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Overlapping between Prepositions and other Parts of Speech

Chapter V

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CHAPTER V

OVERLAPPING BETWEEN PREPOSITIONS AND OTHER

PARTS OF SPEECH

5.1. Introduction

Grammar is generally known as the set of rules which are followed by language

learners and linguistically acknowledged as the systematic study and description of a

language dealing with syntax and word structure (morphology) of the language.

As language being a system, it is divided into parts to describe distinctly the constituents

of sentences. The parts of sentences are basically studied as „parts of speech‟ in

preliminary classes. There are eight parts of speech in English. All the parts help learners

to speak and write a language accurately. English words can undoubtedly be categorized

as one of the parts of speech according to their functions in sentences. It is difficult to

state the grammatical category of a word without its context. In addition, the „Longman

Grammar‟ makes it clear that a particular word is a preposition in one case, does not

mean that it will always function as a preposition since there is an overlap between

prepositions and other word classes: a word „inside‟ can be a noun in The inside of the

building has been restored extensively; an adjective, The robbery was planned by the

security guard: it was an inside job; a preposition He placed the letter inside the

envelope; and an adverb It started to rain, so we went inside. The multifacet of a word‟s

function certainly makes English rich in morphology.

For these reasons, modern grammarians prefer to call them structure words rather

than parts of speech. They have caused much controversy in linguistics; they were


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claimed to have unclear status and occupy an „ambiguous position‟ in grammar

(Grodzinsky, 1988; Tesak, 1994). In the dichotomy of „closed and open class‟ words,

prepositions are attributed to the „closed class‟; because new ones are added to the

language very slowly, even though the use of such words are extended over centuries

(Biber & Leech, 2002: 17). In phonology, prepositions may behave as other members of

the „closed class‟ and play no role in the stress pattern of a sentence when criticized.

In syntax, however, prepositions play a certain role in the syntactic analysis of a sentence

and they are treated as elements of a self-sufficient category (Jackendoff, 1973), or as “an

autonomous lexical category together with the categories of noun, verb and adjective”,

which are representatives of the „open class‟ (Saric, 2001: 4). Therefore, the students

cause a great difficulty in identifying the parts of speech correctly. The purpose of this

chapter is to identify the problems in the use of preposition and other parts of speech.

It also shows how prepositions can be differentiated from the other grammatical

categories given below one by one.

5.2. Prepositions and Nouns

Prepositions might be used before and after the nouns making idiomatic

expressions in many cases. They may function as nouns although prepositions keep their

roles from the semantic point of view, but from the syntactic point of view, they lose their

roles (Hornby 2003: 653). For instance,

1. Will somebody explain the ins and the outs of situation to me?

2. Our marriage is happy but we have had our ups and downs.


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The use of prepositions as nouns is semantically unchanged, but syntactically

prepositions act as nouns through taking S-plural, taking the definite article the, the

possessive pronoun and they are not closely related to the preceding or following words.

5.3. Prepositions and Adverbs

Prepositions are clearly distinguished in English language. In such cases, these

words are considered adverbs, not prepositions. The difference between prepositions and

adverbs is that prepositions come before the nouns they relate to and that adverbs are on

their own (Gelderen, 2010: 18). For instance,

1. He looked up the tree. (Here „up‟ is a preposition)

2. He looked up. (Here „up‟ is an adverb)

Many grammarians have pointed out that prepositions were originally adverbs

modifying verbs. Some words can be used as prepositions when they have an object, but they

can also be used as adverbs when they do not have an object. For example in the sentences,

1. She walks around the pool,

2. She walks around.

In the first sentence, the word „around‟ is a preposition, so it is referred to object of

preposition. In this case, the word „around‟ is used as an adverb instead of as a preposition

(Gabriele Stobbe, 2008: 114). Huddleston (1984) seems not to agree with the distinction,

followed by most grammarians, between prepositions and adverbs. For example, a preposition

has an object while an adverb does not. He presents the following two examples,

3. He came across the bridge.

4. He came across.


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The word „across‟ in the two examples above is a preposition but one occurs with

a complement, whereas no complement follows the other (Huddleston, 1984: 347).

