preposition

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“
But I deny that a preposition is a "sure sign of a substantive."

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Definitions (10)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun A word or phrase placed typically before a substantive and indicating the relation of that substantive to a verb, an adjective, or another substantive, as English at, by, with, from, and in regard to.
  2. usage note
    It was John Dryden who first promulgated the doctrine that a preposition may not be used at the end of a sentence, probably on the basis of a specious analogy to Latin. Grammarians in the 18th century refined the doctrine, and the rule has since become one of the most venerated maxims of schoolroom grammar. But sentences ending with prepositions can be found in the works of most of the great writers since the Renaissance. English syntax does allow for final placement of the preposition, as in We have much to be thankful for or I asked her which course she had signed up for. Efforts to rewrite such sentences to place the preposition elsewhere can have stilted and even comical results, as Winston Churchill demonstrated when he objected to the doctrine by saying "This is the sort of English up with which I cannot put.” · Sometimes sentences that end with adverbs, such as I don't know where she will end up or It's the most curious book I've ever run across, are mistakenly thought to end in prepositions. One can tell that up and across are adverbs here, not prepositions, by the ungrammaticality of I don't know up where she will end and It's the most curious book across which I have ever run. It has never been suggested that it is incorrect to end a sentence with an adverb.
  3. transitive verb To position or place in position in advance: artillery that was prepositioned at strategic points in the desert.

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Examples (50)

  • But even to my ear, whom sounds correct only when actually following a preposition - merely being the object of a preposition isn't enough anymore. —  Assistant Village Idiot
  • With verbs of motion, \ "into\" and \ "in\" are interchangeable except when the preposition is the last word or occurs directly before an adverbial of time, manner, or frequency. www. upcatreview.com —  Recently Uploaded Slideshows
  • The choice of the preposition which is to produce this perfective action depends upon conditions which vary with the meaning of the verbal root. —  Ancient Hebrew Poetry
  • Of course, the preposition is historically the same word as the participle, but it's drifted away from it to a different (more grammatical / functional) part-of-speech -- that is to say, it has undergone grammaticali {s / z} ation. —  separated by a common language
  • (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.) —  Happy Catholic
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English preposicioun, from Old French preposicion, from Latin praepositiō, praepositiōn-, a putting before, preposition (translation of Greek prothesis), from praepositus, past participle of praepōnere, to put in front : prae-, pre- + pōnere, to put; see apo- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Middle English preposicion, from Old French preposition, French préposition = Spanish preposicion = Portuguese preposição = Italian preposizione, from Latin præpositio(n-), a placing before, in grammar (translating Greek πρόθεσις) a preposition, from præponere, past participle præpositus, set before, place first, from præ, before, + ponere, set, place: see position. Cf. prepose.
 

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/prɛpəˈzɪʃən/
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