Talk:preposition

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The category of prepositions[change]

The traditional view is that prepositions are always followed by nouns. Not so! They can be followed by:

  • prepositions (e.g., out from under...)
  • adjectives (e.g., on high, for free),
  • adverbs (e.g., until recently)
  • interogative clauses (e.g., we can't agree on whether to have children or not).

Furthermore, while the traditional analysis has a preposition becoming a conjunction when followed by a clause, given the above, there's no justification for this. Thus, before is a preposition in both of the following examples:

  • She stood before the door.
  • She stood before she walked.

--Brett 11:28, 10 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]