Adpositions

Adpositions are connecting words used for a wide range of syntactic and semantic functions, most commonly modification and complementation.

Natural Language

Natural language adpositions are classified as prepositions, when preceding a phrase; as postpositions, when following a phrase; and as circumpositions, when surrounding a phrase:

Lists of prepositions

English prepositions

UNL

Natural language adpositions are expected to be explicitly represented in UNL by Universal Relations or by Universal Relations and Universal Attributes.

Adpositions as Universal Relations

As words that connect two other words, adpositions are always represented in UNL as relations:

agt = by

ben = for

dur = during

frm = from

gol = to

ins = with

man = as

met = by

mod = of

opl = in

per = per

plc = in

plf = from

plt = to

pof = of

pos = of

ptn = with

pur = for

scn = in

src = from

tim = in

tmf = since

tmt = until

to = to

via = through

Adpositions as Universal Attributes

Adpositions are also represented as attributes when they assign specific values to general relations. For instance:

the book is in the box

the relation "plc" (place) is sufficient to represent the meaning intended by "in" and no attribute is necessary: plc(book, box)

the book is under the box

the relation "plc" (place) is too generic to represent the meaning intended by "under" and the attribute @under is necessary: plc(book, box.@under)

For the time being, adpositions have been represented by their English correspondents.

@aboard

@about

@above

@according_to

@across

@after

@against

@ahead_of

@along

@alongside

@amid

@among

@apart_from

@around

@as

@as_far_as

@as_of

@as_per

@as_regards

@as_well_as

@aside

@aside_from

@astride

@at

@athwart

@atop

@barring

@because_of

@before

@behind

@below

@beneath

@beside

@besides

@between

@beyond

@but

@by

@by_means_of

@circa

@close_to

@concerning

@despite

@down

@due_to

@during

@except

@except_for

@excluding

@failing

@far_from

@following

@for

@from

@from_on

@given

@in

@in_accordance_with

@in_addition_to

@in_case_of

@in_favor_of

@in_front_of

@in_place_of

@in_spite_of

@in_terms_of

@including

@inside

@inside_of

@instead_of

@into

@like

@mid

@near

@near_to

@next

@next_to

@notwithstanding

@of

@off

@on

@on_account_of

@on_behalf_of

@on_top_of

@onto

@opposite

@out

@out_from

@out_of

@outside

@outside_of

@over

@owing_to

@pace

@per

@prior_to

@pursuant_to

@qua

@regarding

@regardless_of

@round

@save

@since

@subsequent_to

@than

@thanks_to

@that_of

@through

@throughout

@to

@toward

@towards

@under

@underneath

@unlike

@until

@up

@upon

@versus

@via

@with

@with_regard_to

@with_relation_to

@with_respect_to

@within

@without

@worth