Prepozitia (The Preposition)

Prepozitia (The Preposition)

1. Definitie.

Prepozitia este partea de vorbire neflexibila care:

a) exprima raporturi sintactice de dependenta intre partile unei propozitii. Ea leaga parti de vorbire diferite: substantive, adjective, verbe sau adverbe de substantive sau substitute ale acestora: I was pleased at the thought of going yto the theatre. Am fost incantat de ideea de a merge la teatru.

b) este neflexibila din punct de vedere morfologic;

c) prepozitia nu indeplineste o functie sintactica in propozitie ci marcheaza functii sintactice: I gave the book to Mary (complement indirect). The roof of the house (atribut) is red.

2. Caracteristici ale prepozitiilor englezesti

Prepozitiile englezesti cer cazul acuzativ: Look AT him. I am BEFORE her.

Prepozitiile of, to si for prezinta o situatie speciala. Constructia cu prepozitia of este folosita ca echivalent al unei constructii genitivale:

The boy's coat is new.

The coat of the boy is new.

iar prepozitia to si for marcheaza cazul dativ: I gave it to him. I bought it for her.

Majoritatea prepozitiilor englezesti sunt urmate de substantive articulate, spre deosebire de limba romana: The children are playing IN the garden. Copiii se joaca IN gradina.

Cateva prepozitii apar in constructii in care substantivul nu este articulat:

at home; at breakfast/lunch/dinner;

at play; at war; at sea;

at/in/to school, college, church.

by car, bus, train, plane, boat;

in/to bed, class, town;

Folosirea articolului cu unul dintre aceste substantive aduce schimbari de sens, de ex.: referirea la o anumita casa, scoala etc.: He is AT home. (El) este acasa. She is AT the home of her firiends. (Ea) este in casa prietenilor ei. sau He is AT sea (on a ship). (El) este pe mare (pe un vapor).

Verbe precedate de prepozitii iau forma in -ing (Gerund): I am good AT remembering people's names. Imi amintesc cu usurinta numele oamenilor.

Exceptii: But si except sunt urmate de infinitivul scurt: They did nothing BUT laugh. N-au facut nimic (altceva) decat sa rada.

Unele cuvinte sunt urmate in mod obligatoriu de anumite prepozitii:

a) Substantive:

- interest, progress, satisfaction + in;

- cause, chance, opportunity + of;

- exception, invitation, kindness + to;

b) Adjective:

- anxious, enthusiastic + about;

- alarmed, amazed, astonished, clever, good + at;

- bound, eager, famous, fit, sorry + for;

- disappointed, rich, successful + in;

- afraid, ashamed, aware, characteristic, fond, full, jealous, proud, sure, tired, typical, worthy + of;

- affectionate, appropiate, attentive, contrary, cruel, deaf, indifferent, kind, parallel, polite, rude, thankful + to;

- angry, busy, charmed, consistent, delighted, dizzy, faint, identical, pale, satisfied, stiff, wet + with;

c) Verbe:

- aim, arrive, fire, gaze, glance, look + at;

- account, ask, blame, care, leave long + for;

- conceal, die, differ, escape, hide, prevent, protect + from;

- abound, believe, end, fail, originate, succeed (+-ing), + in;

- accuse, boast, cure, deprive, die, remind take care + of;

- agree, comment, concentrate, congratulate, mediate + on;

- adapt, adjust, apply, attribute, belong, cling, conform, consent, link, listen, prefer, reduce, refer, report, sell, sail, subscribe, turn + to;

- complete, flush, glow, shake, shiver, side, subscribe, supply, threaten, tremble + with.

Atentie !

agree with smb. on a thing; to a proposal;

complain to smb. about smth; complain of an illness;

consist of = a consta din; in = a consta in;

lie to smb. about smth.;

part from smb.; with smth.

suffer for a cause; from/with a disease, injury;

think of smth.; about (=mediate);

translate from a language into another language;

wait for smb/smth.; on smb (serve);

warn of (the danger); against (the enemy);

bite, kick, point, throw + to (scopul actiunii este atins);

get on / off a bus, boat;

get in(to) / out of a car, plane.

