31. Prepositions after Action Nouns 1

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An action noun linked to a second noun by “of” (or irregular equivalent) is like a verb with its object

ACTION NOUNS AND THEIR PARTNER PREPOSITIONS

The term “action noun” is used in this blog for any noun that is very similar to a particular verb in both spelling and meaning. Examples are movement, spelt substantially like the verb MOVE and able to mean “moving”, and existence, obviously similar to EXIST and able to mean “existing”. The different ways in which different verbs change their spelling to create an action noun are fairly limited and can be quite predictable (see 249. Action Noun Endings). There are a variety of situations where an action noun might be preferable to a verb (see 131. Uses of “Action” Nouns).

Action nouns share not just their forms and meanings with verbs, but also an ability to combine with other nouns saying who or what is involved in the action or state being expressed. These other nouns – the “subjects” and “objects” of verbs – cannot be given the same names with an action noun, because those names are by definition associated with verbs. They could, however, be called “subject-like” and “object-like” because if the action noun is changed into its equivalent active verb, they will become either its subject or object.

English has various ways of marking a noun as subject-like or object-like. One of these is with prepositions – special ones in each case. In this post I wish to examine what these prepositions are with object-like nouns, and how they can be used. The prepositions needed for subject-like nouns are considered separately in the post 49. Prepositions after Action Nouns 2.

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THE REGULAR PREPOSITION WITH OBJECT-LIKE NOUNS

Verb objects are explained within this blog in the post 8. Object-Dropping Errors. In the following sentence, demand is the object of the verb may create:

(a) Lowering the price of a commodity may create demand.

The action noun related to may create is creation. How might it be linked with demand in the following sentence?

(b) … can stimulate economic growth.

One possibility is demand creation, with the object-like noun placed directly in front of the action noun (see 136. Types of Description by Nouns, #7). Sometimes, though not here, you can even add an apostrophe ending to the first noun, e.g. the atmosphere’s pollution (see 58. Optional Apostrophe Endings). An alternative to both of these, however, is to use the preposition of – the creation of demand in (b).

The preposition needed before an object-like noun is very commonly of, but not always: some action nouns need a different, often unpredictable preposition. We could say as a result that of is the “regular” preposition with object-like nouns, while its various alternatives are “irregular”. As might be expected, combinations requiring of are rarely a problem for speakers of other languages trying to learn English, whereas those needing a different preposition can cause errors. These are the focus of the rest of this post.

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IRREGULAR PREPOSITIONS WITH OBJECT-LIKE NOUNS

Before considering irregularities, it is important to appreciate that there are some alternatives to of that do not qualify. Consider this:

(c) Development in the North has been less rapid.

Here, the action noun development is followed by in rather than of. However, to conclude that the preposition with object-like nouns alongside development is the irregular in would be incorrect. The reason is that the North here corresponds not to an object of the verb DEVELOP (saying what has been developed) but to an adverb of place (saying where something – probably the economy – has been developed).

This interpretation is supported by the fact that of can replace in after development in (c), and would give the North a more object-like meaning: we would understand that all of it received development rather than just a part (for full details, see 201. Words with Complicated Grammar, #1). Thus, in deciding whether an action noun uses an irregular preposition with object-like nouns, we must be very sure that our examples actually include such a noun.

We must also be sure in analysing examples that an action noun really is present. Consider this use of receipt:

(d) The receipt for the goods should be placed on file.

No action is being expressed by receipt here. It refers to a physical object that people are given to prove they have paid for something. Hence, for cannot be classified as an object-showing preposition. In fact, if we use receipt with its alternative meaning of “receiving”, it takes the regular preposition of:

(e) On receipt of news from Rome, Caesar hurried back.

This kind of variability is possessed by numerous action nouns. With some, the non-action meaning is, like that of receipt in (d), a result of an action (see 14. Action Outcomes); with others, such as entrance (+ to), it is a typical location of one (see 19. Activity Locations).

Other examples, with their non-action preposition, are a solution to a problem, an introduction to a text, a conclusion to a debate, an exception to a rule (see 215. Naming Exceptions), a change to a quantity, a comparison between two things, and a discussion about an issue. For more, see 280. Alternative Meanings of Action Nouns.

Bear in mind, however, that some verb-related nouns – often expressing speech or thought – keep the same preposition of a following noun (usually of) even when they have a non-action meaning. This is the case, for example, with definition, description, illustration and representation.