5.4. Prepositions and Verbs

Bennet (1975: 4) finds that the componential analysis of meaning provides a direct

method of expressing semantically the relationship between different vocabulary items.

To confirm this fact, he states that the meaning of certain verbs such as “contain” and “enter”

is part of the meaning of the prepositions in and into. The following examples are presented:

1. This box contains my money.

2. They entered the building.

Here, the sequence with a verb, the meaning of which is part of the preposition

which follows, is expressed by single words whose meaning is closely related to that of

the preposition, i.e. the intransitive verb in sentences has been converted into a transitive

and the prepositional complement into the direct object of the verb.

5.5. Prepositions and Adjectives

In English, there are certain words which are used in some cases as prepositions

and adjectives in others. Consider the following examples:

1. He placed it above the book. (Preposition)

2. The above book mentions it. (Adjective)

Prepositions and adjectives can easily be distinguished syntactically: the word is a

preposition if it takes an object; it is an adjective if it modifies a noun and appears in the

attributive position, where an ordinary adjective might be substituted for it.

Quirk, et al. (1985: 657) state that in a complement of a verb or an adjective, the


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preposition is more closely related to the preceding word, for example look at, sorry for,

which determines its choice, than to the prepositional complement.

5.6. Prepositions and Conjunctions

There are certain words in English which sometimes function as conjunctions and

sometimes as prepositions. For instance:

1. Shall we go for a walk after breakfast? (Preposition)

2. I‟m going home straight after volleyball practice. (Conjunction)

5.7. Prepositions and Participles

There are many words in English which sometimes function as participles and

sometimes as prepositions. Consider the following examples:

1. Considering the weather, we got here quite quickly. (Preposition)

2. The committee considering Ramesh‟s application is expected to report favorably.

(Participle)

Roberts (1954: 229) states that many participles such as expecting, concerning,

pending, etc, have lost their verbal force and now function as prepositions.

5.8. Data Analysis

From the analysis of data collected it is inferred that the second language learners

acquired the semantic content of words in identifying prepositions; whereas the content

words also contribute to act as prepositions. Sometimes prepositions act as nouns, verbs,

adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions and participles in English. Second language learners

found it difficult to identify the prepositional usage while it used as any one of the


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content words. The objective of the test was to find the students ability to identify the

prepositions in the given sentences. Ten questions comprising of three utterances in each

question was given as a mixture of content and functional words. The prepositions taken

up for analysis are: after, since, over, above, before, near, off, considering, down and

behind. The following statistical analysis concentrates on the wrong responses from the

respondents‟ questionnaire and analysed linguistically in the table shown below.

The performance of students were compared and contrasted on the basis of the socio-

economic variables. The table above depicted that the overall performance of the students

in the proper use of Prepositions and other parts of speech are given below.

Low Income Group (LIG)

Identifying the prepositions and other parts of speech in this chapter shows that

58% of the male respondents in LIG from the rural background and of the graduate

parents, who had their education in the Tamil medium had problems in identifying the

correct word classes, whereas the female counterparts of the identical group had only

53% as wrong answers (Table No.4). Even though their parents were graduates in the

rural areas, they forced to educate their children in Tamil medium due to socio-economic

constraints. A comparison of the performance between the rural and urban respondents

shows that the male respondents from urban background (50%) were better than the other

respondents. In a comparison of the performance between the Tamil medium and English

medium backgrounds indicates that the male respondents from urban background in

English medium (42%) fared better than the other counterparts. The reason for the good

performance may be that the graduate parents recognize better facilities and learning


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environment in the English medium schools. The English medium schools has relatively

better environment than that of the government schools not only in terms of quantity, but

also the quality.

Of the female respondents 70% of the LIG from the rural background and of non-

graduate parents; students from Tamil medium had problems in selecting the proper

prepositional usage, whereas among their male counterparts only, 63% of them had given

as wrong answers. The reason may be lack of motivation to female children in the rural

areas. These students were from first generation learners who are disadvantaged from an

educational and economic point of view. They are considered to be linguistically

deficient, academically unsuccessful and socio-economically backward. Most of the

students are the children of agriculture laborers, with no educational background. These

learners do not have any parental support as they are illiterates.