Nota: smb=somebody; smth=something.

3. Pozitie

Prepozitia apoare in general inaintea cuvantului la care se refera: The pupils are IN the classroom. Elevii sunt in clasa.

Ea este folosita dupa acesta:

a) in intrebari speciale (Wh-questions): What is he writing ABOUT ? (About what is he writting ? = formal): Despre ce scrie ?

b) in propozitii relative: The flat I live IN is on the 10th floor (The flat in which I live is on the 10th floor = formal). Apartamentul in care locuiesc este la etajul 10.

c) in exclamatii: What photos they are looking AT ! (At what photos they are looking ! = formal) La ce fotografii se uita !

d) in constructii pasive: The children were looked AFTER by their grandmorher. Bunica avea grija de copii.

e) in constructii infinitivale: This is a good firm to work WITH.

Aceasta este o firma buna cu care sa lucrezi.

4. Relatii exprimate de prepozitii

In combinatie cu alte parti de vorbire, prepozitiile exprima relatii variate:

LOC: at, in, within.

In (in) indica spatiul in general sau in interiorul caruia are loc actiunea: in a continent - country - town - village; in a square - street - room; in a forest - wood - field;

At (in la) indica un punct anumit din spatiu sau un loc mai mic: at a small village - address - certain point; at home; at work; at play;

Within (in, intre) (formal) indica pozitia intr-un spatiu limitat sau distanta limita (la distanta de , in): Many important documents are kept within the walls of this museum. Multe documente importante sunt pastrate intre peretii acestui muzeu. There is nobody within these four walls / within hearing / within a mile.

Atentie ! at a buiding (=institutia); in a building (cladirea): He is at school. E elev. He is in school. E in scoala. He lives in New York (oras mare). They stopped at Brussels on their way to Ney York (punct pe harta, traseu).

By, beside, next to, near, close to, against

By (langa, la) indica vecinatatea imediata: Mary is standing by the window.

Beside, next to (langa, la, alaturi/aproape de) indica apropierea imediata: There is a night table beside my bed. The post office is beside / next to the hotel. Near, close to (langa, aproape de) indica apropierea in general: He lives near / close to his office.

Against (lipit / rezemat de) exprima ideea de contact si sprijin. The bookcase is against the wall. Tom leant against the bookcase.

Over, above, on, top of; under, beneath, below, underneath

Over (deasupra) si under (sub, dedesubp) indica o directie verticala sau apropierea: There's a picture over the fireplace. The dog is under the chair.

Above (deasupra) si below (sub, dedesubt) arata doar ca un obiect se afla mai sus sau mai jos decat altul: Their flat is above ours. Some part of Holland is below sea level.

On top of (pe) si underneath (sub) arata ca un obiect il atinge pe celalalt: The TV serial is on top of the house. The book you need is underneath those papers.

Beneath (sub, pe sub) arata o distanta mai mica decat below sau este un echivalent formal al lui under: The Dambovita river passes beneath several bridges.

In front of, before; behind, after

In front of (in fata) este folosit in engleza vorbita, cu referire la obiecte: There is a tree in front of our house. (Dar: They were outside the cinema).

Before (in fata, inaintea) exprima ordinea asezarii persoanelor, in limba literara: He was before me.

Behind (in spatele, inapoia) indica pozitia: The cat was behind the tree.

After (dupa, in spatele) indica ordinea, in spatiu sau in timp: He walked down the stairs after his wife.

Between, amoung

Between (intre) = un obiect se afla intre altele doua sau intre mai multe daca numarul acestora este definit: Our school is between the hotel and the hospital. France lies between the hotel and the hospital. France lies between Belgium, West Germany, Switzerland and Spain.

Amoung (intre, printre) = un obiect se afla intre mai multe obiecte: There's a dictionary amoung these books.

DIRECTIE: to, into, onto, towards.

Aceste propozitii sunt folosite cu verbe de miscare, pentru a indica directia:

To (la) - miscarea pana la un punct: He came to school early.

