Adverb or preposition?

Whereas adverbs and adverbial particles are usually accented (with the exceptions discussed in

), prepositions and prepositional particles are not. English has several words that can function both as prepositions and as adverbs, for example in, on, by. The EFL learner may face uncertainty over whether or not they are to be accented.

As you might expect, they are typically accented when used as adverbs but not when used as prepositions. If they are at the end of the clause, adverbs attract the nucleus but prepositions repel it.

Adverbial particle

Preposition

Note the contrast between double-stressed ,carry 'on and single-stressed 'count on. In carry on the on is an adverb and can have no complement. In count on (someone) the on is a preposition and requires a complement (= object).

Compare the verbs sit in and take in, as in the examples she sat in a comfortable chair and she took in the information. There are various tests we can apply to make it clear that the first in is prepositional, the second adverbial. The constituents in the first example are she sat and in a comfortable chair, but those in the second are she took in and the information. Replacing the lexical noun phrase by a pronoun, we get she sat in it (not she sat it in) but she took it in (not she took in it). Lexically sit in is single-stressed, but take in is double-stressed. When in final position, the first does not attract the nucleus, but the second does.

It is best for learner to learn each new phrasal verb with its appropriate lexical stress pattern. There are certain useful guidelines. Those phrasal verbs that need no following object are double-stressed: come in, fall off, crop up. If the particle can be moved to after the object (see

3.28

, then again the phrasal verb is double-stressed take out, bring up, put back.

As mentioned in

, phrasal verbs that have two particles are double-stressed: put up with, go along with.