Prepositions: other meanings
Unusually, the list of related guides to this area comes here at
the beginning (but it is repeated and enlarged at the end for your convenience).
The reason for this is that other guides on this site cover the
central meanings of prepositions in English and the grammatical and
semantic functions of prepositional phrases.
Here's the list:
| Related guides | |
| prepositions of place | for the guides to two specific groups of very common prepositions |
| prepositions of time | |
| prepositional phrases | a guide to the grammatical functions and meanings of prepositional phrases, phrase ordering and more |
| introduction to prepositions | for a simpler guide to the area |
This guide focuses on what other meanings and characteristics
prepositions and prepositional phrases have and will exclude
considerations of time and place.
It is, however, inevitable that some of the content of the guide to
prepositional phrases will be covered here, too.
At the initial stages of learning any language, but especially
English, it is important to get to grips with how prepositional
phrases function to link verbs to places and times and the first two
guides linked above cover those areas.
The third link takes you to a guide which covers the semantic and
grammatical functions of prepositional phrases.
Once learners can handle prepositions of place and time, it is often
necessary to move on to other meanings and functions which are of a
subtler nature.
Too often, this is done on an ad hoc basis with the
meanings dealt with as and when they arise in the context of other
targets in the classroom.
This is a pity because the other meanings of prepositions in English
do fall into recognisable categories, albeit slightly fuzzy ones,
which can be taught.
 |
Issues of classification |
When prepositions are used to link verbs and noun phrases which
do not refer to time and place, it is very difficult to classify
their uses in watertight containers. There is considerable
overlap in meaning and terms such as reason, purpose,
means, agent, cause and motive are
variously interpretable.
For example, in the clause:
I ran for the door
it is clear that the preposition is performing a slightly
different function from the one in
I ran to the door.
In the second case, we have a simple prepositions signifying
direction of movement and such uses are covered elsewhere, but in
the first case, we arguably have the preposition signifying the
purpose of my running, not its direction or destination.
It may be the case that I didn't reach the door at all. Compare, for example:
She ran for help
which, again, cannot be understood as a case of the preposition
signifying direction of movement because there is no sense of where
the help lay or whether she reached it.
Equally, we have an issue with what are ostensibly prepositions
of direction in the contrast between:
She ran to the ball
and
She ran at the ball
because in the second case, there is some doubt whether she
reached the ball at all.
These examples are, naturally, somewhat refined and subtle uses
of prepositions but that should not discourage us from tackling the
issues in the classroom.
In what follows, we will not be taking any particular line in terms
of classification but instead will select those concepts encoded by
prepositions which seem most open to forming compact and
recognisable teaching units.
 |
Issues of translation |
It is not possible, as all teachers of English can testify, to
translate prepositions across languages easily. Many
languages, German for example, will make no distinction at all
between:
She ran for
the ball
and
She ran to
the ball
and learners of those languages will find they confront
significant conceptual barriers.
English is particular rich in prepositions (the
list on this site runs to around 200 of them) and the
distinctions in use between them are sometimes very nuanced.
Other languages, such as French and Greek which have far fewer
prepositions to deal with will subsume meanings which are encoded
with separate words in English under one word. A case in point
is the distinction between over and above which
are rendered in Spanish, Russian, Catalan, German, Czech, Hungarian,
Danish, Malay, Japanese and a host of others by a single word.
Just as many other languages (including Swedish, Serbian, Basque,
Welsh and others) do make a distinction and the concept is, of
course, translatable in other ways in all languages.
Even when a translation is available for a preposition in English
in one sense, it is often the case that a different translation is
called for when the sense shifts so, for example:
I walked
about the town
and
It cost
about $500
both contain the preposition about but the concept is
different in each case.
It is rare for this to be parallelled in other languages and most
will select a different preposition in each case.
The point being made is that translation in a single word or
expression is unpredictable, unreliable, inconsistent and irregular.