Into (in) - patrunderea: They went into the house.

Onto (pe) - miscarea pe o suprafata: The actor walked onto the stage.

Towards (catre, spre) - directia catree un punct, dar nu si atingerea destinatiei (ca to): They slowly towards the river.

Atentie !

a) In vorbire in si on sunt adesea folosite in loc de into si onto, dupa verbe ca put, place, lay etc.: She put her money in her bag/on the table.

b) Verbul arrive este urmat de prepozitia at: They arrived at home early.

Through, across, over

Through (prin indica traversarea si patrunderea: Don't walk through the park, walk around it.

Across/over (peste) indica numai traversarea: The train went over/across the bridge. They sailed across the ocean.

Up, down, along

Up and down (in susul si in josul) exprima o miscare pe verticala: The children ran up and down the stairs / hill.

sau pe orizontala (de-a lungul): They walked up and down the street/platform. (sinonim cu along)

Past, by

Past (pe langa) indica miscarea pe langa si dincolo de: Walk past the hitel, turn righ and you'll get to thepost-office.

By (pe langa) indica o miscare fara oprire sau cu o intrerupere scurta: They drove by the lake without stopping.

About, around

Around (in jurul) indica o pozitie sai miscare circulara: He has a muffler around his neck.

About/around (in jurul, in preajma, prin) indica o pozitie/miscare nedefinita: There aren't many cinemas about/around here. They walked about/around town all day.

Off, out of, from

Off (de pe, de la, din) exprima separarea, desprinderea de o suprafata: The vase fell off the table.

Out of (din) exprima iesirea, scoaterea dintr-un volum: She came out of the house.

From (de, de la) indica despartirea, distanta, locul de unde a pornit actiunea: She came straight home from school.

TIMP: At, on, in

At a time: at the/that time, at 8 o'clock, at noon, at night, at dinner (time), at the weekend.

On a day: on Sunday, on Monday morning, on New Year's day, on the 1st of March, on the following day.

In a period: in the (late) afternoon, in July, in summer, 1990, in the following months, in the 20th century.

By, before, after

By = nu mai tarziu de: You will have my answer by the end of the week.

Before = inainte de: I talked to him before noon.

After = mai tarziu de, dupa: Ring me up after the meeting.

From to, till/until

To poate exprima relatii de timp sau directie, till/until numai de timp.

From (din, de la) indica momentul inceperii actiunii, to/till (pana in, pana la) sfarsitul ei: She stayed with us from January to/till April last year.

Till/until (si nu to) trebuie folosit daca lipseste from: He waited for you until 9 o'clock.

Until indica sfarsitul unei actiuni pozitive sau inceputul unei actiuni negative: We worked until noon (anmmd stopped then). We didn't work until noon (We began then).

DURATA: During, for, (all) through/throughout, over

During (in timpul), exprima perioada in timpul careia a avut loc o actiune (in mod intermitent): We were in Bucharest during summer. We visit the Art Galleries during our stay in Bucharest.

For (de, timp de), indica durata unei actiuni neintrerupte: We stayed in Bucharest for three weeks.

(All) through/throughout (to, tot timpul) = de la inceput pana la sfarsitul perioadei: We worked hard all through the year. It rained throughout the summer.

Over (de, la) - indica o perioada limitata (sarbatori, vacanta) : We went to the mountains over the weekend.

Atentie! Prepozitiile de timp/durata se omit:

a) in expresii cu last - next, this - that, some -every

I saw a film last night.(aseara) He came this morning(in aceasta dimineata). I go to school every day (in fiecare zi)

b) in expresii incepand cu all: He stayed there all day/week (nu for all day/week)

MOD, INSTRUMENT, CANTITATE:

With (cu), without (fara), in manner/way (in modul) exprima modul in care are loc actiunea: She spoke with confidence / without hesitation / in the usual way.

Like (ca) folosit ca prepozitie este urmat de un substantiv, pronume sau Gerund.

