1 Reproduced by kind permission of Erik Smitterberg (PhD, Docent), Department of English, Uppsala University A-level Grammar 7: Pronouns II; Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases

The soldiers, who were tired, lay down The soldiers /who/that/ were tired lay down Nonrestrictive and Restrictive Relative Clauses 2 All of the soldiers were tired All of the soldiers lay down Nonrestrictive relative clause: adds information about the antecedent That is not possible Some of the soldiers were tired Only the tired soldiers lay down Restrictive relative clause: restricts the scope of the antecedent That is possible Commas or pauses

The Relative Clause I: Who and Whom I 3 The people who saw you at the cinema | were | friendly SPsV who | saw | you | at the cinema AOdVS The people who(m) you saw at the cinema | were | friendly SVPs who(m) | you | saw | at the cinema AVSOd

The Relative Clause II: Who and Whom II 4 The people to whom you spoke at the cinema | were | friendly S PsV to whom you spoke at the cinema The people who(m) you spoke to at the cinema | were | friendly SVPs who(m) you spoke to at the cinema PP preposition complement PP preposition complement

The Relative Clause III: That and the Zero Relative 5 That | is | the film that/Ø I am talking about SPsV that/Ø I am talking about The film that/Ø you saw | has broken | the box-office record SVOd that/Ø | you | saw PP preposition complement OdVS The film that broke the box-office record | really | sucked SAV that | broke | the box-office record OdVS (Ø not possible)

The Function of Prepositions 6 The preposition typically relates its complement to another part of the clause or phrase: We spent our vacation in London prepositional phrase We spent our vacation outside London prepositional phrase

Prepositional Phrases I: Structure 7 A prepositional phrase (PP) consists of a preposition and a prepositional complement Prepositional phrase (PP) PrepositionPrepositional complement inthe Netherlands in front ofmy uncles house forboiling eggs aboutthe Language Structure exam

Prepositional Phrases II: Function 8 Two frequent functions: 1.The clause element adverbial We | spent | our vacation | in the Netherlands OdVSA 2.Postmodifier in noun phrases The book on the floor | is | very good SVPs noun phrase the | book | on the floor headdet.postmodifier prepositional phrase

Swedish Preposition + Infinitive I 9 In Swedish, a dependent infinitive clause can be the complement of a preposition: Jag är intresserad av att spela tennis Hon är bra på att översätta texter till engelska But in English, a dependent infinitive clause cannot be the complement of a preposition! * I am interested in to play tennis * She is good at to translate texts into English

Swedish Preposition + Infinitive II 10 Solution: turn the infinitive clause into an -ing clause I am interested in playing tennis She is good at translating texts into English Pay special attention to to: preposition or infinitive marker? Digital cameras were used to take these pictures He is used to taking pictures Infinitive marker: followed by the infinitive Preposition: followed by the -ing form

Swedish Preposition + att-Clause I 11 In Swedish, a dependent att-clause can be the complement of a preposition: Vi talade om att Susan måste flytta But in English, a dependent that-clause cannot be the complement of a preposition! * We talked about that Susan has to move Han bad om ursäkt för att han kom för sent Jag är medveten om att det här är svårt * He apologized for that he was late * I am aware of that this is difficult

Swedish Preposition + att-Clause II 12 Solution 1: Skip the preposition (this is only possible in some cases: see UGE!) I am aware Ø that this is difficult adjective phrase adjectiveadjective complement (that-clause)

Swedish Preposition + att-Clause III 13 Solution 2: insert the + a suitable noun between the preposition and the that-clause (this is only possible in some cases: see UGE!) We talked about the fact that Susan had to move that-clause postmodifierheaddet. prepositional complement (noun phrase) preposition prepositional phrase

Swedish Preposition + att-Clause IV 14 Solution 3: turn the that-clause into an -ing clause He apologized for being late prepositionprepositional complement (-ing clause) prepositional phrase The -ing clause does not need a subject because the understood subject is the same as that of the independent clause: he apologized and he was late

Swedish Preposition + att-Clause V 15 If the subject of the -ing clause is not the same as the subject of the independent clause, the -ing clause needs an explicit subject Pronoun subject in the -ing clause: use the object form (informal) or the possessive determiner form (formal) We look forward to Noun subject in the -ing clause: use the common-case form (normal) or the genitive form (formal) We look forward to them visiting us (informal) their visiting us (formal) your sister visiting us (normal) your sisters visiting us (formal)

Further Reading Compendium: –Unit 7, Pronouns II; Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases A University Grammar of English (UGE): –Chapter 8, sections ; Chapter 10