Many things can be said about this topic but I have decided to deal only with some of

them.I have also decided to divide it into the following parts:

Firstly, it is the introduction.

The second part deals with the prepositions denoting dimension.

The 3rd part deals with prepositions denoting positive position and destination.

The 4th part is about the negative position.

The 5th part is about the relative position.

The 6th part deals wuth other prepositions of expressing space.

The 7th part deals with relative destination and passage.

The 8th part deals with the notion of passage.

The 9th part is about the movement with reference to adirectional path.

The 10th part is about the notion of orientation

The 11th part is a brief conclusion and

The 12th part is a bibliography.

So,let´s start with the Introduction.

Prepositions express a relation between two entities,one being that represented in the
prepositional complement which is related to something else in the preposition.Of the
various types of relational meaning, those of space and time are easiest to describe
systematically.Other relationships,such as instrument and cause may also be recognized,
although it is difficult to describe prepositional uses may be elucidated best by seeing a
preposition as related to a clause, for example:

The man with the red beard ( the man who has...)

My knowledge of Hebrew ( I know Hebrew)

We shall relate semantic categories to their most usual syntactic functions, but one semantic
categoryoften has more than one syntactic function.For example,prepositional phrases of
place can potmodify in nominalizations, as well as in their most usual adverbial function:

His departure from Paris

He departed from Paris

2.Prepositions denoting dimension.

When we use a preposition to indicate space,we do so in relation to the dimensional

properties,whether subjectively or objectively conceived, of the location concerned.For
example:

My car is at the cottage

Here the use of “at” treats “cottage” as a dimensionless location, a mere POINT in relation
to which the position of the car can be indicated.This is dimension type O.Compare “on”:

Our cottage is on that road.

In this example,the road is viewed as a line (along the road),i.e. dimension type 1.But “on”
can also be used to denote an area as in the following examples:

There is some ice on that road.

There is a new roof on that cottage

In these examples the road and the cottage are viewed as two-dimensional areas, i.e. as
SURFACES.

Finally , compare “in”, as for example:

There are only two beds in the cottage

here the cottage is viewed as the three-dimensional object which in reality it is.”In” is also
capable of being used with objects which are essentially two dimensional,as in:

the flowers are in the field

here field is conceived of as an enclosed space (contrast: we walked on the beach).”In”

therefore belongs to dimension type 2 o 3.

In the figure below there is a dimensional orientation of the chief prepositions of space:

Destination position destination position  

TO AT (AWAY) AWAY DIMENSION
 TYPE O
FROM FROM
(point)
ON(TO) ON OFF OFF DIMENSION
TYPE 1 o 2

(line or suf.)
IN(TO) IN OUT OF OUT OF DIMENSION
TYPE 2 o 3(area
or volum)

POSITIVE NEGATIVE

Some of the prepositions in the above figure can be replaced by other prepositions with the
same meaning.”Upon” is a formal equivalent of “on” where a surface is referred to, or is
the basis of, the metaphor concerned.When used metaphorically in archaic expressions,
“upon” is obligatory:

Upon /*on my word

Upon / *on my soul

in some cases, “inside” and “within” can substitute for “in”, and “outside” for “out of”, but
only “within”, not “in” can be used in the following expressions:

within shooting distance

within these four walls

“Onto” is sometimes spelled as two words,especially in BrE:

she jumped onto (on to) the horse

I think you´re onto (on to) something there

The particle “on” + the preposition “to” are always written as two words:

From Lancaster we went on to York (continued)

“Into” is obligatory in fixed metaphorical expressions like “ get into trouble”,”get into
debt”.

3. Prepositions denoting positive position and destination.

3.1.Description.

Prepositional phrases of place are typically either adjuncts (relating an event or state of
affairs to a location) or postmodifiers (relating some object to a location).

Between the notions of simple position ( or static location ) and destination ( movement
with respect to an intended location ) a cause-and-effect relationship obtains:

DESTINATION POSITION

Ann went to Oxford As a result:Ann was at Oxford

Ann climbed onto the roof As a result:Ann was on the roof

Ann dived into the water As a result:Ann was in the water

A prepositional phrase of position can accompany most verbs, although this meaning is
particularly associated with verbs of stative meaning, such as be, stand, live. Etc...The
meaning of destination generally accompanies a verb of dynamic “motional” meaning, such
as go, move, fly,etc...

In many cases (especially in colloquial English), “on” and “in” may be used for both
position and destination when “onto” and “into” make an unnecessary emphasis on the
combination of destination + dimension.

She fell on the floor

He put his hands in his pockets

There are various restrictions, especially in BrE, on the interchangeability of “on” with
“onto” and “in” with”into”: most verbs of motion such as walk,slide,swim, require
“onto/into” for destinational meaning.Note the difference between:

Don´t run in the school ( when you are inside the building)

Don´t run into the school (from outside it )

Causative verbs such as place,stand,lay,sit,...usually permit combinations both with and

without “to,onto,into”:

She put the typewriter case on(to) the top shelf and the key in(to) the drawer

But there appear to be some restrictions:

The mother sat the baby on /*onto the chair

“In” is used with sizeable territories such as:

continents,countries: in Asia,in China

provinces,counties: in British Coumbia,in Cheshire

city districts: in the City,in Inverleith

but for towns,villages,etc...,either “at” or”in” is appropiate,according to point of view:

“at/in Stratford upon Avon”.A very large city is generally treated as an area:

he works in London,but lives in the country

but even a large city may be treated as a point on the map if global distances are in mind:

our plane refuelled at London on its way from NY to Moscow.