A comparison of the performance between the rural and urban respondents of

non-graduate parents in Tamil medium, the male respondents from urban background

were better (54%) than the other respondents. The reason for the performance may be

that they get relatively exposure to English and facilities as compared to the rural

respondents. In addition, both teachers and learners tend to acquire English. In a

comparison of the performance between Tamil medium and English medium of

non-graduate parents indicates that the male respondents from urban background were

better (45%) than the other counterparts. The reason for the good performance in

low-income backgrounds could be the fact that the parents send their daughters to the

government schools while they were bearing the expenses of sending their sons to

English medium schools.


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Middle Income Group (MIG)

Male respondents from the rural background of graduate parents in MIG, who had

their education in the Tamil medium, committed errors to the extent of 54%; whereas the

same group of female respondents committed only 47% of errors. The reason for the

errors may be due to the lack of proper guidance and motivation to their children.

A comparison of the performance between the rural and urban respondents of graduate

parents in Tamil medium, the male respondents from urban background were better

(44%) than the other respondents. The reason for the performance may be students

hailing from urban background get motivation from their teachers and the environment

they live in. Teachers made conscious of understanding the social and cultural

backgrounds of parents and children. In a comparison of the performance of the ward of

graduate parents between Tamil medium and English medium school of education, the

female respondents from urban background in English medium were better (40%) in

identification of preposition, whereas male respondents from urban background in Tamil

medium (44%) and male respondents from rural background in English medium (45%)

showed performance on par with each other. The reason is that the male respondents

from the Tamil medium stream of education had the tendency to improve their English

language skill for upward mobility in the society. The other reason for the good

performance could be fact that the graduate parents guide their children to be literate and

to lead a prosperous life. They take the responsibility for guiding the children to be

aware of self-learning, motivation, etc.

Of the male respondents 57% of the MIG from rural background and of non-

graduate parents; who had their education in the Tamil medium, faced problem in


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identifying the correct prepositional usage, whereas the female respondents of the same

group committed errors to the extent of 49%. The reason for the poor performance of

respondents who are first generation learners and they face the risks during the course of

their education. The other reason is that the government schools are geographically

located too far from the cities to many families to attend school and parents have very

little information about the quality of their children‟s schooling. Many non-graduate

parents make substantial sacrifices to send their children to government schools due to

their economic problems. The performance of the respondents between the rural and

urban respondents of non-graduate parents in MIG depicts that the female respondents

from urban background performed better (47%) than the other respondents. When

comparing the percentages of wrong responses in identifying the prepositions and other

parts of speech between Tamil medium and English medium of non-graduate parents‟

respondents indicates that the female respondents from urban background in English

medium fared better (44%) than the other respondents. The reason for the performance

may be due to getting motivation from the teachers and school surroundings.

High Income Group (HIG)

Female respondents from the rural background of graduate parents in HIG, who

had their education in the Tamil medium, had 55% of problems in selecting the proper

use of prepositions and other parts of speech; whereas the same category of male

respondents had only 50% of selecting the proper prepositions. The reason for the

performance might be lack of guidance for learning environment provided to their

children. A comparison between the rural and urban backgrounds of graduate parents in

Tamil medium showed that the female respondents from urban background were better


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(45%) than the other respondents. The reason for the good performance is that the parents

admitted their children to English medium schools as they had heard that a school with a

good academic record could help English language skills. These types of school are given

not only importance to spoken English but good exposure through internet as they had

enough computers knowledge. A comparison of the performance between Tamil medium

and English medium of graduate parents in HIG shows that the female respondents from

rural background in English medium fared better (45%) than the other respondents.

