun (dog, money, love) proper noun (name) (Bangkok, Mary) pronoun (you, him, us) noun group (my first job) gerund (swimming)
A preposition cannot directly precede a verb; instead, it must be followed by the gerund form of the verb, which is the "-ing" form For example, in the sentence "She saved money by giving up cigarettes," the phrase "giving up" illustrates the correct usage of a gerund following a preposition.
However, prepositions may also come after nouns e.g: in questions like ‘What are they looking for?
Different prepositions can have very similar uses e.g: in the morning, on Monday morning
Many nouns, verbs and adjectives are normally used with particular prepositions e.g the reason for, arrive at, angry with, on a bus
In English prepositions can come at the end of clauses, especially in an informal style e.g What are you thinking about?
You are just the person I was looking for
She’s not very to talk to
The food is on the table
Tara is looking for you
The letter is under your blue book
Pascal is used to English people
She isn't used to working
I.1.3 Classification of preposition in English
There are two ways to classify preposition:
I.1.3.1 Classification according to compositional types:
Common English prepositions like "at," "in," and "for" are simple, consisting of a single word In contrast, prepositions that are made up of multiple words are known as complex or multi-word prepositions Below is a detailed list of simple prepositions.
Aboard As By On (upon) Round
About At Despite Opposite Since
Above Atop Down Out Than
Across Before During Outside Through
After Behind For Out with Throughout
Against Below From Over To
Along Beneath In Past Toward
Alongside Beside Inside Per Under
Amid(st) Besides Minus Plus Underneath
Among(st) Between Notwithstanding Re Until (till)
Apropos(of) Beyond Of Round Up
Around But Off Since via
Table 1: Simple (Single-word) prepositions
Certain words function similarly to prepositions, despite having connections to verbs or adjectives These include terms such as except, excepting, bar, barring, concerning, considering, following, including, granted, pending, less, like, near, save, unlike, and worth.
(2)(a) He gave us all bar (= except) three of sketches
(b) Concerning all these disadvantages, his performance was quite good
Most complex prepositions are placeable, according to their form, into one of three categories:
Adverb + prep: along with, apart from, aside from, as for, as to, away from, into, off of, on to, (or onto), out of, together with, up to, etc
Verb/Adjective/conjunction/etc + Prep: except for, owing to, due to, but for, because of, etc
Prep 1 + noun + Prep 2: by mean of, in comparison with, on account of, with regard to, in consequence of, etc
This category may be further subdivided according to which prepositions function as Prep1 and Prep 2
In various contexts, phrases such as "in case of" and "in charge of" indicate responsibility or contingency "In view of" and "in light of" suggest consideration of circumstances, while "in need of" and "in search of" highlight a desire or necessity for something Expressions like "in spite of" and "in face of" convey resilience against challenges, whereas "in favor of" and "in lieu of" imply preference or substitution Additionally, "in aid of" and "in quest of" reflect support and pursuit, respectively, while "in respect of" denotes a relationship to a particular matter These phrases enrich communication by providing clarity and context.
In + Noun + with: in connection with, in contact with, in common with, in line with, etc
By + Noun + of: by means of, by way of, by virtue of, by dint of, etc
On + Noun + of: on account of, on behalf of, on top of, on pain of, etc
Other types: at variance with, in exchange for, in return for, in addition to, in relation to, etc
Here the table list of complex prepositions:
Along with Apart from Aside from As for
As to Away from According to By mean of
By way of By dint of By reason of By virtue of
In case of In front of In relation to In charge of
In view of In need of In spite of In front of
In favor of In place of In common with In quest of
In respect of In search of In consequence of In connection with
In contact with In aid of In line with In exchange for
In addition to In lieu of In to At variance
Off of On to Out of Owning to
On account of On behalf of On top of On pain of
Except for But for Because of With regard to……
I.1.3.2 Classification according to the semantic relations
This chapter focuses on the survey of prepositional meanings, beginning with an exploration of time and place relations Following this, a brief examination of other relationships, including "goal" and "cause," will be presented.
“purpose”…So varied are prepositional meanings that no more than a presentation of the most notable semantic similarities and contrasts can be attempt here
Prepositions of time usually occur as adjuncts or post modifiers, but it can occasionally be itself the complement of a temporal preposition as in:
(3)(a) We camped there for the summer
(b) I haven’t seen him in years
Prepositions of time can be categorized into three main subclasses: those indicating a specific point in time, such as "at," "in," and "on"; those that denote duration, including "since," "for," "till," "until," "during," and "up to"; and those that express relationships of time, like "before," "after," and "between" as well as "from" to.
Prepositions of place serve as adjuncts, linking events or states of affairs to specific locations, or as post-modifiers, associating objects with their locations Additionally, they can function as obligatory predicative adjuncts following the verb "be."
(4) (a) My car is at the cottage
(b) Tom went to the door
Some prominent prepositions of place are: to, at, from, away from, on(to), on, off, (in)to, in, out of, etc
Prepositions of place are categorized into two main groups: those that indicate position, such as "at," "in," and "on," and those that indicate direction, which often accompany movement verbs like "to" and "into." These directional prepositions are commonly used with action verbs, including "go," "walk," and "crush."
(5) (a) Adam went to the station to meet Sheila
(b) He crashes into the fence
Prepositions of cause or reason
There are prepositions expressing either the material cause or the psycological cause for a happening:
(6)(a) Because of the drought, the price of bread was high that year (b) On account of his wide experience, he was made chairman
Other prepositions of cause or reason include: for, from, due to, owing to, etc
Phrase of cause and reason answer the question “Why”
Prepositions of purpose or intended destination
Let us consider the following examples:
(b) He’ll do anything for money
The use of "for" conveys a sense of "purpose," as demonstrated in phrases like "for money," which can be paraphrased as "in order to gain money." This highlights the underlying intention behind the expression, emphasizing the goal or aim associated with the action.
Phrases of purpose or destination answer the questions „Why….?‟,
„What…for?‟, „Where…for?‟, „Who….for?‟
They frequently occur as post-modifiers as well as adverbials:
The scenery for the play, etc
Preposition of recipient, goal, target
Design of the study
My graduation paper is divided into three parts:
The first part is introduction of the paper consisting of the rationale, the aims, the scope, the method, the design of the study
The article is structured into three chapters focusing on the development of English prepositions Chapter one provides a theoretical background on prepositions and prepositional phrases Chapter two explores prepositions of time, detailing the concepts of "when" and "duration," along with an analysis of their various dimensions Chapter three addresses the challenges faced by English language learners in using prepositions of time and offers potential solutions The conclusion summarizes the key discussions from the previous chapters, effectively wrapping up the study.