II. English Preposition

    Before learn the skills of English preposition translation, we should learn the English preposition. 

2.1 The Definition of English Preposition

    English preposition is word that used before the noun, gerund or pronoun to show time, place, direction and so on(Wolfram 56). In the phrase “the fishes in the water”, “in” is a preposition. Prepositional phrase begins with a preposition, such as “in bed”, or “at home”.

2.2 The Features of English Preposition   

    In the English language, preposition is empty word, and it represents the relationships between sentences or between words and Word 源Z自)751+文`论,文]网[www.751com.cn components. So it is one of the most important ligaments of sentences and articles. In English, the use of preposition is flexible. Because it has a close relationship with the English syntax, as well as the characteristics of English preposition. 

A lot of English prepositions are polysemous words. A preposition usually has a variety of meanings. Take the preposition “from” for example, the basic meaning of “from” is spatial concept. It means that something move away from the origin. And it can connect nouns, clauses and the English prepositional phrases, such as: ①She quit from the club. (她退出了这个社团) ②Aside from being good study, playing the piano is a very useful skill. In addition, “from” is also used to indicate sources, materials that to build something, such as: the furniture is made from wood. (家具是由木材制成的) What’s more, “from” can express negative meanings. And it can connect with verbs, adjectives, nouns and adverbs, constituting a prepositional phrase to express negative meanings. For example: We’d better put on raincoats to protect us from the rain (我们最好穿上雨衣为了保护我们不被雨淋). The preposition “from” also has other meanings, such as “avoid”, but we don't do it here in detail. In conclusion, there are a lot of polysemous prepositions in English.