As far as the students from non-graduate parents, the performance of female

respondents from the rural background in HIG, committed 60% of errors, whereas the

identical group of male respondents committed only 54% of errors. The reason for the

poor performance of the female respondents may be due to the culture and problems of

non-graduate parents. The performance between the rural and urban respondents of non-

graduate parents in HIG shows that the male respondents from urban background

performed better (45%) than the other respondents. In addition, a comparison of the

percentages of wrong responses in the proper use of prepositions and other parts of

speech between Tamil medium and English medium respondents of non-graduate

parents, the performance of the male respondents from rural background under HIG of

non-graduate parents in English medium (45%) and male respondents from urban

background in Tamil medium (45%) were on par with each other. From this it is inferred

that the male from rural background showed utmost care to perform well with the use of

prepositions and other parts of speech.


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Table 5.1. Overlapping between Prepositions and other Parts of speech

Tamil Medium English Medium

Income

Graduate Parents Non-graduate parents Graduate parents Non-graduate parents

Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban

M F M F M F M F M F M F M F M F

LIG 58 53 50 55 63 70 54 58 55 49 42 50 58 50 45 50

MIG 54 47 44 51 57 49 55 47 45 50 53 40 55 48 52 44

HIG 50 55 52 45 54 60 45 50 52 45 50 47 45 52 50 47

Note: Per-cent is rounded in the table; M - Male; F - Female; LIG- Low Income Group, MIG- Middle Income Group, HIG- High Income Group.

Graph 5.1.1. Overlapping between Prepositions and other Parts of speech

5.9. Analysis

This chapter deals with the difficulties encountered by the undergraduate students

in identifying the parts of speech. It is observed that the learners face many problems to


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identify the preposition in the given sentences. The following analysis concentrates on

the wrong parts of speech chosen by the students. The questions given to the respondents

to identify the parts of speech are given below. Each question comprises of three usages,

where the respondents were asked to spot out the preposition. The response was also

analysed on the basis of their performance in the use of function and content words in the

given sentences.

1. a) The thief ran across the road chased by a policeman after him.

b) After the shower the sun shone out again.

c) Pushpa left the company and she found another job shortly after.

2. a) Mani went to work in New York a year ago and we haven‟t seen him since.

b) I‟m afraid I‟m not very good advertisement for the diet since I‟ve actually put on weight!

c) I have been working since six o‟ clock and I am getting tired.

3. a) In one over he took three wickets.

b) The railway goes through a tunnel rather than over the top of the mountains.

c) I will be glad when the competition is over.

4. a) Please send the articles to the address given above.

b) The path runs high above the river and the view is wonderful.

c) You can contact me on the above telephone number.

5. a) I bought a car in August. I‟d passed my driving test three months before.

b) Before he could reach the door, she quickly closed it.

c) We should always check oil, water and tyres before taking our car on a long trip.


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6. a) The hotel was located near the convention centre.

b) As the holiday drew near, the children became excited.

c) We only invited our near relations to the wedding.

7. a) The swimmer jumped off the highest diving board.

b) Please switch off the light when you leave the room.

c) The nurse is off for three days.

8. a) Considering his age, he has made excellent progress in his studies.

b) Considering the conditions in the office, she thought it wise not to apply.

c) Considering that he is rather young, his parents have advised him not to apply.

9. a) The bank‟s network was down so they were unable to approve our loan that day.

b) She ran excitedly down the hall to greet her cousins.

c) We downed three enemy planes with our missiles.

10. a) After the party a few people stayed behind to help clear up.

b) Why don‟t you get off your behind and do something!

c) The bush was the only conceivable hiding place, so I dashed behind it.

The purpose of this chapter is to find the problems in the use of prepositions and

other grammatical categories. The correct responses expected are as follows.

1. The thief ran across the road chased by a policeman after him.

2. I have been working since six o‟ clock and I am getting tired.

3. The railway goes through a tunnel rather than over the top of the mountains.


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4. The path runs high above the river and view is wonderful.

