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With minimal research online one can easily find that a prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and an object. Most online and paper resources will describe a preposition as a word that describes the relationship between two nouns/noun phrases.

For example

The cat is behind the table.

OR

The cat behind the table was eating the leftovers.

I know that you refer to behind as the preposition, the table as the object of the preposition, but am confused as to if there is a word to describe the relationship between behind and the cat. I am looking for a word for that specific relationship, not simply that in the first example, the cat is the subject of the sentence.

Oliver Mason
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Charlie Mcvicker
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  • Wouldn't the object of the preposition be qualifying the subject of the preposition? – Davo Nov 06 '17 at 14:31
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    No: in your first example, the PP serves as a locative complement of "be", not "the cat" -- that is the syntactic relationship here. The PP does of course 'refer' to the subject "the cat", i.e. it has subject orientation, but that is a semantic relationship. In your second example, the PP is a modifier of "cat" -- that is the syntactic relationship here. Btw, prepositions take a few kinds of dependents as complement, not just objects, for example AdvPs, PPs and subordinate clauses. – BillJ Nov 06 '17 at 14:32
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    Generally there is no special word for a noun modified by a prepositional phrase, just as there is no special word for a noun modified by an adjective. It's just modification (though one can be more specific about what kind of modification, but that's more semantic than grammatical). – John Lawler May 28 '23 at 18:40

1 Answers1

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The cat is behind the table.

Here behind is the head of a prepositional phrase acting as the subject complement of to be, meaning that it describes the cat.

The cat behind the table was eating the leftovers.

Here behind is the head of a prepositional phrase modifying the cat.

alphabet
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  • And it doesn't have to be a noun: The cat ran behind the table. – tchrist May 28 '23 at 01:24
  • This does not answer the Q! Also in “The cat is behind the table”, the PP is a locative complement of the verb be and not a modifier of the NP the cat. – Araucaria - Him May 28 '23 at 09:08
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    While an argument can be made (and in linked questions, has been) that modifiers modify modificands* or modifiees, this is at best language more technical than pedestrian. Related material: [“In linguistics, the most general term for relations between the elements of a phrase is head* and dependent. The term that covers modificand is head although the meaning of head is more general”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Archives/Language/2009_March_30). – tchrist May 28 '23 at 19:08
  • @Araucaria-Nothereanymore. Is sweet therefore a predicative complement that also “does not ‘modify’ the NP subject” in Fresh flowers smell sweet* in your nose* and in Fresh berries taste sweet* on your sundae*? – tchrist May 28 '23 at 19:12
  • How about Grilled spinach lies flat on the plate or This toy goes boom whenever you touch it? – John Lawler May 28 '23 at 23:31