hellog〜英語史ブログ / 2011-11-30

■ #947. 現代英語の前置詞一覧 [preposition][conjunction]

　前置詞，接続詞，助動詞，冠詞，代名詞，関係詞などは機能語 (function word) あるいは文法語 (grammatical word) と呼ばれ，語彙としては閉じた類 (closed class) を形成すると言われる．一方，名詞，動詞，形容詞，副詞は内容語 (content word) と呼ばれ，開いた類 (open class) を形成する．
　理論上，閉じた類とは，そこに含まれる語の数が有限であり，新たな語彙項目が追加されることがなく，したがって網羅的な一覧を作ることができることを含意するが，実際には閉じた類へ新しい語彙項目が追加されるということはある．例えば，前置詞は，閉じた類の1つではあるが，含まれている語の数が比較的多く，なおかつその多くは歴史の過程でリストに加えられてきた語彙項目である．複合や他品詞からの派生により形成された前置詞も少なくない．
　以下は，Quirk et al. (Sections 9.7--9.8, 9.10--9.11) に挙げられている独自の分類による前置詞の一覧を，整理したものである．英語にこれほど前置詞があったのかと驚くばかりだ．

1. Simple prepositions
　(a) Monosyllabic prepositions
　　as, at, but, by, down, for, from, in, like, near (to), of, off, on, out, past, per, pro, qua, re, round, sans, since, than, through (thru), till, to, up, via, while, with
　(b) Polysyllabic prepositions
　　about, above, across, after, against, agin, along, alongside, amid(st), among(st), anti, around, atop, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides, between (tween, twixt), beyond, circa, despite, during, except, inside, into, notwithstanding, onto, opposite, outside, outwith, over, pace, pending, throughout, toward(s), under, underneath, unlike, until, unto, upon, versus (v, vs), vis-à-vis, within, without
2. Marginal prepositions
　bar, barring, excepting, excluding; save
　concerning, considering, regarding, respecting, touching
　failing, wanting
　following, pending
　given, granted, including
　less, minus, plus, times, over
　worth
3. Complex prepositions
　(a) Two-word sequences
　　up against, as per
　　as for, but for, except for
　　apart from, aside from, away from, as from
　　ahead of, as of, back of, because of, devoid of, exclusive of, inside of, instead of, irrespective of, off of, out of, outside of, regardless of, upwards of, void of
　　according to, as to, close to, contrary to, due to, near(er) (to), next to, on to, owing to, preliminary to, preparatory to, previous to, prior to, pursuant to, subsequent to, thanks to, up to
　　along with, together with
　　à la, apropos (of)
　(b) Three-word sequences
　　in aid of, (in) back of, in behalf of, in cause of, in charge of, in consequence of, in (the) face of, in favour of, in front of, in (the) light of, in lieu of, in need of, in place of, in (the) process of, in quest of, in respect of, in search of, (in) spite of, in view of
　　in accordance with, in common with, in comparison with, in compliance with, in conformity with, in contact with, in line with
　　by dint of, (by) means of, by virtue of, (by) way of
　　on account of, on behalf of, on (the) ground(s) of, on the matter of, (on) pain of, on the part of, on the strength of, on top of
　　as far as, at variance with, at the expense of, at the hands of, (for) (the) sake of, for/from want of, in exchange for, in return for, in addition to, in relation to, with/in regard to, with/in reference to, with/in respect to, with the exception of

　この一覧には頻度，用法，使用域などの限られているものも含まれているが，異形を除くと194個の（群）前置詞が挙げられていることになる．閉じた類とはいえ，なかなか豊かな語類だ．

　・ Quirk, Randolph, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, and Jan Svartvik. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman, 1985.

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