Like exprima modul: o asemanare / comparatie intre doi termeni: She walks like a dancer. He is very much like his mother.

By (cu, prin, de) si on (pe, la) indica mijlocul cu care e savarsita actiunea:

She entered by the back door. This dress is made by hand. He goes to work by bus / on foot. I listen to the news on the radio. He watches the news on television.

With (cu) precede instrumentul: The little child has learned to write with a pen. She opened the door with a key.

In (cu) exprima modul sau materialul folosit: She wrote the letter in ink.

By (la, cu) exprima cantitatea: Cloth is sold by the yard. Eggs are sold by the dozen.

REFERINTA:

As to, as for, regarding, in regard to, concerning (formal) = cu privire la, (cat) despre: As to our grandmother, everybody loves her. Some interesting documents concerning our ancient history have just been found.

About, on (despre):

About este folosit cu verbe ca: chat, quarrel, talk:

They talked about their school days.

On este folosit pentru activitati organizate, dupa verbe ca lecture, write speak: He lectured on Scottish literature.

CAUZA: Because of, on account of (formal), from, out of, for, through (din cauza de):

We put off our trip because of the weather. She was late on account of the heavy trafffic. He coundn't speak for shame. He did it from pity / out of curiosity. She lost her gloves through her carelessness.

SCOP: for (pentru) I went to the chemist's for some aspirin.

SURSA/ORIGINE: from (din) He comes from France.

AGENT: by (de, de catre): She was examined by a specialist.

CONCESIE: in spite, despite (formal), for all, with all (familiar) = in ciuda, cu toata / toate: They enjoyed the trip, in spite of the bad weather. Despite her ill;ness, she still goes skiing. He was a good man, for all his defects.

Exceptie: except for, but (cu exceptia): Everybody left but the headmaster.

5. Diferenta intre propozitii in limba romana si in limba engleza

Intre folosirea prepozitiilor in limba engleza si limba romana exista numeroase diferente, care prezinta dificultati pentru elevii romani. Unele dintre acestea sunt:

in the street (Engl. americ. - on the stret) - pe strada

in the playground - pe terenul de sport

in the sky - pe cer

in the sun - la soare

in the open air - la aer curat

on the way to - in drum spre

on the 1st floor - la etajul 1

round the corner - dupa colt

at present - in prezent

at the some time - in acelasi timp

at this moment - in acest moment

at last - in sfarsit

in a year`s time - peste un an

in my opinion - dupa parerea mea

beyond control - independent de vointa

in all probability - dupa toate probabilitatile

by my watch - dupa ceasul meu

by heart - pe dinafara

by mistake - din greseala

to go on a trip/ on holiday - a merge in calatorie in vacanta

to go (out) for a walk - a merge la plimare

lo look out of the window - a privi pe fereastra

to get in through the window - a intra pe fereastra

he`s the tallest in the class - e cel mai inalt din clasa

outside the cinema - in fata cinematografului

6. Diferente intre prepozitii in limba engleza britanica si prepozitii in engleza americana

Exista unele diferente si in folosirea prepozitiilor in varianta britanica si americana a limbii engleze:

7. Particule adverbiale (Adverbial Particles)

Particulele adverbiale sunt asemanatoare ca forma cu unele prepozitii sau adverbe. Ele se deosebesc insa de acestea prin functia lor.

Particulele adverbiale modifica sensul verbelor pe care le insotesc, transformandu-le in verbe cu particule adverbiale: They have put off the meeting again = They have postponed the meeting again. Au amanat din nou sedinta.

Particulele adverbiale cel mai frecvent folosite sunt: about, across, along, around, away, back, by, down, in, of, on, out, over, past, roud, through, up.

Nota: Multe dintre aceste particule adverbiale pot fi folosite si ca adverbe propriu-zise: He is in. Este inauntru. / Este in casa.

sau ca prepozitii: He is in the kitchen. Este in bucatarie.

