(2) Instrumentality, agency — ‘Killed BY lightning;' 'Woven BY hand;' This sonata is BY Beethoven.'

(3) Manner-' Caught By the leg.'

(4) Measure, standard-Two BY the clock;' 'To sell BY weight.' (5) Figuratively-'I will stand BY (assist) you;''Seen By the way.' (6) Adjuration, appeal—' I swear By heaven!' 'By our Lady !' (7) In he did his duty by him,' by is almost equal to 'in regard to.'

For.

For (fore) in the Anglo-Saxon means before or in front of. All the other senses may perhaps be deduced from this. A man who fights in front of another may either-(1) confront him in the field, or (2) take his place as a champion, or (3) act on his behalf. Hence arise (1) the idea of opposition, (2) of substitution, and perhaps (3) of favour.

Thus:

(1) Opposition--'FOR all his wealth, he is unhappy;' 'You may do it, FOR all I care.'

(2) Substitution-'An eye FOR an eye;' 'Word FOR word;' 'To dit FOR one's country;' 'This was meant FOR a joke.'

(3) Favour-'I am FOR peace;' We are FOR going at once;' 'I shall Vote FOR this candidate.'

FOR has also the meanings for the sake of, for the purpose of in the direction of, to the extent of, e.g.- This was done FOR love of you;' 'This is good FOR food;' 'Let us start FOR home;' 'He is lamed FOR life.'

From.

From indicates motion away from, and rest at a distance from. It is used in connection with the two main notions of— (1) Starting-point, origin-'FROM my youth up;' 'He acts FROM impulse; FROM first to last;' 'Risen FROM the ranks.'

(2) Separation or distinction-'Safe FROM danger;''Free FROM care;' 'I did not know him FROM his brother.'

In.

In marks position within. It is used in connection with the ideas of

(1) Place-Castles IN the air; 'Noise IN the street.'

(2) State, condition, manner-'IN tears;' 'IN a dilemma;' 'IN the humour; Rent paid IN kind;' IN a fair way to succeed.'

(3) Time-IN the day-time;' 'IN good time;' 'IN ten minutes.' (4) Point of reference-Rich IN claritable actions ;' 'Strong IN faith.'

Of, off.

Of, Off, are different forms of the same word. They indicate either motion away from, or rest at a distance from some person or thing. Hence of, off, have the meaning of Separation- Wide OF the mark ;' 'Little short of a crime.' Source or origin-A play of Shakespeare's;' 'OF your charity.' A result from, cause-Sick of a fever;' 'To stand in awe Of.' Partition- A piece of cheese;' A page of a book.'

Point of reference-Fleet of foot;'IÏard of hearing.'

On, upon.

On is from the same root as in.

Its original meaning, therefore, is nearness, with the added notion of super-position. On is used in relation to

(1) Space-Newcastle-ON-Tyne;' 'ON his person.'

(2) Time-'ON the 15th inst. ;' 'ON the eve of defeat.'

(3) Attendant circumstances-To stand on ceremony;' 'To act ON the defensive ;' 'I will see you on my arrival.'

Metaphorical uses of on include

On condition of Taken ON approval;

'ON pain of dismissal.'

On the basis of, in dependence upon-To take ON trust;' 'ON his good behaviour.'

Out of.

This Compound Preposition indicates

(1) Motion from the interior, i... origin—'Ten pounds OUT OF pocket ;' 'Done OUT OF kindness.'

(2) Rest on the outside, exclusion-'OUT OF prison;' 'OUT OF doors;' 'OUT OF the question;' 'OUT OF harmony.'

Over.

Over indicates—(1) position above, (2) motion above, (3) position beyond; and all these uses are both literal and metaphorical. Hence it is used in the sense of—

Above (in place or other relation)—'England rules OVER a vast empire;' OVER the archway;' OVER head and ears in debt.'

Above and across-Show him over the house;' 'Ferry us OVER the river.'

On the other side of, beyond-'He lives OVER the way;' 'The king

OVER the water.'

Through.

Through (from the root TAR, meaning to bore or pierce) indicates motion along the interior from side to side. It is thus used in connection with the ideas of―

(1) Space-THROUGH the wood;' THROUGH thick and thin.' (2) Time-THROUGH the year;' 'THROUGH life.'

