§ 336. Their lexical meanings are those of 'affirmation' and 'negation'. Their lexico-grammatical meaning is that of 'response statement'. They confirm or deny a previous statement.

Yes represents a previous statement adding the lexical meaning of 'affirmation'. No does the same, but adds the meaning of 'negation'. In this respect yes and no resemble pronouns. They are some kind of anaphorical pro-sentences.

"At four, then, we may expect you?"

"Yes", said Carrie. (Dreiser).

"Can't you handle it?"

"No", he said weakly. (Ib.).

THE INTERJECTION

§ 337. The interjection is a part of speech characterized by the following features.

1. It expresses emotions or will without naming them.

2. It has no grammatical categories, no stem-building elements of its own and practically negative combinability.

3. It functions as a sentence-word or as a parenthetical element.

§ 338. Some interjections are homonymous with other words: why!, well!, now!, here!, there!, come!, dear!, fiddlesticks!, etc. Others are not: hey!, hallo!, ah!, hurrah!, pshaw!, alas!, etc.

§ 339. Interjections, like other parts of speech, may be simple (hallo!, come!, dear!), derivative (goodness!), compound (fiddlesticks!) and composite (hang it!, dear me!).

§ 340. Semantically interjections are usually divided into two groups: emotional (oh!, bless us!) and imperative (hush!, come!¹).

§ 341. A. I. Smirnitsky ² thinks that interjections form a peculiar type of sentence, like that of the response-words yes and no, but differing from it in the distinct emotional colouring.

THE SEMI-NOTIONAL PARTS OF SPEECH (See §51)

THE PREPOSITION

§ 342. The preposition is a part of speech characterized by the following features:

1. Its lexico-grammatical meaning of 'relations (of sub­stances)'.

2. Its bilateral combinability with a right-hand noun (or noun-equivalent) and a left-hand word belonging to almost any part of speech.

3. Its function of a linking word.

§ 343. Prepositions are not characterized by any grammat­ical categories or typical stem-building elements.

As far as their structure is concerned prepositions, like other parts of speech, fall into the following groups:

1. Simple or primitive, e. g. at, in, of, by, with, for, etc.

2. Derivative, e. g. below, beside, along, etc.

3. Compound, e. g. inside, within, into, throughout, etc.

4. Composite, e. g. instead of, in accordance with, owing to, in front of, etc.

§ 344. Many prepositions are homonymous with adverbs (about, before, below, down, since, etc.), conjunctions (before, since, etc.), participles (regarding, concerning, etc.), lexico-grammatical word-morphemes (in, on, up, etc.).

§ 345. As elsewhere the lexico-grammatical meaning of prepositions is an abstraction from their individual lexical meanings. Let us compare the following combinations of words:

the book i n the bag,

the book о п the bag,

the book under the bag,

the book near the bag.

In all of them the preposition shows the relation of one noun to another, which reflects the relations of the correspond­ing substances in the world of reality. This meaning of 'rela­tions (of substances)' common to all prepositions is their lexico-grammatical meaning. But each preposition in the expressions above shows a different relation revealing thus its individual lexical meaning.

It is much more difficult to define the lexical meaning of a preposition than that of a noun or an adjective, because prepositions usually have very general, abstract meanings. Nevertheless the lexical meaning of a preposition is always there, however weak or general it may be. We may call pre­positions semi-notional words, but the term form-word often applied to them is not adequate: they have not only form, but content as well.

§ 346. It is necessary to make some remarks in connection with the classification of prepositions according to their meaning into those of place, direction, time, etc.². When we say that the prepositions at or by have local meanings in at the window, by the window and temporal meanings in at 6 o'clock, by six o'clock we simply add the meanings of the neighbouring words to those of the prepositions. Origi­nally, a preposition like in is supposed to have had a concrete local meaning. But at present in is used with such a variety of words that it has a very vague and general meaning, something like 'inside some sphere'. That sphere may be localas in Moscow, temporal, as in January, abstract as in love, in thought, etc.

Prepositions, like in, at, on, by, etc, which are used with all kinds of nouns, so that the local, temporal, etc. meanings of the prepositional construction do not depend on the pre­position, but on the noun, may be called general prepo­sitions. There are some other prepositions which might be called special. They are used chiefly with nouns of certain meaning. For instance, the preposition till can be used with nouns like midnight, dawn, time, but not with window, town, place and the like. That shows that till has acquired a tem­poral meaning. The causal meaning of the special preposition because of is so strong that it determines the meaning of the prepositional construction irrespective of the noun. Cf. because of the time (place, love, John).

Here are some special prepositions; of time: before, after, during, since, till, until; of place: across, along, among, behind, below, beside, in front of; of cause: because of, in view of, owing to.

§ 347. The combinability of the preposition is rather pecul­iar. As a rule, it is followed by a noun or a noun equivalent with which it is closely connected." At the same time it is associated with some preceding notional word belonging to nearly any part of speech. We may speak of stable right-hand connections and variable left-hand connections.

Parts of speech		Preposition	Noun (or noun-equivalent)
verb	think	of	John
adj.	clever	of	him
adlink	afraid	of	going
num.	three	of	us
pron.	many	of	them
noun	leg	of	mutton
adv.	west	of	it

§ 348. Bilateral combinability is typical not only of pre­positions but of other linking words as well: conjunctions, link-verbs and modal verbs. But the combinability of prepositions differs from that of all of them. As stated above, prepositions have stable right-hand and variable left-hand connections. Conjunctions and link-verbs have both con­nections variable (Cf. He is a student; afraid of being late). Modal verbs have both connections stable: the subject on the left and an infinitive on the right.

§ 349. Of certain interest is the model 'verb + prepo­sition + noun'. Sometimes the preposition is but loosely connected with the verb. In such cases one and the same verb can be followed by different prepositions depending on the sense, e. g. speak of (about, with, to) a person.

In other cases a verb is regularly followed by a fixed preposition, e. g. depend on (somebody, something).

§ 350. Though bilateral combinability is typical of prepo­sitions, there are cases in the English language when either the left-hand or the right-hand connections are weakened or even lost altogether.

In the sentence In his opinion, they would get copped doing it (Galsworthy) the preposition in has retained no left-hand connection.

In the sentence Had he been laughed a t? (Galsworthy) the preposition at has retained no right-hand connection.