Action nouns that truly do not allow of before an object-like noun are of two types: those derived from “prepositional” verbs and those that are simply irregular. Both types may be best thought of as nouns with a “typical” preposition (see 111. Words with a Typical Preposition).

1. Prepositions after Nouns Made from Prepositional Verbs

A prepositional verb is a verb and preposition working together to express a particular meaning. Sometimes there is an intervening word – either a noun, as in make fun of and put a stop to (see 123. Prepositional Verbs Containing a Noun), or an adverb, as in crack down on, look forward to and end up with (see 139. Phrasal Verbs, #5). However, it is combinations with no intervening word that are especially relevant here. Examples are LOOK AT, DEPEND ON, FOCUS ON, LEAD TO, STAND FOR, REACT TO, REFER TO and THINK OF (see 42. Unnecessary Prepositions and 44. Troublesome Prepositional Verbs).

Not all of the verbs in this kind of combination can be made into an action noun, but if one can the preposition with object-like nouns is the same as the one in the verb. Of the given examples, DEPEND ON, FOCUS ON, REACT TO and REFER TO have corresponding action nouns: dependence, focus, reaction and reference. The preposition linking each of these to their “object” is then not of, but on, on, to and to respectively. Where no corresponding action noun exists, the gerund (-ing) form of the verb (without the in front) is the only way of making it usable like a noun.

It is important in applying this rule to be sure that the verb is “prepositional” and not “phrasal”. Verbs of this latter kind involve a small word that might be a preposition elsewhere but with them is an adverb. For guidelines on telling the difference, see 139. Phrasal Verbs. An example is SHUT DOWN. Some phrasal verbs can be made into an action noun (e.g. a shutdown: see 26. One Word or Two?), but they need to be separated from an object-like noun by the regular of. 

Very occasionally, three-word prepositional verbs containing a middle adverb can act like the two-word kind. For example CRACK DOWN ON can be made into the action noun a crackdown plus object-showing preposition on, and CATCH UP WITH can become a catch-up plus with. Like phrasal verbs, these three-word prepositional verbs become action nouns by joining the verb and adverb together.

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2. Prepositions after Other Action Nouns

Irregular action nouns, which have a more unpredictable preposition before an object-like noun, simply have to be memorised. Here is a sample list that I have made (sth means something, sb somebody):

An interesting feature of the prepositions here is that they will sometimes create a double meaning involving one of their other common uses besides the one with object-like nouns (see 301. Structures with a Double Meaning 5, #5). In other cases, however, the preposition can make it clear which meaning of the noun is intended. For example, to before a noun after instruction will clarify that instruction means “command” rather than “teaching” (see 314. Words with Complicated Grammar 4, #4).

Now here is an exercise to help interested readers to assess their command of this preposition topic.

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PRACTICE EXERCISE: PREPOSITION SELECTION

In the following, you have to decide what preposition should be written where indicated. Answers are given below.

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1. Essays often involve definition ……… key concepts.

2. All requests ……… assistance should be made in writing.

3. The introduction ……… your topic should take no more than 5 minutes.

4. Feedback on a task should avoid undue emphasis ……… weaknesses.

5. A reference is needed with an application ……… postgraduate study.

6. Struggles ……… grammar are an unavoidable part of writing.

7. It is pointless to engage in comparison ……… past and present heroes.

8. There is no solution ……… some mathematical problems.

9. A last-minute change ……… plan has, unfortunately, been necessary.

10. Every approach ……… the problem of drug misuse has already been tried.

11. The management would not tolerate any opposition ……… their plans.

12. All enquiries ……… job vacancies are best made in writing.

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Answers

1 = of;   2 = for;   3 = of (action meaning);  4 = on;   5 = for (from prepositional verb apply for);   6 = with (from prepositional verb struggle with);   7 = of (action meaning);   8 = to (non-action meaning);   9 = of (action meaning);   10 = to;   11 = to;   12 = about (from prepositional verb enquire about)

30. When to Write a Full Stop

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Full stops depend on grammar, not meaning. A full stop is needed before every new verb, unless there is a “joining device”

THE RELATION BETWEEN GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION

Punctuation is often presented as a matter of feeling or style, when in reality it is mostly (but not completely) determined by grammar. Grammar is key to understanding full stop usage. Any explanations that do not involve it are likely to prove vague and confusing. In this post I wish to show why that is so, and to describe the grammar in a way that my own students seem to have found useful.

