Collins Cobuild English Grammar (131 page)

If you are using
be
as a main verb, the verb always comes before the subject; so, for example, you cannot say
Under her chin a colossal brooch was
.

Under her chin
was a colossal brooch
.
Next to it
is a different sign
which says simply Beware.
Alongside him
will be Mr Mitchell Fromstein
.

Showing position

6.84
    The prepositional phrases in the following examples show the place where an action occurs, or the place where someone or something is.

The children shouted, waving leafy branches
above their heads
.
The whole play takes place
at a beach club
.
Two minutes later we were safely
inside the taxi
.
He stood
near the door
.
She kept his picture
on her bedside table
.

prepositions showing position

6.85
    The following prepositions are used to show position:

aboard

about

above

across

against

ahead of

all over

along

alongside

amidst

among

around

astride

at

away from

before

behind

below

beneath

beside

between

beyond

by

close by

close to

down

in

in between

in front of

inside

near

near to

next to

off

on

on top of

opposite

out of

outside

past

through

under

underneath

up

upon

with

within

USAGE NOTE

6.86
    Some prepositions are only used with a restricted group of nouns.

For example,
aboard
is used with a noun referring to a form of transport, such as
ship
,
plane
,
train
, or
bus
, or with the name of a particular ship, the flight number for a particular plane journey, and so on.

There’s something terribly wrong
aboard this ship
, Dr Marlowe.
More than 1500 people died
aboard the Titanic
.
…getting
aboard that flight to Rome
.
He climbed
aboard a truck
.

Here is a list of nouns that you use with
aboard
to indicate position:

aircraft carrier

boat

bus

coach

ferry

jet

plane

rocket

ship

sled
(American)

sledge

space shuttle

train

trawler

truck

wagon

yacht

Astride
is mainly used to say that a person has one leg on each side of something, usually sitting on it or riding it.

He whipped out a chair and sat
astride it
.
He spotted a man sitting
astride a horse
.

When
before
is used to show position, the object is usually a person or group of people.

Leading representatives were interviewed
before a live television audience
.
He appeared
before a disciplinary committee
.

All over
usually has a large or indefinite area as its object.

Through the site, thousands of people
all over the world
are being reunited with old friends.
There were pieces of ship
all over the place
.

USAGE NOTE

6.87
    Some prepositions have several meanings. For example,
on
can be used to say that someone or something is resting on a horizontal surface or is attached to something, or that someone’s place of work is an area such as a farm or a building site.

The phone was
on
the floor in the hallway.
I lowered myself down
on
a rope.
My father worked
on
a farm.

prepositions with comparative forms

6.88
    
Near
,
near to
, and
close to
have comparative forms that can also be used as prepositions.

We’re moving
nearer my parents
.
Venus is much
nearer to the Sun
than the Earth.
The judge’s bench was
closer to me
than Ruchell’s chair.

more specific position

6.89
    If you want to say more exactly which part of the other thing an object is nearest to, or exactly which part of an area or room it is in, you can use one of the following prepositions:
at
,
by
,
in
,
near
,
on
,
round
.
To
and
towards
, usually used to indicate direction, are used to express position in a more approximate way.

The objects of the prepositions are nouns referring to parts of an object or place, such as
top
,
bottom
, and
edge
. Here is a list of words that are used to talk about parts of an object or place:

back

bottom

edge

end

front

left

middle

right

side

top

~

east

north

north-east

north-west

south

south-east

south-west

west

~

bankside

bedside

dockside

graveside

hillside

kerbside

lakeside

mountainside

poolside

quayside

ringside

roadside

seaside

waterside

Note that the compound direction prepositions (
northeast
,
southwest
, etc.) may be spelled either with or without a hyphen in British English. They are hardly ever spelled with a hyphen in American English.