Preposition stranding
Encyclopedia
Preposition stranding, sometimes called P-stranding, is the syntactic
construction in which a preposition with an object
occurs somewhere other than immediately adjacent to its object. (The preposition is then described as stranded or hanging.) This construction is widely found in Germanic languages, including English
and the Scandinavian languages; whether or not German and Dutch exhibit legitimate preposition stranding is considered debatable. Preposition stranding is also found in languages outside the Germanic family, such as Vata and Gbadi, two languages in the Niger–Congo
family, and certain dialects of French
spoken in North America.
, pseudo-passive
s, and relative clause
s.
Overzealous avoidance of stranded prepositions leads to unnatural-sounding sentences, especially when the preposition is part of an idiomatic phrasal verb
, such as the following, apocryphally attributed to Winston Churchill
(Note the verb here is the phrasal verb "put up with," split to humorous effect):
Natural English occasionally uses sentences that involve many stranded prepositions in a row, such as in the following statement said by a young boy to his mother, who has just brought a book up from downstairs to read to her son. The boy wanted a different book.
The up in the preceding example is not actually a stranded preposition but an adverb of movement. It can of course be moved to a position earlier in the sentence, sacrificing a little of the naturalness, whereas the true stranded prepositions can really only occur at the end in all but the most formal speech. The sentence now ends in a string of four words which are all stranded prepositions.
in 1672 when he objected to Ben Jonson
's 1611 phrase the bodies that those souls were frightened from. Dryden did not provide the rationale that gave rise to his suggestion that the sentence should be restructured to front the preposition.
seem to have developed preposition stranding as a result of linguistic contact with English. Preposition stranding is found in areas where the Francophone population is under intense contact with English, including certain parts of Alberta, Northern Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Louisiana. It is found (but heavily decried) in very informal Quebec French
. For example, Prince Edward Island French permits all three types of preposition stranding:
However, not all dialects of French allow preposition stranding to the same extent. For instance, Ontario French restricts preposition stranding to relative clauses with certain prepositions; in most dialects, stranding is impossible with the prepositions à (to) and de (of).
A superficially similar construction is possible in standard French in cases where the object is not moved, but implied, such as Je suis pour ("I'm all for it") or Il faudra agir selon ("We'll have to act accordingly").
, both of which in fact involve the stranding of postpositions.
Another way to analyze examples like the first one above would be to allow arbitrary "postposition + verb" sequences to act as transitive separable prefix verbs
(e.g. in + lopen → inlopen); but such an analysis would not be consistent with the position of in in the second example. (The postposition can also appear in the verbal prefix position: […] dat hij zo'n donker bos niet durft in te lopen […].)
Some regional varieties of German
show the same phenomenon with da(r)- and wo(r)- forms. For example:
Again, although the stranded postposition has nearly the same surface distribution as a separable verbal prefix, it would not be possible to analyze these Dutch and German examples in terms of the reanalyzed verbs *overpraten and *vonkaufen, for the following reasons:
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
construction in which a preposition with an object
Object (grammar)
An object in grammar is part of a sentence, and often part of the predicate. It denotes somebody or something involved in the subject's "performance" of the verb. Basically, it is what or whom the verb is acting upon...
occurs somewhere other than immediately adjacent to its object. (The preposition is then described as stranded or hanging.) This construction is widely found in Germanic languages, including English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and the Scandinavian languages; whether or not German and Dutch exhibit legitimate preposition stranding is considered debatable. Preposition stranding is also found in languages outside the Germanic family, such as Vata and Gbadi, two languages in the Niger–Congo
Niger–Congo languages
The Niger–Congo languages constitute one of the world's major language families, and Africa's largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. They may constitute the world's largest language family in terms of distinct languages, although this question...
family, and certain dialects of French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
spoken in North America.
Preposition stranding in English
In English, preposition stranding is commonly found in three types of constructions: Wh-questionsWh-questions
Wh-questions may refer to:*In linguistics, a question that makes use of interrogative words *In journalism, the Five Ws...
, pseudo-passive
Pseudo-passive
Pseudo-passive is a grammatical category that describes the relationship between the action and the participants identified by its argument to their thematic relations. It is common in spoken English...
s, and relative clause
Relative clause
A relative clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a noun phrase, most commonly a noun. For example, the phrase "the man who wasn't there" contains the noun man, which is modified by the relative clause who wasn't there...
s.