7.1. Intrebuintarea particulelor adverbiale

a) in majoritatea cazurilor, particulele adverbiale modifica total sensul verbelor la care sunt atasate: He came round after the accident. Si-a recapatat cunostinta / Si-a revenit dupa accident.

b) In alte cazuri, sensul verbului cu particula adverbiala poate fi dedus din analiza elementelor componente: go in, come, bring back, take away.

c) Folosirea unor particule adverbiale pe langa anumite verbe intareste doar ideea exprimata de acestea: drink up (bea tot/pana la fund), stand up, lie down.

7.2. Locul particulelor adverbiale in propozitie. Particulele adverbiale se aseaza imediat dupa un verb intranzitiv: He turned round and looked at me. S-a intors si s-a uitat la mine.

Daca verbul este tranzitiv si este urmat de un complement direct exprimat printr-un pronume sau alt determinant, particula adverbiala este asezata dupa complementul direct: We saw THEM off to the station. I-am condus la gara. Pick THESE up, please. Ridica astea, te rog.

Nota: Prin aceasta caracteristica, verbele cu particole adverbiale se deosebesc de verbele urmate de prepozitii obligatorii, deoarece prepozitiile nu pot fi separate de verb. Comparati: Please look ME up when you come to Bucharest. (up=particola adverbiala)

She was looking at HIM (at = prepozitie)

Daca complementul direct este exprimat printr-un substantiv, particula adverbiala poate fi asezata inainte sau dupa acesta (mai ales in vorbirea familiara): He gave back THE BOOK. He gave THE BOOK back. A inapoiat cartea.

Daca complementul direct este lung, sau este exprimat prinytr-o propozitie subordonata, particula adverbiala este asezata imediat dupa verb: He gave back the book he had borrowed. A inapoiat cartea pe care o imprumutase.

EXERCISES

I. Completati spatiile libere cu prepozitii de loc sau directie:

1. I live.. 53, Franklin street. My flat is. the 10th floor. 2. The tallest building. the world is. New York. 3. Father drove. the corner slowly, while I went. the shop. 4. We'll leave.. Brasov tomorrow. 5. They'll stopParistheir wayLondon. 6. They ran schoolthe bus stop. 7. We wentOradea a business trip last week. Peter isn'thome. He must be school. 9. They arrived cinema early. 10. My uncle drove me his car, but he didn't see me. 11. The coins fell his pocket. 12. She carried the boxthe stairsher room. 13. Let's sit the sun. 14. He leant the wall. 15. Don't go the street on a red light.

II. Completati spatiile libere cu prepozitii de timp sau durata:

1. I'll be in the country. July.. September. 2. They travelled.the day and sleptnight. 3. Eminescu was born.. January 15, 1850. 4. He came.10 o'clock.the same time with his friend. 5. It is very hot here summer. 6. I phoned all my friends New Year's Day. 7. We go to school the morning. I hope I'll have finished my homework9 o'clock. 9. We stayed at homethe weekends. 10. I've been living in Bucharest ten years. 11. They'll be hereten minutes. 12. The manager won't be backlater this afternoon. 13. School begins September and ends July. 14. I didn't understand himfirst.

III. Traduceti in limba engleza:

1. La ce te uiti? 2. El se uita pe fereastra. 3. Pe cine astepti? 4. Cat e ora dupa ceasul tau? 5. Hai sa mergem la plimbare. 6. E in spital de doua saptamani. 7. De ce ti-e teama? El e intotdeauna amabil cu pacientii. Ii sunt recunoscator pentru serviciul pe care mil-a facut. 9. L-am felicitat pentru succesul sau. 10. Tremura de frig. 11. Nu ma minti! 12. Dimineata s-au plimbat prin oras, dupa-amiaza au stat acasa. 13. Cursul a durat o luna intreaga. 14. Au pornit-o spre rau. 15. Sedinta a inceput la ora 11 dimineata si a durat pana la ora 2 dupa-amiaza. 16. A fost plecat in timpul vacantei. 17. Au calatorit ca de obicei. 1 Tine o conferinta despre arta contemporana. 19. Tabloul a fost pictat in ulei, nu in acuarela. 20. E un program bun la televizor diseara.