Verbs and prepositions have always been linked together in the construction of a simple sentence. I hence call them this way: verbs and prepositions are the husband and wife, for there cannot be a shining house without a couple. (That’s my own quote ). Each verb has only a set or one compatible preposition(s); ideally each verb is associated with a preposition, but there are also some cases where a verb might dwell with more than one preposition.

This is the first edition that I brought forward in this series of “Phrases With Prepositions” and I will start with the alphabet A and upto Z. But trust me this is a whole lot of them and yet they are very crucial in helping you write better and confidently. I will show you what verb goes with what preposition(s) and also forming a sentence or phrase with them. It should definitely be a good collection in your database of “Learn Good Writing Skills by starting with the Basics of the English Language“. So here we go…

5 Verbs And Prepositions With A Sentence

1) Abondon to

Having no other choice, the King abandoned his ministers to the fury of the of the mob.

2) Abide by

As a honest student, you should always abide by the rules and regulations of your institution.

3) Able to

Having gone bankrupt, the manager is not able to pay his employees right now.

NOTE:
Ideally, we do not say “is not able to”, instead we say “is unable to” - This is much better english. But for the sake of the subject of this article, I have used “is not able”

4) Absorb in

Tom Sawyer was so absorbed in his day dreams that he completely forgot about Mr Dobbins’ class.

5) Abhorrence of (abhorrence means ’strong dislike’ or ‘disgust’)

Most sentient women have an abhorrence of lizards

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That’s it for this edition. I have tried to make the sentences simple so that you can concentrate more on how the marriage of certain verb with its specific preposition goes. For example, we cannot say “able for“, that’s not good english (just like an eagle is not an appropriate pair for a hen - Got it?!). Hopefully, as you keep on reading editions after editions, you will surely get a better grasp of things. So don’t forget to subscribe freely and come back often. And please do use the comment form to give me your feedback and other possible sentences or associations.

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Anatomy Of An Ellipsis In Written Languages

→ We say an ellipsis, but many ellipses - (Ellipsis in singular form, but Ellipses in plural form)
→ Ellipsis, has two meanings as far as linguistics is concerned. Some linguists or writers might argue that it has like 3 or 4 meanings. But I’m convinced that it has only 2 main meanings and the rest are just derivatives, or different styles, as I will show you.

First Definition Of Ellipsis

In any written form, (like english, french, polish or chinese), the common reference attributed to an ellipsis is:
→ An ellipsis comprises a set of three consecutive dots (without any spaces between them)

Those 3 dots can be further broken down to the following:

1) To show a deliberate silence to stress an emotion or feeling

I am Sorely vexed…

- Here the author would remain silent after speaking and looking to his opponent with a severe face expression

2) To indicate or show the omission of a word or groups of words.
The words are omitted simply because the first set of words would give a clear indication of those [omitted] words.

It is raining heavily…

- The full intended sentence would be: “It is raining heavily today”
- ‘Today‘ is the omitted word because the verb ‘is‘, which is in the present tense, clearly shows that the action is happening now!

Second Definition Of Ellipsis / What Is An Elliptical Sentence?

→ In written english language, an ellipsis refers to the omission of a word or set of words from a sentence.
→ The idea of simply omitting words in a sentence, makes that ’sentence’ to be referred as an Elliptical Sentence.

E.g:
a) Either Chelsea or Man Utd will win the English Barclays Premier League this season.

- The full intended meaning of the sentence is:
Either Chelsea will win the English Barclays Premier League
Or Man Utd will win the English Barclays Premier League

b) Wakish does not often write articles, but he does it is a blogging explosion.

- The full intended meaning of the sentence is:
Wakish does not often write articles
but when he does write articles it is a blogging explosion

→ As you can deduce from the above, an elliptical sentence undoubtedly avoids repetition of words which can otherwise be read ‘in between the lines’.
Intelligent usage of ellipses greatly enhances the structure of a sentence and thus conveying a clear meaningful message.

Pitfalls Of Elliptical Sentences

Don’t try to force a sentence to be elliptical, it will convey an incorrect grammatical meaning.

E.g:
Alesha neither has nor will go to Pubcons

- Here obviously, the reader will be confused in understanding that sentence
- The writer intended to say:
Alesha neither has go
nor will go to Pubcons

This is completely wrong, so be careful with such incorrect elliptical sentences

Final Notes On Ellipsis

→ I have precised that I’m defining ellipsis as pertained in ‘Written Language’. But ellipses also have different meanings in other types of languages, namely: mathematical languages, programming languages or computer languages.

→ In written language, ellipses vary slightly in their position in a sentence depending on their specific ‘governing linguistic bodies‘; whether to include a space at the beginning or end of the ‘3 dots‘ or/and to enclose them within square brackets..etc. Usage of an ellipsis in Japanese is different from that in Polish. For instance, in the U.S, writers abide by a ‘guide‘ known as the ‘Bluebook‘.

Readers’ Short Exercises On Ellipsis

1) Can you think of other (derived) meanings of ellipses?
2) Can you try to think of sentences which could make a wrong usage of an ellipsis?

