Revision as of 11:26, 25 April 2013

Preposition

Destination marker

If there is one sign that symbolizes the word "to" it is an arrow. ( ⇒ )

• I'm going to the store
• Give it to your brother.

In French this notion ( ⇒ ) seems to be included in the verb aller or venir: Je vais en Chine. Bienvenue en France.

• She's going to China.
• Welcome to France.

The most famous line from Shakespeare's Hamlet can also be understood in this light:

• To be or not to be: that is the question?

For Hamlet at this moment of the play, "being" is a still a destination, or an objective that is not fully realized.

Directional marker: towards

• toward, towards = vers, en direction de
  • He moved towards<the door, step by step. He wanted to leave.
    

more metaphorically:

• • • It's getting towards sundown.
    • Towards sundown, she came and asked if we needed help.

Combines with "in" and "on"

• into:
• onto:
  • The destination physically supports (or holds up) the "subject" of the sentence, keeps it from falling.
    • Should we move the computer onto the desk?
    • There's no way you're going to be able to put the iPad onto your unlimited plan with verzion.
  • Z is on to SO / STH -- vient du sens continuative de on, notion de découverte...
    • I think you're on to something here.

VP junction // infinitivals

Combines with any number of verbs to introduce a complement:

• "When purchasing life insurance, there are a few specific questions that you're not going to want to forget to ask." §

phonetic reduction

There are two principle verbs where the [t] loses its "obstruent" nature (It's T-ness if you like):

• want to    →    wanna'
• going to    →    gonna'

modality of "to"

Modality#Modality_of_to