- In Wh-constructions, the object of the preposition is a Wh-word in deep structure but is fronted as a result of the Wh-movementWh-movementWh-movement is a syntactic phenomenon found in many languages around the world, in which interrogative words or phrases show a special word order. Unlike ordinary phrases, such wh-words appear at the beginning of an interrogative clause...
. It is commonly assumed in transformationalTransformational grammarIn linguistics, a transformational grammar or transformational-generative grammar is a generative grammar, especially of a natural language, that has been developed in the Chomskyan tradition of phrase structure grammars...
approaches to syntax that the movement of a constituent out of a phrase leaves a silent traceTrace (linguistics)In transformational grammar, a trace is an empty category that occupies a position in the syntactic structure. In some theories of syntax, traces are used in the account of constructions such as wh-movement and passive....
. In the case of Wh-movement leaving a stranded preposition, the Wh-word is fronted to the beginning of the interrogative clause, leaving a trace after the preposition:
-
- Whati are you talking about ___i?
- Pseudopassives are the result of the movement of the object of a preposition to fill an empty subject position for a passivePassive voicePassive voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. Passive is used in a clause whose subject expresses the theme or patient of the main verb. That is, the subject undergoes an action or has its state changed. A sentence whose theme is marked as grammatical subject is...
verb. This phenomenon is comparable to regular passives, which are formed through the movement of the object of the verb to subject position. In pseudopassives, unlike in Wh-movement, the object of the preposition is not a Wh-word but rather a noun or noun phrase:
-
- This chairi was sat on ___i.
- Relative clauses in English can also exhibit preposition stranding, whether with a complementizer introducing the clause or without:
-
- This is the booki thati I told you about ___i.
- This is the booki I told you about ___i.
Overzealous avoidance of stranded prepositions leads to unnatural-sounding sentences, especially when the preposition is part of an idiomatic phrasal verb
Phrasal verb
A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and a preposition, a verb and an adverb, or a verb with both an adverb and a preposition, any of which are part of the syntax of the sentence, and so are a complete semantic unit. Sentences may contain direct and indirect objects in addition to the phrasal...
, such as the following, apocryphally attributed to Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
(Note the verb here is the phrasal verb "put up with," split to humorous effect):
-
- This is the sort of nonsense up with which I will not put.
Natural English occasionally uses sentences that involve many stranded prepositions in a row, such as in the following statement said by a young boy to his mother, who has just brought a book up from downstairs to read to her son. The boy wanted a different book.
-
- What1 did you bring that book2 that I3 didn't want to be read to___3 out of___2 up for___1?
The up in the preceding example is not actually a stranded preposition but an adverb of movement. It can of course be moved to a position earlier in the sentence, sacrificing a little of the naturalness, whereas the true stranded prepositions can really only occur at the end in all but the most formal speech. The sentence now ends in a string of four words which are all stranded prepositions.
-
- What1 did you bring up that book2 that I3 didn't want to be read to___3 out of___2 for___1?
Origin of proscription against preposition stranding
The proscription against preposition stranding in English was created by John DrydenJohn Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
in 1672 when he objected to Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
's 1611 phrase the bodies that those souls were frightened from. Dryden did not provide the rationale that gave rise to his suggestion that the sentence should be restructured to front the preposition.
Preposition stranding in French
A few non-standard dialects of FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
seem to have developed preposition stranding as a result of linguistic contact with English. Preposition stranding is found in areas where the Francophone population is under intense contact with English, including certain parts of Alberta, Northern Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Louisiana. It is found (but heavily decried) in very informal Quebec French
Quebec French
Quebec French , or Québécois French, is the predominant variety of the French language in Canada, in its formal and informal registers. Quebec French is used in everyday communication, as well as in education, the media, and government....
. For example, Prince Edward Island French permits all three types of preposition stranding:
- Wh-movement: Qui-ce que tu as fait le gâteau pour?
-
- Whom did you bake the cake for?
- Standard French: Pour qui as-tu fait le gâteau?
- Pseudopassives: Robert a été parlé beaucoup de au meeting.
-
- Robert was much talked about at the meeting.
- Standard French: On a beaucoup parlé de Robert au meeting.
- Relative clauses: Tu connais pas la fille que je te parle de.
-
- You don't know the girl that I'm talking to you about.
