VI

DETERMINERS AND PREPOSITION

Determiners and prepositions are two small classes of words which mostly
related to the study of syntax.

1. Determiners
A determiner is a word that patterns with a noun. It precedes the noun and serves
as a signal that a noun is soon to follow, very much as the presence of an auxiliary
announces that a verb is coming.
Example: The gymnasium
If the noun has modifiers, the determiner precedes them, too.
Examples: The old gymnasium
The old, red-brick gymnasium
The absence of a determiner to signal a following noun will sometimes produce
ambiguity. Here is a case from a newspaper headline:
Union demands increase.
We do not know how to interpret increase because a signal is absent. An auxiliary
would show that it is a verb:
Union demands will increase.
And a determiner would indicate that it is a noun.
Union demands an increase.
The following is a partial list of determiners:

a/an my this
the our that
her their these
his your those
its John’s (any possessive of name)

Six of these determiners may also be used in place of a noun, that is, a noun substitutes.
Examples: That will be enough.

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 I prefer Elizabeth’s.
What can one do with old cars like these?
I can’t tell Jim’s tennis shoes from his.

2. Preposition
Prepositions are words like of, in, and to which are usually followed by a noun,
personal pronoun, or noun-substitute called the object of the preposition.
Examples: George was tired of them.
George sat between the two deans.
He liked the filling in the sandwich.
English has a small group of prepositions, of which the most frequently used ones are
at, by, for, from, in, of, on, to, and with. Those in greatest use are, in order of frequency,
of, in, and to. These one-syllable prepositions have weak or third stress in their
common uses.
Examples: He came with the girl.
That is the girl with whom he came.
That is the girl whom he came with.
That is the girl he came with.
In the passive construction, forms with be plus a past participle, the preposition
ends the structure, has no object, and takes third stress.

Examples: The clerk was spoken to.

The speaker was laughed at.

Monosyllabic prepositions now and then take a primary stress instead of a weak
or third stress. Compare:

I came with her. I came with her.

There was no courage in him. There was no courage in him.

Such changes of stress are not predictable.

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 Among our prepositions are a number of two-syllable ones, such as about, above,
after, against, among, before, behind, below, beneath, between, despite, except, inside,
into, beyond, outside, under, upon. These are different from the one-syllable
prepositions in their stress behavior. You will find this out for yourself in the next
exercise.
Some of these words we have been dealing with can be either preposition or
adverbials. Compare:

Preposition: She looked up the stairs.

Adverbials: She looked up.
Preposition: They went inside the house.
Adverbials: They went inside.

In addition to the prepositions already mentioned, there is in English a group of –

ing prepositions which have a verb as a stem. Here are some of the more common:
assuming, beginning, barring, concerning, considering, during, following, including,
pending, regarding, succeeding.

Examples: Considering your loss, the bill will not be sent.

Assuming the accuracy of the report, action must be taken at once.
We will delay the paper, pending arrival of the contract.

The final group is composed of compound prepositions. These are relatively

numerous and of various types. Often it is difficult to say whether a word group should
be considered a preposition or not. Here is a short list of two types.

Two-Part With Noun

together with on account of
contrary with in spite of
ahead of with regard to
due to in advance of
apart from in front of

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 up to on behalf of
out of in place of
away from in lieu of
up at in addition to
as for by way of
inside of in comparison with
aside from in reference to
as concerns with respect to
because of in event of
owing to for the sake of
instead of by dint of
in case of
by means of

Those in the first column, it is simplest to call compound prepositions. In the

second column, we seem to have either a compound preposition or two successive
preposition phrases (when an object is added after the last word). One argument for
calling them compound prepositions is that we normally do not place modifiers before
the noun following the first preposition, as we can do with ordinary prepositional
phrases. For example, in with respect to, the word respect is not modified.

EXERCISE 1
In the blanks write a D (determiner) or NS (noun-substitute) to show the category of
the italicized word.
1. Do you like my new hat? ........................
2. Do you like this? ........................
3. Have you a match? ........................
4. These fellows are my new teammates. ........................
5. These are my new teammates. ........................
6. We did not disturb George’s room. ........................
7. Its roots grew under the pavement. ........................
8. Have you seen our formals? ........................

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 9. This cold is invigorating. ........................
10. Smith’s house is for sale. ........................
11. His is the best plan. ........................
12. Where are the red phlox you planted? ........................
13. That deep pool is a good place for trout ….....................
14. Jack has an interest in grinding rocks. ........................
15. Your slip is showing. ........................

EXCERCISE 2
Underline the preposition and show by a stress mark how you pronounce it. Underline
the object twice. If there is no object, write NO in the blank after the sentence.

1. The car stopped at the station. ........................

2. He came from the farm. ........................
3. This is the farm he came from. ........................
4. These roses are for you. ........................
5. The chimpanzee in the cage was yawning. ........................
6. The lad stood on a barrel. ........................
7. The plumber washed in the basin. ........................
8. This basin has been washed in. ........................
9. He objected to the last paragraph. ........................
10. The part he objected to was
the last paragraph. ........................

EXERCISE 3
Underline the prepositions once and the adverbials twice. Put the proper stress marks
on these words.
1. The swimmers waited below.
2. The swimmers waited below the dam.
3. She liked to sit near.
4. She sat near the window.
5. The paint bucket fell off the porch.

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 6. The paint bucket fell off.
7. The refreshments came after.
8. The refreshments came after the program.
9. I haven’t seen him since.
10. I haven’t seen him since yesterday.

EXERCISE 4
Underline the –ing prepositions once and the –ing verbs twice.
1. Barring accidents, the picnic will begin at eleven.
2. There will be a smoker following dinner.
3. She is only following her orders after all.
4. May I have a conference regarding my examination?
5. He was regarding the newcomer with curiosity.
6. Considering the time, we had better stop now.
7. The entire squad, including the water boy, will make the trip.
8. I am including damage to my window in the bill.
9. The store will be closed weekends, beginning Saturday.
10. He was vague concerning the details.

EXERCISE 5
Underline the compound prepositions.
1. We arrived ahead of time.
2. The game was called on account of rain.
3. The oldest daughter is up at the camp.
4. Contrary to our expectations, the movie was a delightful spoof.
5. The board had a meeting with reference to the new building.
6. I want to thank you on behalf of these refugees.
7. They served rice instead of potatoes.
8. They served rice in lieu of potatoes.
9. In spite of her protestations, Harriet was persuaded to join the guild.
10. The foreman received a letter with respect to alleged violations.