PREPOSITIONS

  • Prepositions govern and often precede a noun or pronoun.
  • A preposition expresses a relation to another word or element.

article + noun + OF

Here are the results from the iWeb corpus for: _A _NN of 1 A LOT OF 3787315 A2 2 THE END OF 1984621 Everybody chokes sometimes. It‘s not the end of the world. listen 3 A NUMBER OF 1464260 I had a very good one for a number of years, thank you. listen 4 THE NUMBER OF 1194874 5 THE REST OF 1102466 6 A COUPLE OF 1090076

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noun + preposition + MIND

Here are the search results in the iWeb corpus for: _NN _I mind 1 PEACE OF MIND 92742 C2 “Peace of mind” is a noun phrase that means a feeling of being safe or protected, or a mental state of calmness or tranquility. For example: And it‘s peace of mind for me, you know? listen 2 STATE OF MIND 30565 It is my opinion that  Senior Chief Kelly is

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OF + determiner + noun

A search in the NOW corpus for: of _D _NN 1 OF THIS YEAR 347705 A1? Until March of this year,  I remained convinced that the denials were true  and that the charges of involvement  by members of the White House staff were false. listen 2 OF THIS ARTICLE 159611 3 OF ALL TIME 157121 superlative + of all time Enzo Ferrari will go down in history  as the greatest car manufacturer of all time. listen 4 OF THESE COOKIES 154496 You have got to try one of these cookies. listen

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OPEN TO ( adjective + prepositional phrase )

We are interested in finding the most common noun phrases after ‘open to‘ that complete more abstract ideas such as willingness to consider something or something is likely to happen. In the English Vocabulary Profile: open to discussion/suggestions, etc. = C1 willing to consider a discussion/suggestions, etc. open to abuse/criticism, etc. = C2 likely to

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ALL + preposition + noun phrase

At A2 level in the Oxford learner’s dictionary, ‘All’ as an adverb can mean ‘completely’.
Adverbs pre-modifying prepositions are found at A2, B1, and C1 levels in the English Grammar Profile.
The iWeb corpus was searched for ALL + prepositional phrases using the pattern _DB _II _A _NN. However, not every result represents ‘all’ as an adverb.
Some of the most common phrases include ‘All around the world’, ‘All across the country’, and ‘All along the way’, among others.
Each phrase is used in a unique context. For example, ‘All around the world’ is often used when referring to a global phenomenon or distribution, as in “Television rights have been sold all around the world”. Similarly, ‘All along the way’ can be used to indicate a consistent pattern or presence across a process or journey, as in “Black girls are overrepresented all along the way”.

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verb + WITH

Here are advanced examples of verbs + ‘WITH phrases‘: You hope for the best,  then make do with what you get. listen A man threatens you with a gun,  you break his neck,  we can’t call the police,  but it‘s nothing to do with me. listen DO WITH 796814 To find out which lexical verbs are most often followed by a ‘with PHRASE‘, we do a search in the iWeb corpus for: _VV with 1 WORK WITH 976989 A1 verb

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lexical verb + possessive determiner + noun + TO prepositional phrase

C2 example: Our country owes its creation to a man  they declared insane. listen C1 example: And he will do his damndest  to put your mind at rest. listen An iWeb search for: _VV _APPGE _NN to_II 1 MAKE YOUR WAY TO 9604 B2 Please make your way to the nearest exits. listen 2 MAKE THEIR WAY TO 6953 3 MADE THEIR WAY TO 6103 4 CHANGED ITS NAME TO 5283 B2 possessive determiner

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preposition + article + noun

In this post, we are looking at more advanced uses of the ‘preposition + article + noun phrase‘ structure.  For example: I just came on the spur of the moment. listen I was just in the mood for a little conversation. Even Money   My life has been extraordinarily blessed  with marriage and children and certainly interesting work to do,  whether it be at the University of Sydney Law School,  where I served a term as dean,  or now as I sit on the United Nations Committee  on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,  in Geneva. TED Someone‘s in a mood. listen Your mother will be over the

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preposition + possessive determiner + noun

A search in the iWeb corpus for: at _APPGE _NN 1 AT HIS HOME 25665 *Although this is basic grammar, it often reports the locations of crimes such as murder.  For example: A man has been shot dead  at his home  in Sydney’s eastern suburbs last night. listen   2 AT YOUR FINGERTIPS 24481 C2 What’s it like to have such power  at your fingertips? listen 3 AT YOUR DISPOSAL 17599

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prepositon + plural time

One could argue that being able to front the following ‘indefinite’ time phrases shows evidence of a higher CEFR level. A search in iWeb corpus for: . _II _NNT2 , 1 . AT TIMES, 11672 C1 → C2 She still misses him at times,  but we all do. listen   Kit accused me of only being along for the ride  while at times  I wished he‘d fall in the river and drown,  so I could watch. At times, I actually like it. listen 2 . WITHIN

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