5. We should always check oil, water and tyres before taking our car on a long trip.

6. The hotel was located near the convention centre.

7. The swimmer jumped off the highest diving board.

8. Considering his age, he has made excellent progress in his studies.

9. She ran excitedly down the hall to greet her cousins.

10. The bush was the only conceivable hiding place, so I dashed behind it.

Table 5.2. Results of identifying the prepositions used as content and function words

(Wrong answers in %)

Performance of prepositions used as content and function words

Rural Urban

Male Female Male Female

Content words 63 57 58 54

Function words 55 50 52 57

Graph 5.2.1. Identifying the Prepositions used as Content and Function words


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The results of the response of the respondents concerned with the identification of

preposition to find out their ability to identify the content and function words are as

follows. The overall performance of the identification of the content and function words

shows that the rural respondents were found to be poor (60%) in identifying the content

words while the performance of the urban population showed (56%) of the errors in

identification. The performance in the identification of the content words reveals that the

students from urban background have more exposure to language use in the environment

they study. In the identification of function words, the rural population of (53%) and the

urban population showed (55%) of wrong response. The reason for the difference in the

performance is that the students from rural background are proficient in the basic

prepositional rules as they are trained by the teachers in the functional word preposition

and the tendency of the urban background who show less attention to preposition as they

feel that the English prepositions are easy to deal with.

As far as the identification of content words, the urban female respondents

performed better (54%); whereas the function words were wrongly identified by the

female rural respondents (50%). The rural male respondents found it difficult to identify

the content words, whereas the difficulty in identification the function words were found

in urban female respondents to the extent of (57%) and (55%) in rural male respondents.

The reason for the poor performance of the respondents may be due, shyness,

assertiveness, lack of academic support from family and cultural constraints.

5.10. Discussion on the use of Preposition and other Parts of Speech

The respondents were asked to identify the parts of speech. The statistics of the

incorrect responses is taken for analysis and discussion.


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5.10.1. The use of after

After the shower the sun shone out again. (Conj)(57%)

Pushpa left the company and she found another job shortly after.

(Adv)(19%)

The thief ran across the road chased by a policeman after him.

(Prep)(24%)

In the above identification of preposition in the three utterances, 76% of the

respondents committed errors due to the lack of awareness. Here the word „after‟ is a

compound preposition of the functional category denoting the spatial relationship with

the trajector „the thief‟ and the landmark „a policeman‟ in the third utterance. This clearly

shows that the respondents were not aware that functional words could also play the role

of preposition. Thereby, they were not sure which utterance is used as preposition. Such

error is attributed to the confusion over the word class as a result of intralingual factors

stemming from the target language and the lack of linguistic competence due to less exposure

to the target language. Since the errors are to the extent of 76% the mistakes could not be

attributed to the students‟ carelessness. The skill to observe and identify the word class

correctly has led to the distortion in identifying the correct preposition in the sentence.

5.10.2. The use of since

Mani went to work in New York a year ago and we haven’t seen him since.

(Adv)(52%)

I’m afraid I’m not very good advertisement for the diet since I have

actually put on weight. (Conj)(15%)


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I have been working since six o’ clock and I am getting tired. (Prep)(33%)

In the task of identifying the parts of speech from the data obtained, the second

language learners found it difficult to find the word „since‟ used as preposition among the

given utterances. The errors observed to the extent of 67% were due to lack of knowledge in

the use of temporal prepositions as other parts of speech and inadequate understanding of

grammar rules in English. The word „since‟ is a simple preposition of the functional category

denoting the temporal relationship with the subject „I‟ is termed as the trajector. In addition,

the preposition „since‟ denotes the link to the landmark, the temporal object time. As shown

in the third utterance, the temporal domain of the English preposition „since‟ indicates a

particular point of time surrounded by the landmark. This problem also proves that parts of

speech play a substantial role in causing learners to make errors when they write in English.

It can also be assumed that poor grasp over the use of prepositions was apparent.

5.10.3. The use of over

In one over he took three wickets. (Noun) (57%)

I will be glad when the competition is over. (Adv)(16%)

The railway goes through a tunnel rather than over the top of the

mountains. (Prep)(27%)

The word „over‟ is a compound preposition of the content word denoting the

spatial domain in English conceptualizes the link between the trajector (the railway) and

the landmark (the mountains). Identifying the preposition in the above utterances, 73%

of errors committed by the respondents are due to the limited knowledge of prepositions.

