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English Prepositions: Their Meanings and Uses

Online ISBN:
9780191925757
Print ISBN:
9780198868682
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

English Prepositions: Their Meanings and Uses

R. M. W. Dixon
R. M. W. Dixon

Adjunct Professor

Adjunct Professor and Deputy Director of the Language and Culture Research Centre, James Cook University
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Published online:
17 February 2022
Published in print:
3 November 2021
Online ISBN:
9780191925757
Print ISBN:
9780198868682
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

This book provides an account of 50 most common prepositions in English. It shows the semantic range for each preposition through a scheme of linked senses that are related to the grammatical frameworks in which they are used. For each preposition there is an account of its genetic origin and shifts of form and meaning over the centuries. The book provides an instructive way to appreciate the meanings of prepositions by studying instances where two prepositions may be used in the same frame with meanings that show some similarity but also a significant difference, such as the factory is shut up vs the factory has been shut down. The exposition is illustrated by examples taken from standard corpora, which includes several hundred examples of use for each preposition, fully illustrating its structural and semantic scope.

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