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1) Classy ==> grand

John Chow likes to eat at classy restaurants.

2) Cutlery ==> knives, spoons and forks

I felt very uneasy when the gorgeous waitress came near my table to lay the cutlery; I am not used to using the knife properly.

3) Accustomed ==> to get familiar with (to get used to)

It takes time to get accustomed to a different environment specially if it is your first time abroad.

4) Monotony ==> lack of variety

An artist can amazingly transmute the monotony of something, from abstract to concrete, through his artistic drawings.

5) Linger ==> lengthen

Due to the bad weather conditions, the nomads had to linger their stay for some weeks.

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Last time I explained the importance of punctuations. Today, I will continue by elaborating the meaning of the main punctuations and how they are expected to be used.

What Is A Punctuation

→ A punctuation is simply a sign or mark used in a written sentence to make it easy to read and understand
→ It is a way of conveying the exact intended meaning of spoken language

How A Comma Or Two Can Change The Meaning Of A Sentence

Consider the illustration of the famous story of Mrs Abington, the actress who played in the first performance of Sheridan’s School for Scandal. After the show she found a note, in her dressing room, left by her rival actress Mary Robinson. The piece of note had the following simple sentence:

“Mary Robinson says Mrs Abington is the greatest actress”

Mrs Abington, who was equally kind-hearted, added two commas and sent the note back. The simple sentence was majestically changed to:

“Mary Robinson, says Mrs Abington, is the greatest actress”

You see, now the meaning completely changed.

No Exact Rules To Guide The Usage Of Punctuations

No two writers will ever punctuate a passage or piece of writing in the same manner. Just like an artist, punctuation varies with the author’s taste and style (or creativity). But they will all conform to general principles to convey the same meaning.

The General Principles Of Punctuation

1) Full stop
→ Used to denote the end of a sentence
→ Indicates the longest and strongest pause between groups of words.
→ Also used as part of Abbreviations

E.g:
M.P. (Member of Parliament)
M.A. (Master of Arts)

But if the contraction includes the final letter of the word, the full stop should be omitted
E.g: Dr, Mr, Ltd, .. etc.
So do not confuse Abbreviations with contractions

2) Comma
→ Used to denote the shortest natural pause between groups of words
→ But it is used in several different circumstances to give different meaning to a sentence. (I will elaborate on this in a later session)
→ The use of commas is often intuitive, try to find out where a pause is needed in spoken language

3) Semicolon
→ Used to separate sentences of equal importance (co-ordinate sentences). In such a case, a semicolon is more appropriate than a conjunction.
E.g: Your presentation pleased my boss; I was so delighted.

→ Used to mark or indicate an important pause.
E.g:
You played a fabulous match today; I have observed how you bore your fatigue; this was a real test for you; and you received it as a challenge.

→ Used with words like therefore, however, nevertheless, besides, also, otherwise,.. etc. Joining these sentences with a semicolon has a stronger effect than just using conjunctions like ‘and’

E.g:
- Ali has done a remarkable job with my car; therefore I will pay him well.
- Bloggers must take more exercise; otherwise they will get fat.

4) Colon
→ Next longest pause to full stop
→ To introduce a quotation or a speech not depending on a verb
→ often followed by a dash, like :-
E.g:
- Rocky is not going to join our mutual deal: we could not offer him a big enough salary.

→ To introduce a number of items in a list or enumerations
E.g:
Having a credible website online involves: buying a hosting space, buying an address or domain and having a package or framework to display contents in the way we desire.

5) Interrogation note (note of interrogation) or question mark
→ Used when you are asking a direct question, but not after an indirect one.

E.g:
Direct: I said to him, “When are you going back?”
Indirect: I asked him when he was going back.

6) Exclamation note or note of exclamation
→ Used after interjections
→ Used after groups of words or sentences expressing emotion or a wish
→ Used after an exclamatory sentence

E.g:
What a wonderful blog!
I love you Alisha!
I wish my blog gets more readers!

7) Apostrophe
→ Used to show the omission of a letter or letters.
E.g:
I’ve ==> I have
don’t ==> I do not
it’s ==> it is
O’Clock ==> of the clock

→ Used to denote the possessive case of nouns
E.g:
Wakish’s blog
My brother’s car

Quotation mark or inverted commas
→ Used to enclose direct speech
→ Used at the beginning and end of a quotation

9) Dash (single dash)
→ Used to indicate an amendation or an unexpected turn in a sentence
→ Used to define items following a general description
E.g:
I invest all I have in this blog - money, time, energy, knowledge and skills.

All those general principles and definition of punctuation might vary slightly from author to author, writer to writer or blogger to blogger; but the basics nevertheless remains the same!

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1) Initiated ==> started

My interest for stamp collection was initiated by my dad.

2) Encouraged ==> prompted

My dad used to show me his stamp collection. He also encouraged me to take up this hobby.

3) Leisure ==> free time

I enjoy blogging very much. It is an enjoyable and educational way of spending my leisure hours.

4) Seldom ==> rarely

My brother is seldom at home. He works night hours too.

5) Untidy ==> disorderly

The Simpson family has one of the most untidy houses in the row.

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