It is probably to explain the content word, the respondents have no idea of the lexical


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item „over‟ used as other parts of speech in English and simply chose it as noun and

adverb which made this identification wrong. This clearly reflected the knowledge of the

respondents about the use of preposition and also illogical selection of content words was

due to their inability to differentiate the word class. Another reason for this negligence

could be that the respondents might have not learnt the word classes intensively in their

English learning classroom. To predict this type of errors to a certain extent, teachers help

students to reduce or overcome their learning problems in the use of prepositions.

5.10.4. The use of above

You can contact me on the above telephone number. (Adj)(58%)

Please send the articles to the address given above. (Adv)(13%)

The path runs high above the river and the view is wonderful. (Prep) (29%)

The errors elicited from the responses given above gives a clear picture that the

respondents found difficulty in identifying the preposition among the utterances.

The percentages of the respondents who identified the wrong lexical categories is 71%.

As depicted in the third utterance, the spatial domain of the English preposition „above‟

presents a level, the trajector is located in a higher position by the landmark. This error

indicates that majority of respondents do not understand and hence, are unable to find the

content word used as other parts of speech. It can also be assumed that respondents have

problems in identifying the parts of speech contributed to the students‟ poor acquisition

of English grammar. Another reason is that the complexity of the English grammar rules

contributes to confusion in application among the second language learners.


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5.10.5. The use of before

Before he could reach the door, she quickly closed it. (Conj)(54%)

I bought a car in August. I’d passed my driving test three months before.

(Adv)(14%)

We should always check oil, water and tyres before taking our car on a

long trip. (Prep)(32%)

In English, the word „before‟ is a temporal preposition of the lexical category that

indicates a time earlier. It is used to indicate the relationship with the subject „we‟ and the

landmark „car‟ in the third utterance. As shown in the third sentence above, the trajector is an

observation which can be related to the earlier in time in the landmark. Instead of identifying

the word „before‟ used as preposition, 68% of the respondents identified the incorrect lexical

categories as conjunction and adverb. It is assumed that the misselection had a tendency to

find the incorrect lexical categories that indicates the lack of exposure in the use of

preposition and poor knowledge in English grammar. Thus, this error makes it difficult for

the students to find the prepositional usage when the utterances are mixed.

5.10.6. The use of near

We only invited our near relations to the wedding. (Adj)(54%)

As the holiday drew near, the children became excited. (Adv)(23%)

The hotel was located near the convention centre. (Prep)(23%)

The above error indicates that the second language learners faced difficulties in

identifying the preposition. In the third utterance, the lexical domain of the English preposition

„near‟ is a simple preposition of the functional category denoting the spatial location with the


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semantic representation indicating the trajector „the hotel‟ and the landmark „the convention

centre‟. As mentioned in the above data, 77% of errors committed by the respondents were

observed due to the lack of exposure and understanding while learning parts of speech in L2

settings and the application of prepositional rules. The wrong identification was not so common

and the possible reason of the respondents might not even know the word „near‟ used as

preposition, adverb and adjective. The incorrect selection of lexical categories certainly poses

problems for the students which make them difficult to identify a preposition. The other reason

of failure may lead to problems in respondents‟ poor understanding.

5.10.7. The use of off

Please switch off the light when you leave the room. (Adv)(61%)

The nurse is off for three days. (Adj)(18%)

The swimmer jumped off the highest diving board. (Prep)(21%)

In identifying the word „off‟ used as preposition, 79% of the respondents identified

incorrectly. The word „off‟ is placed as preposition in the third utterance where it acts as adverb

in the first utterance and adjective in the second utterance. The semantic representation in the

third utterance shows the spatial position of the preposition „off‟ conceptualizes the link

between the trajector „the swimmer‟ and the landmark „highest diving board‟. In addition, the

past tense verb „jumped‟ indicates an event or action which involves the spatial sense. The

spatial domain of the preposition „off‟ shows the place surrounded by the landmark. The

respondents‟ awareness of using the simple preposition „off‟ as other parts of speech is not to

the expected level. This unawareness also makes difficult for the students to get the clear idea

of parts of speech in English. In addition, it shows that the respondents had problems in

identifying the appropriate usage of preposition and inability to apply prepositional rules.


