Object of a Preposition Definition and Examples

Object of a Preposition Definition and Examples In English grammar, the object of a preposition is a  noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that follows a preposition and completes its meaning. The object of a preposition is in the objective case. A word group made up of a preposition, its object, and any of the objects modifiers is called a prepositional phrase. In contemporary language studies, the object of a preposition is sometimes described as a prepositional complement. Examples and Observations Stoick the Vast in  How  to Train Your Dragon, 2010Oh, you are many things, Hiccup, but a dragon killer is not one of them. Get back to the house. Groucho Marx in  Animal Crackers, 1930One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I dont know. Charles Foster Kane in  Citizen Kane, 1941You cant buy a bag of peanuts in this town without someone writing a song about you. Dorothy in  The Wizard of Oz, 1939Toto, Ive got a feeling were not in Kansas anymore. The Wizard in  The Wizard of Oz, 1939You, my friend, are a victim of disorganized thinking. You are under the unfortunate impression that just because you run away you have no courage; youre confusing courage with wisdom. Rick in  Casablanca, 1942Heres looking at you, kid. Rick in  Casablanca, 1942Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Buzz Lightyear in  Toy Story 2, 1999Somewhere in that pad of stuffing is a toy who taught me that life’s only worth living if you’re being loved by a kid. Mrs. Chasen in  Harold and Maude, 1971I have here, Harold, the forms sent out by the National Computer Dating Service. It seems to me that as you do not get along with the daughters of my friends this is the best way for you to find a prospective wife. Apocalypse Now, 1979I love the smell of napalm in the morning. E.B. White,  Charlottes Web. Harper Row, 1952It was the best place to be, thought Wilbur, this warm delicious cellar, with the garrulous geese, the changing seasons, the heat of the sun, the passage of swallows, the nearness of rats, the sameness of sheep, the love of spiders, the smell of manure, and the glory of everything. David Niven,  Bring on the Empty Horses. G.P. Putnams Sons, 1975I spent the greater part of that night with Scott Fitzgerald listening to an outpouring of woe, charm, lost-youth sadness, boasts, family disasters, nostalgia, fears, hopes, pure babbling, and a lot of coughing. Postmodifiers vs Prepositional Complements We refer to the element following a preposition as a complement rather than a post-modifier because, unlike a post-modifier, it is not optional. The preposition at, for example, must be followed by a prepositional complement... The prepositional complement is typically a noun phrase, but it may also be a nominal relative clause or an -ing clause. Both the nominal relative clause and the -ing clause have a range of functions similar to that of a noun phrase: 1. complement as noun phrasethrough the window2. complement as nominal relative clausefrom what Ive heard (from that which Ive heard)3. complement as -ing clauseafter speaking to you As its name suggests, the preposition (preceding position) normally comes before the prepositional complement. There are several exceptions, however, where the complement is moved and the preposition is left stranded by itself. The stranding is obligatory when the complement is transformed into the subject of the sentence: Your case will soon be attended to.This ball is for you to play with.The picture is worth looking at. In questions and relative clauses, the prepositional complement may be a pronoun or adverb that is fronted. In that case, the preposition is normally stranded: Who are you waiting for?Where are you coming from?I am the person (that) you are waiting for. (In relative clauses the pronoun may be omitted. Source Gerald C. Nelson and Sidney Greenbaum, An Introduction to English Grammar, 3rd ed. Routledge, 2013

Proper Use of Entrez-vous in French

Proper Use of Entrez-vous in French The comic strip Non Sequitur  by Wiley Miller held a  Great Non-Sequitur Sign-Off Contest, where readers were invited to send in suggestions for the sign in front of the Au Naturel Deli, behind the door of which lurked a bear with a cleaver. The winning entry, from Mary Cameron of Leander, Texas, had text scrawled on the sign outside that read Entrà ©e:  Vous. Most people might apply a double-entendre to the phrase in this context, which might be translated as Todays Entrà ©e: You.  This is a very cute and clever realization of the comic!  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹ Confusion of Entrà ©e and Entrez But to understand the double-meaning of this suggested comic, the reader would need to understand the  homophonous entrez vous, which is often used by non-native French speakers to mean Come in. So the sign in this comic would be read with a homonymic understanding as both Come in and Todays Main Dish: You.   Language Use Differences The problem is that entrez  vous  in French doesnt quite mean what non-native French speakers use as its literal translation.  When the phrase is broken down, the French verb  entrer is not reflexive; the correct way to say Come in is simply entrez  in the formal and plural you conjugation of the verb. So if the sign in this comic were to indicate that a passerby should enter the shop, itd simply read Entrez, and as a result lose its comedic nature. Neither of these words should be confused with  entre which translates to in or between in English and doesnt have the same pronunciation because the e at the end is essentially silent.  An example of the use of this word might be ...à §a reste entre nous,  meaning this stays between us, perhaps implicative of a confidential conversation.   When to Use Entrez-Vous For non-native French speakers, this begs the question if there is ever an appropriate use of  the phrase entrez vous  in the French language. The only time you might use entrez vous in French would be in the case of a question. Saying Entrez-vous? is similar to asking Are you coming in?  or even What about coming in? and is more casual and conversational in nature.   If youre thinking of using entrà ©e vous or entrez-vous  interchangeably, even for humor, bear in mind that it will likely not be understood by native French speakers as very humorous. Rather, its typically seen as a grammatical error.