{"id":6932,"date":"2020-11-08T13:28:54","date_gmt":"2020-11-08T13:28:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eltweekly.com\/?p=6932"},"modified":"2020-11-08T13:28:54","modified_gmt":"2020-11-08T13:28:54","slug":"three-prepositions-across-along-through-by-nick-shepherd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/?p=6932","title":{"rendered":"Three prepositions: across, along, through by Nick Shepherd"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today I am talking about three words which are mostly used as prepositions or adverbial particles, and today they will be used as prepositions. For more on \u2018<strong>used as<\/strong>\u2019, see below, \u201cmore complicated\u201d stuff).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The three words are <em>across, along<\/em> and<em> through<\/em>, but before I talk about them, I want to talk about dimensions. Choice of preposition often depends on dimension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dimensions: <\/strong><em>at, on, in<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"134\" height=\"82\" src=\"http:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/image-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6933\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">0\/1 dimension\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"131\" height=\"78\" src=\"\/\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">0 dimension is like a dot on a map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1 dimension is like a line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Where\u2019s Sarah today?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; She\u2019s <strong>at<\/strong> the office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (Sarah\u2019s office is five miles away: it\u2019s a dot on a map for him)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2 dimensions<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"131\" height=\"78\" src=\"\/\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"134\" height=\"82\" src=\"http:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/image-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6934\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2 dimensions is for a surface, like a wall or a ceiling, or a desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Where is the report I asked for?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It\u2019s <strong>on<\/strong> your desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (The top of the desk is a flat surface)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">3 dimensions<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"128\" height=\"76\" src=\"\/\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"131\" height=\"80\" src=\"http:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/image-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6935\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">3 dimensions is for a box, like a house or a city or a pocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Do you know where Sarah is?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Yes, she\u2019s <strong>in<\/strong> her office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; (Sarah\u2019s office is 3 metres away; we\u2019re standing outside it)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s a a video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube aligncenter wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p class=\"responsive-video-wrap clr\"><iframe title=\"across along through [NEW VERSION]\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_ccPgadJ9Gc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But of course it\u2019s more complicated than that.&nbsp; Language is not exactly about reality, it is about how we look at reality (see below, \u201cmore complicated . . .\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>At, on<\/em> and <em>in<\/em> are about location; <em>along, across<\/em> and <em>through<\/em> are about movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Along<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Along<\/em> is about movement in 1 dimension: length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;So we walk along a road, or a corridor. The corridor is three dimensional, but we are only interested in one of the dimensions: the length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Across<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Across<\/em> is about 2 dimensions: length and width.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So we walk across the garden (from one side to the other). or across a room. The room has three dimensions, but we are only interested in two of them: the floor which we are walking across.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Through<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Through<\/em> is about three dimensions: length, width and height.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So we drive through a tunnel, we go through a doorway. We are seeing the tunnel as a three dimensional place, and all three dimensions &#8211; the length, the width and the height, are important to us. So we go through it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But of course, \u201c it\u2019s more complicated than that . . .\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Notes on the \u201cmore complicated\u201d stuff<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c<strong>Used as<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">English is a hybrid language, with very little gender marking or conjugations, and almost no declensions. This makes it a very flexible language, and the same word can be used in different ways; it is often hard to know what a word is &#8211; noun or verb? preposition or particle? &#8211; until it is <strong>used<\/strong> in a sentence.&nbsp; That\u2019s the interesting question: how is a word being used?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Focus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reality has many aspects: which one are we focussing on? Suppose I am focussing on where I live, I can say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>I live<strong> in<\/strong> Qatar.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Qatar is a city; it\u2019s a big place, with three dimensions. I am inside it, it surrounds me, and I use <strong><em>in<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But supposing I am focussing on a journey from London to Australia?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>We stopped<strong> at<\/strong> Qatar on the way to Sidney to refuel.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Qatar is now a dot on a map in my mind, and I use <strong><em>at<\/em><\/strong>. Your choice of dimension may be about the thing itself, or it may be about how you see it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Jobs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What\u2019s the job of a [word used as a] preposition? Don\u2019t forget it often does a job as a particle in a phrasal verb. When it\u2019s used as a preposition, it usually goes before a noun or a noun phrase, and adds some general meaning. Here are three of the most common areas of meaning, but there are more:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Location: position, movement: <em>at, on in; above below; over, under; across along through . . .<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Time: clocks, dates, time of day: <em>at, on, in, by, from, to, until <\/em>. . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reason: connection, purpose . . . <em>with, by, for, through . . .<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Metaphors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We use metaphors all the time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Life is a journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Dealing with the coronavirus is a war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Education is building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Metaphors are a useful shorthand to express what we mean vividly and dramatically, and they are often used with prepositions and particles, where the metaphor is often a journey, or a move of some kind::<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He got through the operation<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He came across some problems on the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After his illness, he\u2019s coming along very well, considering everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A final word about metaphors: they are vivid and helpful to convey an idea, but they only work up to a point and can be dangerous. Here\u2019s an example: education, in my view, is not much like a building; it\u2019s more like a jigsaw puzzle, where we fit the pieces together in an unpredictable order, and they do not form a structure. Yet we often describe education as if it were a structure. Use metaphors carefully! That\u2019s all for now!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a9 Shepherd School of English<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today I am talking about three words which are mostly used as prepositions or adverbial particles, and today they will be used as prepositions. For more on \u2018used as\u2019, see below, \u201cmore complicated\u201d stuff). The three words are across, along and through, but before I talk about them, I want to talk about dimensions. Choice [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","omw_enable_modal_window":"enable","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[53,263,277],"tags":[851,921],"class_list":["post-6932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eltweekly","category-eltweekly-volume-11","category-eltweekly-volume-11-issue-21","tag-elt-newsletter","tag-eltweekly","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6932\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}