double preposition

Question

- "outside of the classroom" is a preposition phrase (PP): the preposition 'outside' is the head of this phrase and 'of the classroom', another PP is the complement. We verify here that a head preposition can take another PP as its complement. A similar example is found in the following: "Few CIA agents escape
from behind the Iron Curtain.". In this additional example, the preposition 'from' is the head of PP and another PP 'behind the Iron Curtain' functions as its complement.

1. I'm saving the cognac for after dinner.
2. I'll meet you round by the bank.
3. She is outside in the garden.
4. Out from the bed crawled a mouse.

I understand #1 but I can't exactly #2,3 and 4.
Q1) I have no idea what #2 means
Q2) Regarding #3, is the difference between #3 and "She is outside the garden" is "She is outside and she is in the garden" and She is somewhere outside but not in the garden"?
Q3) Does #4 mean a mouse crawled somewhere out of the bed from the bed?

BillJ · Accepted Answer

moon7296 "outside of the classroom" is a preposition phrase (PP): the preposition 'outside' is the head of this phrase and 'of the classroom', another PP is the complement. We verify here that a head preposition can take another PP as its complement. A similar example is found in the following: "Few CIA agents escape from behind the Iron Curtain.". In this additional example, the preposition 'from' is the head of PP and another PP 'behind the Iron Curtain' functions as its complement.

There are PPs denoting places (and times) which occur with a few preps that usually take NPs as complement, as in the examples you cite. It's clear that it's the first prep in the sequence that is head, cf. the ungrammatical *"She stood of the classroom", and "He escaped behind the Iron Curtain" which means he escaped to somewhere behind the Iron Curtain, not from it. By the way, locative "of" in "outside of the classrom" is mainly restricted to AmE. In BrE, we simply say "outside the classroom".

moon72961. I'm saving the cognac for after dinner.2. I'll meet you round by the bank.3. She is outside in the garden.4. Out from the bed crawled a mouse.I understand #1 but I can't exactly #2,3 and 4.Q1) I have no idea what #2 meansQ2) Regarding #3, is the difference between #3 and "She is outside the garden" is "She is outside and she is in the garden" and She is somewhere outside but not in the garden"?Q3) Does #4 mean a mouse crawled somewhere out of the bed from the bed?

1. I'm saving the cognac [for after dinner].
2. I'll meet you [round by the bank].
3. She is [outside in the garden].
4. [Out from the bed] crawled a mouse.

In 1. "for" is the head and the meaning of the complement is one of time. But in 2. the directional prep "round" is not a head but a pre-head modifier - it modifies the sense of the head prep "by" by indicating that although there are several ways one might go to the bank, "round" in this case suggests a path going round a corner.

In 3. the locative prep "outside" has a meaning of 'out of the house or building'. The second PP "in the garden" is not a complement to "outside", but a post-head modifier to it. It adds a further locative meaning defining exactly where outside she is located. You could think of it as meaning 'she is out of the house and she is in the garden'. "She is outside the garden" is rarely heard, but it would mean something like she is outside the confines of the garden, perhaps in the street. "She is outside" simply means 'she is out of the building'.

4. is like 2. in that the directional prep "out" is not a head but a pre-head modifier modifying the sense of the head PP "from" meaning the mouse took a path away from the bed.

BillJ

double preposition

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