- Standard French: Tu ne connais pas la fille dont je te parle.
- Another, more widespread non-standard variant: Tu ne connais pas la fille que je te parle.
However, not all dialects of French allow preposition stranding to the same extent. For instance, Ontario French restricts preposition stranding to relative clauses with certain prepositions; in most dialects, stranding is impossible with the prepositions à (to) and de (of).
A superficially similar construction is possible in standard French in cases where the object is not moved, but implied, such as Je suis pour ("I'm all for it") or Il faudra agir selon ("We'll have to act accordingly").
Preposition stranding in Dutch and German
There are two kinds of preposition stranding constructions in DutchDutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, both of which in fact involve the stranding of postpositions.
Directional constructions
The first case involves directional constructions. A number of common Dutch adpositions can be used either prepositionally or postpositionally, with a slight change in possible meanings; for example, Dutch in can mean either in or into when used prepositionally, but can only mean into when used postpositionally. When postpositions, such adpositions can be stranded:- Wh-movement: Welk bosi liep hij ___i in?
-
- literally, Which foresti walked he ___i into?
- i.e., What forest did he walk into?
- short-distance movement: […] dat hij zo'n donker bos niet in durft te lopen […]
- literally, […] that he such-a dark forest not into dares to walk […]
- i.e., […] that he doesn't dare walk into such a dark forest […]
Another way to analyze examples like the first one above would be to allow arbitrary "postposition + verb" sequences to act as transitive separable prefix verbs
Separable verb
A separable verb is a verb that is composed of a lexical verb root and a separable second root . In some verb forms, the verb and the particle appear in one word, whilst in others the verb stem and the particle are separated. Note that the particle cannot be accurately referred to as a prefix...
(e.g. in + lopen → inlopen); but such an analysis would not be consistent with the position of in in the second example. (The postposition can also appear in the verbal prefix position: […] dat hij zo'n donker bos niet durft in te lopen […].)
R-pronouns
The second case of preposition stranding in Dutch is much more widespread. Dutch prepositions generally do not take the ordinary neuter pronouns (het, dat, wat, etc.) as objects. Instead, they become postpositional suffixes for the corresponding r-pronouns (er, daar, waar, etc.): hence, not *over het (about it), but erover (literally thereabout). However, the r-pronouns can sometimes be moved to the left, thereby stranding the postposition:- Wij praatten er niet over.
-
- literally, We talked there not about.
- i.e., We weren't talking about it.
- Waar praatten wij over?
- literally, Where talked we about?
- i.e., What were we talking about?
Some regional varieties of German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
show the same phenomenon with da(r)- and wo(r)- forms. For example:
- Standard German requires Ich kann mir davon nichts kaufen.
-
- literally, I can me therefrom nothing buy.
- i.e., I can't buy anything with this.
- Some dialects permit Ich kann mir da nichts von kaufen.
- literally, I can me there-[clipped] nothing from buy.
- i.e., I can't buy anything with this.
- Alternatively, one might also say Da kann ich mir nichts von kaufen.
- literally, There-[clipped] can I me nothing from buy.
- i.e., I can't buy anything with this.
Again, although the stranded postposition has nearly the same surface distribution as a separable verbal prefix, it would not be possible to analyze these Dutch and German examples in terms of the reanalyzed verbs *overpraten and *vonkaufen, for the following reasons:
- The stranding construction is possible with prepositions that never appear as separable verbal prefixes (e.g., Dutch van, German von).
- Stranding is not possible with any kind of object besides an r-pronoun.
Further reading
- An Internet pilgrim's guide to stranded prepositions
- Haegeman, Liliane, and Jacqueline Guéron. 1999. English Grammar: a Generative Perspective. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0631188398.
- Hornstein, Norbert, and Amy Weinberg. 1981. "Case theory and preposition stranding." Linguistic Inquiry 12:55–91.
- Koopman, Hilda. 2000. "Prepositions, postpositions, circumpositions, and particles." In The Syntax of Specifiers and Heads, pp. 204–260. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415161835.
- Takami, Ken-ichi. 1992. Preposition Stranding: From Syntactic to Functional Analyses. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 3110133768.
- van Riemsdijk, Henk. 1978. A Case Study in Syntactic Markedness: The Binding Nature of Prepositional Phrases. Dordrecht: Foris. ISBN 9031601608.