If translation fails us, as it often does, our only recourse is to
see how the prepositions are used in the target language and try to
build up a mental picture of what each one means. That is by
no means easy but ignoring the topic certainly doesn't help.
The following is not intended to form a lesson plan, of course, but
each section could, on its own, form the topic of teaching.
 |
Cause |
When we are addressing the concept of why
something occurred, it is attractively simply to suggest that
certain prepositions signify the relationship between cause and
effect in a straightforward way. For example, the prepositions
in the following all link the cause with the outcome:
The train was late
because of the snow
Due to the
snow, the train was late
The train was late on
account of the snow
Owing to
the snow, the train was late
The train was late as a
result of the snow
and so on.
That works well when the preposition serves to link a direct
physical cause with its physical consequence.
However, we also have to consider three other allied concepts in which prepositions work differently and different ones are selected to express the intended meaning:
- Reason
- If we wish to express the reason rather than the cause of
something, we often select different prepositions so, for
example:
I was exhausted from all the work
cannot easily be rendered as:
*I was exhausted because of the work
as we are dealing here not with cause and effect directly but are focused on the reason for a condition.
Equally:
From my research I can state two conclusions
expresses not the effect of the research but the reasons for the ability to state conclusions and cannot be rephrased as:
*Owing to my research I can state two conclusions - Motive
- refers also to psychological causes of actions and these are
not usually encoded in the same way. For example:
I did it for fun
cannot be rendered as:
*I did it because of fun
although it is clear that my motive for doing it was to have some fun.
We can render this with the subordinating conjunction, however, as:
I did it because I wanted to have some fun
and that shows that it is conceptually a cause-effect phenomenon.
Equally:
He works for the money
tells us his motivation for working and is not open to rephrasing as:
He works because of the money
since we are not talking directly about cause and effect. - Negative causality
- There are times when we wish to express a cause negatively and for this, English uses a different set of
prepositional phrases. For example:
The train wouldn't have been late but for the snow
Without the snow, the train would have been on time
Bar his long contribution, the meeting would have finished on time
Save for the work she did, the project would not have been successful
Such expressions are quite rare and the ideas are often rendered with conditional structures such as:
If his contribution hadn't been so long, the meeting would have finished on time.
Some ambiguity may arise with negative causality so, for example:
I didn't come because of the chance that she would be there
may be interpreted either as:
The reason I didn't come was because there was a chance she would be there
or as
The reason I came was not that there was a chance that she would be there.
Only context and intonation (stressing because) will disambiguate the meaning.
 |
Intended destination |
Prepositions of place, in particular direction of movement are
covered in the separate guide. Here, we need to distinguish
between a destination and an intended destination.
There is some overlap (you were warned) with the last category
because motive and causality are allied phenomena to do with
intention.
In this case, the preposition for is most common:
We started for
London
We aimed for
Paris
They set out for
the concert
She left for
America
and so on.
The distinction here is that the destination may not be achieved.
Compare, for example:
He has gone
to Margate
with
He has left
for Margate
in which the first implies strongly that he has reached Margate
but the second only that Margate is his intended destination.
There are two allied concepts which are usually expressed with different prepositions:
- Target
- If we wish to express that someone or something is the
target of an action rather than an intended destination, we can
also use for but the preposition at is also frequent. For
example:
He put down poison for the rats (recipient target)
She made a bed for the dog (recipient target)
He threw the bottle at the car (target)
He fired at the drone (target)
The distinction comes down to whether we see the target as being changed by the event or gaining from it or being adversely affected by it. If the target is changed or benefits, the preposition of choice is for but if the target is not achieved or is an intended target only, the choice falls on at.
In addition, the preposition for may be replaced in the case of ditransitive verbs by the use of an indirect object so:
She made the dog a bed
is a possible rephrasing but with at no such alteration is allowable. We can have:
She threw the book to me
rephrased as:
She threw me the book
and
She cooked dinner for me
cab be rephrased as:
She cooked me dinner
but
She threw the book at me
cannot be rephrased that way. - Achieved destination
- If we want to express that the target has been achieved, the
choice falls on to. For example, compare:
She called to me
which implies that I understood her message but
She shouted at me
which does not. Other verbal process verbs (talk, scream, mutter etc.) operate similarly.
