Editing Adposition (section)

==Simple versus complex==

Simple adpositions consist of a single word (''on'', ''in'', ''for'', ''towards'', etc.). Complex adpositions consist of a group of words that act as one unit. Examples of complex prepositions in English include ''in spite of'', ''with respect to'', ''except for'', ''by dint of'', and ''next to''.

The distinction between simple and complex adpositions is not clear-cut. Many complex adpositions are derived from simple forms (e.g., ''with + in'' → ''within'', ''by + side'' → ''beside'') through [[grammaticalisation]]. This change takes time, and during the transitional stages, the adposition acts in some ways like a single word, and in other ways like a multi-word unit. For example, current [[German orthography|German orthographic conventions]] recognize the indeterminate status of certain prepositions, allowing two spellings: ''anstelle''/''an Stelle'' ("instead of"), ''aufgrund''/''auf Grund'' ("because of"), ''mithilfe''/''mit Hilfe'' ("by means of"), ''zugunsten''/''zu Gunsten'' ("in favor of"), ''zuungunsten''/''zu Ungunsten'' ("to the disadvantage of"), ''zulasten/zu Lasten'' ("at the expense of").<ref>[[Duden]]: ''Neue Rechtschreibung Crashkurs ([http://www.duden.de/deutsche_sprache/neue_rechtschreibung/crashkurs/getrenntzusammen/regel_11.php Regel 11] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312003114/http://www.duden.de/deutsche_sprache/neue_rechtschreibung/crashkurs/getrenntzusammen/regel_11.php |date=2008-03-12 }})''.</ref>

The distinction between complex adpositions and free combinations of words is not a black-and-white issue: complex adpositions (in English, "prepositional idioms") can be more fossilized or less fossilized. In English, this applies to a number of structures of the form "preposition + (article) + noun + preposition", such as ''in front of'', ''for the sake of''.<ref>''CGEL'', p. 618ff; Pullum (2005); Huddleston and Pullum (2005), pp. 146-47.</ref> The following characteristics are good indications that a given combination is "frozen" enough to be considered a complex preposition in English:<ref>Quirk and Mulholland (1964).<!--Check this ref, it may not support the whole of this--></ref>
* It contains a word that cannot be used in any other context: ''by dint of'', ''in lieu of''.
* The first preposition cannot be replaced: ''with a view to'' but not *''for/without a view to''.
* It is impossible to insert an article, or to use a different article: ''on account of'' but not *''on an/the account of''; ''for the sake of'' but not *''for a sake of''.
* The range of possible adjectives is very limited: ''in great favor of'', but not *''in helpful favor of''.
* The [[grammatical number]] of the noun cannot be changed: ''by virtue of'' but not *''by virtues of''.
* It is impossible to use a [[possessive determiner]]: ''in spite of him'', not *''in his spite''.