Notice the following difference between “at” and “in”:

She´s at Oxford (she´s a student at Oxford univ.)

She´s in Oxford (she´s staying in the city of Oxford)

With buildings also, both “at” and “in” can be used.The difference here is that “at” referes
to a building in its institutional or functional aspect, whereas “in” refers to it as a three-
dimensional structure :

Ann works at/in a publishing house.

“Towards” expresses movement without the idea of completion:

they drove towards Edinburgh

4.Negative position:away from,off,out of”

there is a cause-and-effect relation with negative destination and position parallel to that of
positive destination and position:

Ann drove (away) from home

The book fell off the shelf

Tom got out of the water

Ann is away from home

The book is off the shelf

Tom is out of the water

The negative prepositions “away from,off,out of” may be defined simply by adding the
word “not” to the corresponding positive preposition.

5.Relative position:over,under, etc...

Apart from simple position,prepositions may express the relative position of two objects or
groups of objects.”Above,over,on the top,under,underneath,beneath,below...” express
relative position vertically, whereas “in front of , before, behind, after,...” represent it
horinzontally:

The antonyms “above” and “below”,”over” and “under”,”in front of” and “behind” are
converse opposites:

The picture is above the mantelpiece=

The mantelpiece is below the picture.

The bus is in front of the cars=

The car is behind the bus

“Over” and “under” as place prepositions are roughly synonymous with “above” and
“below”, respectively.The main difference are that “over” and “under” tend to indicate a
direct verbal relationship or spatial proximity,while “above” and “below” may indicate
simply “on a higher/lower level than”.

The castle stands on a hill above the valley

Keep this over you

The doctor and the policeman were leaning over the body when we arrived

“Underneath” and “beneath” (formal) are less common substitutes for

“under”.”Underneath” like “on the top of” generally indicates a contiguous relation:

the police found the stolen money under/ underneath the carpet

we placed the skis on the top of the car

6.Other prepositions expressing space.

Other prepositions expressing space are “by,beside,with”.

He was standing by/beside the door (at the side of )

I left the keys with my wallet ( in the same place as )

“Opposite” means facing and has optional “to”:

her house is opposite ( to ) mine.

“Between” relates position of an object to a definite or exclusive set of discrete

objects,whereas “among” relates to nondiscrete objects.Thus:

the house stands between two farms

among farms

he likes getting among people ( likes mixing with )

“Around” and “round” refer to surrounding position or to motion :

we are sitting (a)round the campfire

the spaceship is travelling (a)round the globe

7.Relative destination and passage:over,under,behind.

As well asrelative position,the prepositions can express relative destination:

He threw a blanket over there

The bush was the only conceivable hiding place, so I dashed behind it.

When it started to rain,we all went underneath the trees

With verbs of motion,prepositions may also express the idea of passage ( movement
towards and then away from a place)

He jumped over a ditch

Someone ran behind the goalposts

The ball rolled underneath the table

8.Passage: across,through,past.

 
The sense of passage is the primary locative meaning attached to “ across” (dimension-type
1 o2 ),trough (dimension-type 2 o 3), past (equivalent to “by”):

On the grass = across the grass

In the grass = through the grass

The upper pair treat the grass as a surface, and therefore suggest,short grass ; the lower
pair,by treating the grass as a volume,suggest that it has height as well as length and
breadth, that is, the grass is long.

9.Movement with reference to a directional path: up, down,along,across,...

“Up, down ,across,and around” , with verbs of motion,make up a group of prepositions

expressing movement with reference to an axis or directional path.

“Up” and “down” contrast in terms of vertical direction:

we walked up the hill and down the other side.

“Along” denotes “ from one end towards the other” or “in the line parallel with “:

we walked along the streets,just looking at people

I took my dog for a walk along the river

“Along” contrasts with “across” ( from one side to another) in terms of a horizontal axis:

be careful when you walk across a street

With “around” the directional path is an angle or a curve:

We run around the corner

10.Orientation: beyond,over,up,across,...

Most preposition which express relative destination,passage and movement with reference
to a directional path can be used in a static sense of orientation.This brings in a third factor
apart from the two things being spatially related: a point of orientation, at which, in reality
or imagination ,the speaker is standing:

“Beyond”( on the far side of) is a preposition whose primary meaning is one of
orientation.”Over, past,across,through” combine the meaning of “beyond” with more
specific information about dimension.
They live across the moors

The village is past the bus stop

Through the wood

11.Conclusion.

In this unit, we have studied the resources of the English language to express spatial
relationships,in terms of stative location, of direction and distance.The description has tried
to show nor only the most typical which indicate spatial relationships, but also,it has tried
to show the exceptions and particular features of the forms that may show difficulty for the
foreign learner of English.

12.Bibliography.

Quirk,R.et.al. (1985)”A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language”.Longman.