This is the distinction alluded to above between, e.g.:
She ran to the ball (and reached it)
and
She ran at the ball (and probably did not reach it)
 |
Source |
The converse, so to speak, of targets and destinations concerns
sources and for this English is delightfully simple, confining
itself almost wholly to the preposition from.
For example:
She came from
Austria
I'm from
Margate
etc.
An alternative, less commonly used, is out of as in e.g.:
He arrived out of
nowhere
She walked out of
the school
and so on, but the distinction is that this use is purely
directional and does not necessarily imply a source.
Phrases with from are often used to post-modify noun
phrases as in, e.g.:
The woman
from Margate
The animals from
the zoo
etc.
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Agents |
Agents and the passive
The agent in a passive-voice clause is usually introduced with
the preposition by as in, e.g.:
The glass was broken
by the hail
She was invited by
her friend
and so on.
Such clauses can be rendered in the active voice (usually) as:
The hail broke the glass
Her friend invited her
However, there are times when the preposition does not work quite
this way and no active-voice rephrasing is possible. For
example:
She came in
by the back door
They went to work by
car
and in these cases, the sense is not of an agent per se
but of the means by which something was accomplished.
In these examples, both the verbs (come and go)
are intransitive so no possible normal passive-voice interpretation
can be placed on the use of by to introduce an agent.
What it introduces is the means.
Actively, the preposition with is common to link the
action to the agent. For example:
She broke the glass
with a hammer
which can be rendered in the passive as:
The glass was broken
with a hammer
but the hammer is not the agent, it is the means which the
agent used and the full passive-voice equivalent must be:
The glass was broken
with a hammer
by her
In the passive, too, the agent may be linked using with
so we allow:
The carpet was soaked
with the water
The restaurant was filled
with diners
which can both be transformed to active sentences:
The water soaked the carpet
Diners filled the restaurant
but this use is rarer and can also be analysed as a
post-modified adjectival phrase.
A slightly grey area concerns the distinction between with
and by. The former is often analysed as
post-modifying an adjectival phrase and the latter as the way of
linking the agent to the verb in a passive construction.
Compare, for example:
The wedding was followed by a reception party
with
The wedding was followed with a reception
party.
It is difficult to perceive a great difference, if any, between
the sentences but traditionally, followed in the first
example is described as a past participle form of the verb and as an
adjective in the second example.
Agents vs. means
The upshot is that we need to distinguish between means and
agents. Compare, in this respect:
The wall was built
with stones taken from the garden
with
The wall was built by
stones taken from the garden
both of which signify that the stones were the means,
not the agent (because stones don't build walls).
Consider, too:
The truth was revealed
by the email Mary sent
in which by introduces the means, not the agent per se
(who is, in fact, Mary).
Abstract agents
When the agent, so to speak, is an inanimate abstract concept, we
can use by or at interchangeably. For
example:
I was astonished
by her confidence
and
I was astonished
at her confidence
A few other prepositions can also be used with abstract agents:
She is interested
in history
They were concerned about
the possible consequences
which can be rephrased in the active as:
History interests her
The possible consequences concerned them
but these sorts of expressions can alternatively be analysed
as verbs with dependent prepositions.
 |
Supporters and opponents |
There is no obvious connection between against concerning
position or direction of movement as in, e.g.:
I leant
against the wall
She hit the car against
a gatepost
and the use of the same preposition to refer to being in
opposition to something as in, e.g.:
I am
against the idea
but it is surprising how a number of languages, Spanish, Welsh,
Dutch and French among many more, also use the same preposition for
both ideas. Of course, an equal if not greater number of
languages don't do this.
