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Grammar &
Editing Help
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Prepositions & Other Collocations
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Collocations, part 1 Collocations are pairs of words or groups of words that occur
together simply because members of a speech community agree that they should.
Or, to put it another way, we hear one word so often in combination with
another word that that, if it is used with some other word, it sounds
nonstandard. A couple of examples are
when something comes to mind and when you keep something in
mind. If you mix them up and say or write, for example “keep to mind” or “come
in mind,” native speakers of English will recognize this as nonstandard or
incorrect. Collocations are often
associated with the idea of “word partnerships.” When you begin top learn a
new word, there will eventually be many properties you have to associate with
that word: its spelling, its pronunciation, what it means, maybe whether it
is formal or informal, and maybe its partnerships with other words or types
of phrase--which other words it can be correctly combined with. Here are a few different types of word partnerships:
Links: Collocations with make and
do (1) Collocations with make and do
(2) Cook’s List of Prepositions
Prepositions
and Phrasal Verbs
Verb +
Preposition Dictionary
Phrasal
Verb Dictionary
Prepositions, part 1
What is a
preposition? A preposition is usually
a little word, like in, on, at, or of. Many of them are among
the commonest words in the language, and were probably among the first
English words you learned. Most
phrases that specify time, place, or direction begin with prepositions: in the morning on the shelf across the street A preposition is always completed
with a noun, noun clause, or gerund (its complement), which usually
comes right after the preposition. I’m going to the
store. We talked about how
we might rent an apartment together. Can you please keep that
dog from barking? There are some
exceptions to the above rule. A preposition in an infinitival clause, adjective
clause (relative clause) or noun clause might not be followed by its complement.
List of
prepositions
It is not difficult to
memorize the complete set of English prepositions. It is a closed set, which
means that we don’t keep creating and discovering new ones (as is the case
with nouns, verbs, and adjectives, for example). And there are not too many
of them. Here is the complete
list: [1] about above across after against along alongside amid amidst among amongst around at as before behind below beneath beside besides between betwixt beyond by down during except for from in inside into like near nearby of off on onto out outside over past since through throughout till to toward towards under underneath until up upon upside (slang) with within without Links:
Cook’s List of Prepositions
Prepositions
and Phrasal Verbs
Wrong preposition
(collocation with a following noun) Links: Prepositions
and Phrasal Verbs
Prepositions, part 3Wrong preposition
(collocation with a preceding verb, adjective, adverb, or noun) Links: Prepositions
and Phrasal Verbs
Verb +
Preposition Dictionary
Back to top
Missing preposition Links: Prepositions
and Phrasal Verbs
Verb +
Preposition Dictionary
Back to top
Preposition used with
or instead of a subordinator Links: Prepositions
and Phrasal Verbs
Verb +
Preposition Dictionary
Back to top
Delete a preposition before
direct or indirect object Links: Prepositions
and Phrasal Verbs
Verb +
Preposition Dictionary
Back to top
Periphrastic possessive versus possessive noun Links: Prepositions
and Phrasal Verbs
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