(3) Attendant circumstances-THROUGH many dangers;' 'I have got THROUGH my work.'

Hence arises, very naturally, the idea of causality. THROUGH now means in consequence of, by means of "He escaped THROUGH Swiftness of foot;' 'It was THROUGH you that I failed.'

To.

To indicates either (1) motion towards, or (2) mere proximity. Hence it is used to mark

The direction of an act or feeling-'Given To hospitality;' 'Duty TO our neighbours.'

Reference to a standard-To all appearance he is guilty;' 'Guilty To my knowledge.'

Adaptation, purpose, result-‘To my advantage;' 'An occupation TO my taste;' 'To take To wife;' 'Come To dinner;' 'Generous To a fault;''He succeeded To admiration.'

Toward, towards.

Toward, towards, signify in the direction of. Hence these words mean

(1) With reference to 'A conscience void of offence TOWARDS God and TOWARDS man.'

(2) With a view to-' A contribution TOWARDS that object.'

·

(3) Near to 'TOWARDS afternoon;' TOWARDS the close of the day.'

Under.

Under marks position beneath, either

Literally, as 'UNDER cover;' 'UNDER sail;' 'UNDER arms;' or Metaphorically, with the meanings of—

(1) In subordination to-The English army UNDER Clive;' 'UNDER these circumstances.'

(2) Falling short of, less than-'UNDER ten pounds.'

(3) Under the guise of-'A statue of pity UNDER the figure of an angel.'

Up.

Up indicates (1) motion to, (2) rest at, a higher point 'They travelled Up the country;' 'I saw the animal UP a tree.'

With.

With at first had the meaning of from, still seen in 'WITH-
hold,' 'WITH-draw,' 'to part WITH.' It has the meaning
of against in 'WITH-stand,' 'to be angry WITH,' 'to fight
WITH.' Lastly (perhaps because opposition implies
proximity), WITH has the sense of association, as 'Come
WITH me,' 'I am WITH you in that matter,' etc.
WITH is used in relation to-

(1) Attendant circumstances-'I will do it WITH pleasure;' 'He did it WITH the best intention.'

(2) Instrumentality—' Elated WITH joy;' 'Burdened WITH debt.'

Within.

Within means in the interior of, and thus within the limits of 'He keeps wITHIN doors;' 'WITHIN five miles of London; The amount is WITHIN the mark.'

Without.

Without means on the outside of, as, 'They stood WITHOUT
the door.' In this sense, however, WITHOUT has been
almost superseded by outside, and is now used to express
exclusion or deficiency with respect to attendant circum-
stances only. E.g. 'He was left WITHOUT a friend in
the world;
'He left WITHOUT notice;' 'He went off

WITHOUT a word.'

Note Did you come without your top-coat?' 'No; I came within it.'

Prepositions versus Conjunctions.

Prepositions not only connect words or ideas, but also express relation—'The man on the wall is mad.' On not only

joins man and wall, but shows the relationship (of position)

between them.

Before, etc. What Part of Speech is before in 'I had gone before you came'?

Is it a Preposition, or Conjunction, or Adverb?

Some writers, thinking most of its connective force, call it a Temporal Conjunction, others regarding chiefly the sequence of time denominate it a Relative or Connective Adverb. It appears best, however (considering that before at first denoted space relationship), to parse it as a Preposition governing the sentence you came.'

Most grammarians would parse it as a Conjunction.

Compare I stood before the king;' 'He arrived before me.' It would be pedantic to say, 'He arrived before I [did].

Prepositions are in their nature more stationary than Conjunctions. This is shown by the fact, that there are more identical Prepositions than Conjunctions in the various languages of the Aryan stock.

VII.

CONJUNCTIONS.

QUESTIONS ON THE CONJUNCTION.

1. What is a Conjunction? Give examples of the use of a Conjunction in connecting (1) words, and (2) sentences.

2. How are Conjunctions most conveniently classified? 3. What are Subordinative Conjunctions? Mention two that describe manner, two place, two time, and two causation. 4. Enumerate the Conjunctions that most frequently go in pairs. What is the grammatical term for words of this class?