It may seem surprising to see punctuation considered in a blog for experienced learners of English. However, errors with full stop usage, like those with most other punctuation types, are quite common even among writers who speak English as their mother tongue. Analyses of other punctuation types can be accessed within these pages by clicking on Punctuation in the “Categories” menu to the right of this page.

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COMMON BUT UNHELPFUL WAYS TO UNDERSTAND FULL STOPS

A natural first step in investigating full stop use is to consider what a sentence is. One unhelpful definition is “a group of words beginning with a capital letter and ending with a full stop”. The problem with this, of course, is that, while it may assist readers to recognise a sentence in a text, it is of little value to writers needing to know when a full stop should be written in the first place.

Another common but problematic definition calls sentences “complete thoughts” or “complete statements”. One difficulty with this is that the “complete thought” of any particular sentence can usually also be expressed in less or more than a sentence. For example, the “thought” of the sentence Plants use the energy of sunlight is surely unchanged in both the part-sentence phrase plants using the energy of sunlight and the two-sentence Plants use energy. It comes from sunlight.

A second difficulty with the idea of “thought” is that defining it to exclude paraphrases like the above is only possible with concepts from grammar – and if grammar has to be brought in to define a sentence, then why mention “thoughts” at all? The close link between paraphrase and grammar is illustrated elsewhere in this blog in 80. How to Paraphrase and 265. Grammar Tools for Better Writing.

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THE NEED TO RECOGNIZE VERBS AND JOINING DEVICES

A much clearer definition of a sentence can be achieved by means of the grammatical concept of verbs: a sentence is not complete until it has a verb, and if another verb has to be used, there must usually be a new sentence, unless there is some special language to “join” the two verbs together. The centrality of verbs in sentences rather resembles the centrality of vowels in syllables (see 125. Stress & Emphasis). Therefore, the main requirement for correct full stop use is ability to recognize first verbs and then the language that can join them together (“joining devices”).

Verbs can be recognized in different ways. Some people make use of the special meanings or forms that can be added to most verbs: “tenses” (past, present, future, etc.), “voices” (active or passive), and “moods” (indicative, imperative, subjunctive). Others have some success with the endings found on many verbs: -s, -ing, -ed, -en, -ify, -ate, etc. (but for a potential problem with this, see 172. Multi-Use Suffixes). Others again make do with the traditional notion of verbs being words of “doing” or “being” (even though “actions” can be expressed by other kinds of word besides verbs – see 31. Prepositions after Action Nouns 1).

Personally, I find it useful to recognise that a verb is almost any word that sounds possible after will. This test easily identifies GO, HAVE, BE, WALK, EVAPORATE and RECOMMEND as verbs, and it rules out words like FROM, HAPPY, TOMORROW and RECOMMENDATION (the main problem is with verb variations like went, having, was, had and evaporated, which have to be changed to their base forms before the will test is used).

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JOINING DEVICES IN ENGLISH

The name “joining device” is my own. It would be convenient to say “joining word” instead, but unfortunately some of the possibilities are less than, or more than, a word, and “device” is the only general term I know that gets round this problem. Below is a classification of joining devices. It contains some categories that can be clicked on for more information, and example sentences with the joined verbs written in CAPITALS.

1. Conjunctions

Some conjunctions are single words, some are phrases (see 230. Multi-Word Conjunctions). There are two subtypes. One (“subordinating”) can go either before or between two “joined” verbs, while the other (“coordinating”) can only go between (see 174. Eight Things to Know about Conjunctions, #3). The first kind include if, in case, after, although, as, because, since, that, until, whereas and while. Here are two verbs linked together by after:

(a) After the sun SETS, mosquitoes BECOME active.

Coordinating conjunctions are not so numerous. The main ones are and, but, nor, or, so and yet. Sometimes they form pairs like both…and, either…or and just as…so (see 64. Double Conjunctions), e.g.:

(b) Cycling both PROMOTES health and PROTECTS the environment.

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2. “Relative” Words

These include who, whom, which, whose, that, where, when, why, what, whatever, wherever, whichever, whoever and whenever (see 200. Special Uses of Relative Clauses). Examples are:

(c) People who LIVE in glass houses SHOULD NOT THROW stones.

(d) 1914 WAS the year when the first world war BEGAN.

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3. Question Words in Indirect Questions

The main ones are whether, if, what, which, when, where, who, whom, whose, how, why and how much (see 185. Noun Synonyms of Question Words), e.g.:

(e) Plato WONDERED where perfect forms EXIST.

