L. Q. A Preposition, it is said, is always placed before the Noun it governs. Is there any exception to this rule?

A. Yes. Sometimes the Preposition is placed at the end of the sentence, as, 'The house we live in; The thing that I am afraid of;' 'The man whom I was speaking ta' One word, withal, is always put after its case, as

'A bait to catch fools withal.'

-Shakespeare. 2 Q. Write out in full the Prepositional phrases required to express in full the meanings of the following Compound Nouns :-bellwether, birthright, cannon-ball, fire-wood, grass-hopper, landlord, May

fly, pen-knife, railway, seabreeze, self-control, wood-louse. A. A bell-wether, means 'a sheep with the bell;' birth-right, a right acquired by birth;' cannon-ball, ‘a ball to be fired out of a cannon; fire-wood, 'wood for making fires;' grass-hopper, 'an insect that hops on grass;' landlord, 'an owner of land;' May-fly, a fly that appears in May;' pen-knife, a knife for pen-making;' railway, a road made of rails;' sea-breeze, 'a breeze from the sea;' self-control, 'govern. ment of one's self;' wood-louse, 'an insect found in wood.'

3. Q. What is remarkable in the expressions, 'Depart the cham ber,' 'List a brief tale,' 'Smile vou my speeches as I

were a fool,' 'Thou swear'st the gods in vain'?

A. In all these quotations (Shakespeare) there is an ellipsis of the Preposition. Depart, list, smile, swear'st, are abbreviations of depart from, list to, smile at, and swear'st by.

4. Q. Is there any difference of meaning or derivation between the words of and off?

A. Of and off are merely the results of various modes of writing and pronouncing the same words. Of and off are the same word, with a difference of spelling and pronunciation. It is only in later English that off has been restricted to particular shades of the general meaning. The word indicates movement or separation from something, or the starting-point from which some action proceeds, e.g. 'Get off that chair;' 'To clear of: He went out of the room; To cure of a disease; To die of a fever;' Strong of limb.' 5. Q. Amend the following sentences. What makes them ungrammatical? (a) The Italian Universities were forced to send for their professors from Spain and France.'-Hallam. (b)

The abhorrence of the vast majority of the people to its provisions.'-Alison. (c) 'The accounts they gave of the favourable reception of their writings with the public.'

A. These sentences are all of them faulty through a wrong use of Prepositions. They should be written thus: (a) The Italian Universities were forced to send to Spain and France for their professors.' (b) The abhorrence of its provisions that was felt by the vast majority of the people.' (c)

'The accounts they gave of the favourable reception of their writings by (or on the part of) the public.'

6. Q. What is the distinction between to and too?

A. To and too are, etymologi. cally, the same word. To is spelt

too in some of its Adverbial uses. To denotes the point to which a movement is directed, e.g. 'Go to,' He came to dinner;' or that to which the influence of some action or attribute extends, as, 'This is painful to me.' Too, with Adjec tives (as too bad,' 'too long,' etc.), may be explained as meaning in addition to;' thus 'too bad,'

too

long' denote something in addition to the mere existence of certain qualities, or something more than merely bad or long.

7. Q. Explain the use of by and by in the line following :

'Two youge knightes ligging by and by.'-Chaucer. A. The earliest meaning of by is alongside of, or close to. 'Ligging by and by means, therefore, 'lying side by side.'

8. Q. What English Prepositions

correspond, etymologically, to the German durch, and to the Latin super, sub, ab, and inter? What Preposition was always written after the word it governed?

A. We recognise an affinity be tween durch and the English through (A.S. thurh). It contains the same root as the Latin trans. S-uper is cognate with ov-er (A.S. of-er; Gothic, uf-ar). S-ub corresponds, etymologically, to up (p and b are interchangeable), and ab to of or off (compare Greek ó). Inter is cognate with under, in spite of the difference of meaning. Under con

tains the root in, and the Comparative suffix der=ther. Withal was always written after the Noun it governed.

9. Q. Account for the use of the Preposition of in a

sentence

like The shepherd was blowing of his nails.'

A. We now call blowing a Participle, and the presence of of has become unintelligible. But in Shakespeare's time the word 'blowing in such a sentence was a Verbal Noun, with the Preposition a, in, or on expressed or understood, so that the passage, if written in full, would read, The shepherd was 2-blowing of his nails, which is equivalent to The shepherd was (engaged) in the blowing of his nails; a fairly intelligible expression.

10. Q. Substitute for each of the

Romance Verbs in the following sentences a Simple English Verb, followed by a Preposition used Adverbially :-(a) 'He is progressing in his studies.' (b) This must be deferred till next week.' (c) 'He proceeded to remark.' (d) I have published a new book.' (e) He was much displeased at my conduct.' (f) I intend to expose him for acting thus.'

A. The same meaning may be expressed by substituting for the words in italics the expressions, getting on, put off, went on, brought out, put out, and show up, respectively.

II. Q. The meaning of many Prepositions has changed since Shakespeare's time. What would now be the proper Preposition to employ in each of the sentences following?'I am provided of a torch

A. We should now write 'provided with,' 'deliver you from,' 'how (what) say you about?' 'have we eaten of?' I live on or upon,' to have for a friend.' 12. Q. Mention the Prepositions of Classical origin.

A. Prepositions that have entered the English language from the Latin or French are, concerning, despite, during, except, opposite, pending, regarding, respecting, sans (obsolete), notwithstanding. 13. Q. Explain the words 'all to brake' (Judges ix. 53), and the obsolete expression, wanhope. A. In the first example the to (now obsolete) has the same force as the Latin dis and the German zer. Wan (from the Adj. wana) meant wanting,' and was used as a prefix expressive of privation. Wanhope, therefore, means of hope,' i.e. despair. Trench expresses a regret that this and other Compounds of wan have fallen into disuse.

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want

14. Q. What is 'to' in the following expressions? To-morrow. 'And all to break his head.' 'Early to bed.' 'Go to, now.' 'Such a to-do.'

A. (a) In to-morrow (as in today, etc.) the to is explained by some as a corruption of the Demonstrative, but by others as the ordinary Preposition. (b) To is here a Teutonic Particle with an intensive force. To break is thus equivalent to break in pieces' or 'asunder.'