There are few difficulties here to note:
- There is a difference between:
I am for you
and
I am with you
because for implies supporting and with implies accompanying and therefore by extension in solidarity. - The opposite of with in this case cannot be
rendered as without. Usually without is the
simple negative of with so we get:
She did it with difficulty
and
She did it without difficulty
However, in this sense, that is not a possible alternative so:
We are with you on that
is positive and cannot be made negative as:
*We are without you on that - The preposition against is used as the antonym of
both with and for:
I am with him in his opposition to the new road
I am for the new road
I am against him in his opposition to the new road
I am against the new road
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Subjects |
Only two prepositions trouble us here, on and about, but the distinction between them is somewhat subtle and, familiarly, not mirrored in other languages.
- on is the preferred preposition when a formal talk
or speech is concerned and about implies a much less
formal, casual mention of a topic so we get, for example:
He gave a lecture on iguanodons
He talked about his family
Semantically, therefore, about collocates with a range of verbs describing informal language:
chat about
gossip about
row about
argue about
teach about
keep quiet about
and on collocates with more formal verbs:
lecture on
give a speech on
speak on
etc. - Both prepositions are routinely used for the subject matter
of written texts:
a book on / about butterflies
a treatise on / about iguanodons
etc.
Perhaps because of its generally less formal nature, reference to the subject of websites is usually confined to about rather than on:
It's a website about grammar
?It's a website on grammar - The preposition concerning may be used in both ways
although it is always a more formal term.
We kept quiet concerning the wedding
She gave a speech concerning the crime statistics - The preposition of can be used instead of about
but not instead of on:
He talked of his family
*He gave a lecture of family law - On, about and concerning can all
post-modify noun phrases but of cannot function in this
role:
It's a book on physics
I wrote a paper about the geology of the area
He wrote a letter concerning the proposal
*She made a telephone call of the subject
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Ingredients |
Again, only two prepositions, with and out of, are usually concerned here and the differences are distinct.
- with implies that whatever is linked forms only one
ingredient of many:
I built the shed with metal sheets
which suggests that metal sheets were just one of the materials I used to build the shed. - out of implies that the material was the sole ingredient:
I built the shed out of wood
suggests that no other materials were used.
This distinction is not conformed to by all speakers of English. - Usually the choice is with to post-modify noun phrases concerning how
things are made or used:
a house built with brick
a shed filled with junk
but out of it heard in this meaning with the verb make:
a castle made out of sand
although other verbs cannot be used with this preposition:
*a driveway laid out of stone
etc. - The preposition of (without out) is used
when the noun denotes a material of some kind:
a table of mahogany
a sea of mud
a heart of gold
etc.
 |
Similarity and differences |
Two prepositions signal these relationships although there are
prepositions which act as part of an adjective phrase, as in, e.g.:
He is different from his father but similar
to his mother in that respect
All the houses were similar to each other on the estate
The two prepositions are, in fact, only marginally prepositions
in any case as they can both be modified by adverbs in the same way
the adjectives are (and both are, in fact adjectives in other
grammatical environments). The two are exemplified here:
She sounds so
like her sister on the
telephone
Your car, unlike mine, is pretty reliable
Unlike anyone I have ever met before, she enjoyed the bagpipe
music
That looks like a good solution
Unlike their parents in that respect, they saved money
responsibly
etc.
It is perfectly arguable that the word unlike is more
adjectival than prepositional but the role of like in
linking subjects to complements in copular verb clauses is
undeniably prepositional.
We are dealing with the phenomenon of gradience here (i.e., the
difficulty in confidently assigning a lexeme to a particular word
class), to which there
is a guide, linked below.
 |
Concession |
Four prepositions are used in English to signify a concession of some kind and they are exemplified here:
- The preposition in spite of is the most common:
I went out in spite of the rain
In spite of the comments made, I am unconvinced - The preposition despite performs the same function
and can be used interchangeably (although it is slightly more
formal):
I went out despite the rain
Despite the comments made, I am unconvinced - The preposition for all is slightly unusual in
containing a pre-determiner, all, which must be used:
She loved him for all his faults
For all her claims to know the truth, she was wrong
This use is generally informal. - The preposition notwithstanding is the most formal
of all but it performs exactly the same function:
Notwithstanding the rain, I went out
I am unconvinced notwithstanding the comments made
It is often used in legal documents.
