Functions of prepositions in the english language

Lexical function of preposition is the use of preposition "as an exponent of the relations that the speaker establishes between objects and phenomena of extra-linguistic reality"² (G.A. Ter-Avakyan). If the presence of a grammatical meaning in the preposition does not cause serious contradictions, then the question of a lexical function turns out to be very controversial and is still unresolved among language researchers. For example, some linguists (A.M.Peshkovsky, A.A. Potebnya) deny that the preposition has a lexical meaning.

The lexical role of the preposition is very large, informing the individual phrase (and through it often the whole sentence) its meaning, which specifies and enriches the relationship of "significant" words between itself. The content and nature of the semantics of prepositions are extremely diverse. So, in the phrases “a telegram from my friend”, “a picture in crayons”, “the people in question” prepositions indicate the relationship of the defined and defining. In essence, a lexical function carries an independent lexical meaning.³ For example:

• prepositions of place (statics) - on, in, under, at, near, above, behind and etc.

• prepositions of movement - on, into, to , out of, from, across and etc.

Prepositions arose from nouns, adverbs, participations and whole phrases that stretched into one word, and naturally, the meanings of the prepositions could not differ much from the meanings of the main word. At the same time, it is significant that initially there were only values ​ ​ of place and movement, on which the values ​ ​ of time were subsequently influenced, since the concepts of time always arose in human collectives after the concepts of place.

Realizing a grammatical function, the preposition acts as a service word connecting two significant words and at the same time indicating the dependent position of one of them with respect to the other. Some prepositions in certain situations perform a purely grammatical function, expressing relations transmitted in Russian by indirect cases without prepositions. In this case, the preposition itself is not separately translated, and the combination of the preposition and the noun is translated by the Russian noun in the corresponding case.

Morphological or lexical function is equally significant. The use of a preposition in this function depends on the preceding word (noun, adjective, verb.)

It doesn’t depend on us.

I have no objections to do it.

In this case, a term such as postlog - постлог (Kutuzov) is used. The definition follows from the name: if prepositions precede something, then they are in the preposition to nouns, pronouns and other words, then the postpositions are use after the verbs. The purpose of prepositions and postpositions in the sentence also differs: prepositions serve to connect words among themselves in their interaction; postpositions give the verb a different meaning or complement an existing one.⁴

According to V.L. Kaushanskaya, some prepositions (on, in, by, over, off, up) are homonymous with postpositions. A preposition as well as a postposition does not perform any independent function in the sentence. But while a preposition denotes the relation between objects and phenomena, a postposition is part of a composite verb.

A preposition is not usually stressed, while a postposition usually bears the stress. For e[ample:

1. 
   We`ve got to live on what we earn. (Cronin) (PREPOSITIO)
   

1. 
   He liked Erik more than of assistants the department had taken on in a long time, as much as he could like one of the younger men.(Wilson) (POSTPOSITION)
   

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