Question words combine a verb inside an indirect question with one outside (see 219. Wording next to Indirect Questions, #1).

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4. Special Additions to Verbs

These additions are to, -ing and participle -ed. However not all -ing and -ed uses apply. Excluded are those that make adjectives (see 245. Adjectives with a Participle Ending), nouns (see 240. Nouns that End with “-ing”) and verbs in the past simple tense. The “joining” role of -ing is illustrated in the following:

(f) PUNCTUATing sentences correctly NEEDS concentration.

Here, the verb without –ing (needs) is independent of the -ing one. Elsewhere, though, it may act in partnership as an auxiliary (see 52. Participles Placed Just after their Noun and 70. Gerunds).

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5. Colons, Semi-Colons and Parentheses

All these act sometimes as a joining device and sometimes not (see 17. Colons versus Semi-Colons and 294. Parentheses). A typical “joining” use is:

(g) Demand AFFECTS prices: heating oil IS dearer in winter.

Parentheses may be made with two commas, two brackets or two dashes.

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Note, finally, that some English expressions seem to be joining devices but are not. The main “false” ones are usually called connectors, e.g. therefore, however, in fact, then and furthermore. Some connectors, e.g. however, are especially likely to be mistaken as a conjunction because they mean the same as one (see 250. Synonym Pairs with Contrasting Grammar 1, #6).

For a detailed comparison of conjunctions and connectors, see 40. Conjunctions versus Connectors. For examples of connectors  wrongly used as joining devices, see 138. Test your Command of Grammar 1 and 214. Test your Command of Grammar 2.

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PRACTICE EXERCISES: RECOGNIZING JOINING DEVICES

Deciding where to put a full stop may be helped by checking whether a new verb has a joining device with it; without one, a full stop will be needed somewhere before.

In general, sentences always need one fewer joining device than they have verbs. Thus, a sentence with one verb must have no joining device, a sentence with two verbs needs one joining device, and a sentence with 100 verbs needs 99 joining devices. Here are two exercises that offer practice in spotting verbs and joining devices.

EXERCISE 1: Decide whether a comma or a full stop is needed in each space below. If you think a comma is right, identify the joining device linking the underlined verbs. Answers are below.

1. 21 is not a prime number ___ It/it can be divided by 7 and 3.

2. Tropical forests need to be protected ___ Which/which is not always easy.

3. Since cigarettes are very addictive ___ Cigarette/cigarette taxes hardly put off smokers.

4. However hard you try ___ You/you cannot make a machine work without fuel.

5. First log out from your account ___ Then/then switch off the computer.

6. Every country has a police force ___ Because/because human societies cannot function without order.

7. The ancient Romans were clever engineers ___ This/this meant (that) they/they built good roads.

8. Eating fruit brings numerous health benefits ___ So/so doctors recommend it more and more.

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ANSWERS: 1 = full stop; 2 = comma (which); 3 = comma (since); 4 = comma (however – note that this is a relative adverb here, not the normal connector); 5 = full stop; 6 = comma (because); 7 = full stop (this sentence has three verbs but only one joining device: that joining meant and built); 8 = comma or full stop (some writers allow so to be an informal connector as well as a conjunction)..

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EXERCISE 2: Write either a comma or a full stop in each space marked —… below.  Change any letter following a full stop into a CAPITAL.

Priests are generally full-time male specialists who officiate at public events —… they act as a link between ordinary people and their god or gods …— they have very high status …— some priests even being distinguished from other people by special clothing or hairstyles …— in most societies, priests obtain their position through inheritance or political appointment —… the training of priests can be hard and long …— it involves learning the beliefs and ritual of their religion …— while time must also be spent on fasting, praying and doing manual work —… though the priest rarely receives a fee for his services …— he is supported by donations from the people he serves …— the priestly office can involve a high political position …— for example in some countries even a head of state can be a priest.

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ANSWERS: (where a comma is necessary, the relevant joining device is underlined).

Priests are generally full-time male specialists who officiate at public events. They act as a link between ordinary people and their god or gods. They have very high status, some priests even being distinguished from other people by special clothing or hairstyles. In most societies, priests obtain their position through inheritance or political appointment. The training of priests can be hard and long. It involves learning the beliefs and ritual of their religion, while time must also be spent on fasting, praying and doing manual work. Though the priest rarely receives a fee for his services, he is supported by donations from the people he serves. The priestly office can involve a high political position. For example, in some countries even a head of state can be a priest.