Because there is such a limited range of prepositions performing this concessive function, it makes a neat, self-contained teaching unit.
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Exceptions |
A number of closely related prepositions signify an exclusion of some kind from what has been said or written. For example:
- Except for / With the exception of / Excepting the rain, it was a good day out
- Apart from seeing my mother, I enjoyed the trip to the theatre
- Bar / Barring the price, I was happy with the work
- Everyone was happy and contented except / but me
- Aside from the rain, we had a good day out
The first three sentences contain prepositions which are generally interchangeable and perform the same semantic and grammatical functions. There are differences of style, with bar, barring and with the exception of being somewhat more formal.
The two prepositions in example 4, but and except are unusual syntactically:
- Neither occurs initially in a clause so:
*Except me everyone was happy and content
*But me, everyone was happy and content
are not possible. - Both these prepositions occur in post-modifying phrases only
so we cannot have:
*It was a good day out except the rain
or
*It was a good day out but the rain
but we do allow
Everything was fine but / except the weather - These two prepositions can be followed by a bare or to-infinitive,
unlike most prepositions which are followed by an -ing
form or gerund as it is sometimes called. For example:
There was nothing for it but to start again
I had no choice except to ask for help
I did all you asked but wash the car
He did nothing except complain - Both prepositions routinely occur only with the no-,
any- and every-series of determiners and pronouns
and with all so, for example, we allow:
He went anywhere but where he was told to go
She had nobody except John to talk to
She wanted everything except the responsibility
They did everything but the painting
All except the painting was perfect - The prepositions do not occur with the some- series
of determiners and pronouns or with many so we do not
allow:
*There were many people but three at the party
*Many except Peter were happy
*Somebody except Paul can do the work
*They did something except the hard work
Sentences 2. and 5. contain rather unusual words. When
aside forms part of a phrase in aside from it is
prepositional and means except for. The word
apart performs a similar function paired with from and
also means except for, as in:
He said nothing apart from a few words
He said nothing aside from a few words
However, both these words can be used alone, without being
paired with from, as postpositions as in, e.g.:
A few words apart, he said nothing
A few words aside, he said nothing
The only other postposition in common use is ago
which also follows rather than precedes its noun phrase.
The words away, hence, notwithstanding, on, over, short and through
can also be used as postpositions. See the guide to
prepositional phrases for examples of their use.
There is an odd combination of all + but to
mean very nearly as in, e.g.:
She all but
fainted when she saw the bill.
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Marginal prepositions |
Some words, often verbs, can act as prepositions but are often categorised as something else (generally as non-finite verbs or even adjectives). Here are some examples:
- Following my instinct, I tried changing the switch
- Regarding the information you gave, I made my decision
- We'll have to wait, pending the outcome of the meeting.
- Given the fact that he is so late, I think we should start.
- Including / Excluding the money we spent on petrol, the trip was cheap.
- Six minus / plus / times / over three is ....
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Pronunciation |
Finally, we should note that prepositions are function words and,
like all function word groups, many are subject to weakening in
pronunciation. The weak forms of place and time prepositions
are listed in the guides to those areas and will occur when the
prepositions are not performing those two functions, too.
See the links below for more.
There's a short matching task on this. Click here to do it.
| Related guides | |
| prepositions of place | for the guides to two specific groups of very common prepositions |
| prepositions of time | |
| prepositional phrases | a guide to the grammatical functions and meanings of prepositional phrases, phrase ordering and more |
| introduction to prepositions | for a simpler guide to the area |
| multi-word verbs | for the section of that guide which considers prepositional verbs (also known as verbs with dependent prepositions) |
| gradience | for the guide which considers how some words may slide between classes and prepositions, such as like and since, are good examples |
| cause and effect | for a guide to how the concepts are linked functionally in English |