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5.10.8. The use of considering

Considering that he is rather young, his parents have advised him not to

apply. (Noun)(55%)

Considering the conditions in the office, she thought it wise not to apply.

(Participle) (13%)

Considering his age, he has made excellent progress in his studies. (Prep)

(32%)

The functional category „considering‟ identified as noun and participle is a wrong

choice by the respondents, whereas the expected functional category, which has to be

identified as preposition to make it acceptable. The percentage of the respondents where

identifying the incorrect answer is 68%. The learners do not build adequate competence

in the functional use of English grammar. The failure to identify the correct utterance

may also be due to the lack of practice in their writing. Moreover, teachers should be

aware of these difficulties when they teach English prepositions.

5.10.9. The use of down

The bank’s network was down so they were unable to approve our loan

that day. (Adj)(55%)

We downed three enemy planes with our missiles. (Verb)(8%)

She ran excitedly down the hall to greet her cousins. (Prep)(37%)

The respondents were failed in identifying the preposition instead they recognized

„down‟ as adjective in the first utterance and verb in the second utterance which made the

identification of sentences erroneous. This error brought out the students‟ confusion over


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the word class to choose an appropriate context. The semantic analysis of the word

„down‟ is the lexical category denoting the spatial relationship with the subject „she‟ and

the landmark „the hall‟ in the third utterance. Instead of identifying preposition, 63% of

the respondents committed errors due to their poor acquisition while learning grammar.

This error also proves that the second language learners faced serious difficulties due to

confusion when they identify the preposition among these utterances and limited

knowledge in the use of parts of speech in English.

5.10.10. The use of behind

Why don’t you get off your behind and do something! (Noun)(51%)

After the party a few people stayed behind to help clear up. (Adv)(15%)

The bush was the only conceivable hiding place, so I dashed behind it.

(Prep)(34%)

Of the data collected from respondents, 66% of the respondents were found to identify

incorrect lexical category due to the lack of understanding the usages while identifying the

word used as preposition. The word „behind‟ is a compound preposition of the lexical category

denoting the spatial relationship with the semantic representation in the third sentence indicates

the trajector is totally all around by the landmark. The errors were found erroneous due to the

wrong identification of the noun in the first utterance and adverb in the second utterance where

it has to be replaced with the correct lexical category as a preposition. Students were not sure

of which word class to choose and also were not aware of the differences in English language.

Therefore, teachers should give special attention to the students while teaching the parts of

speech and also make them to improve their knowledge in the use of English preposition.


162

5.11. Conclusion

The analysis of prepositions and other parts of speech was described in this

chapter in a brief manner. The results of this chapter examined that errors were found

due to incorrect selection of lexical and functional categories in identifying the

prepositional usage. Concerning incorrect selection of word class, it is necessary to

mention that most of the students faced problems to identify the appropriate prepositional

usage is due to their confusion and lack of grammatical competence. The respondents

committed errors because they did not have clear idea about the preposition used as other

grammatical categories in English. In the light of the study, the students‟ grammatical

problems were as a clue for teachers, not only the students‟ errors in general but also to

focus their problems and avoid committing the same types of errors while writing in

future. In the classroom students should be made to identify and use the content and

function words in the text. Sufficient exercises in identification of word class will help

the students to have a complete understanding of preposition. It is suggested that

language teacher pay more attention while teaching the grammar in the classroom.

It must be brought to their notice that certain prepositions acts as a noun, verb, adjective,

adverb and conjunction. The teacher must handle this problematic area to predict the

errors through diagnostic test and develop their teaching techniques, methods and drills

accordingly.


overlapping between prepositions and other parts of speech€¦ · prepositions and adjectives can...

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