Words that refuse to travel alone

What does the alphabetism ESL stand for? English is a strange language, some theorize, and I find it hard to disagree. One weird wrinkle is the huge variety of roles played by prepositions. Not only do they tell us where things are, they glom onto [d: inf] other words and refuse to let go of them. Many nouns, adjective and verbs, (except for separable two-word verbs) refuse to be separated from their prepositions.

If I could get away with it, I would leave out the phrasal verbs. But there are so many of these, and they are so common, that it I'd have to get around to discussing them some time. By the way, the "two-word" or phrasal verbs are not the only ones to travel with their prepositional allies. Other verbs can have pet prepositions too.

To illustrate, lean goes with on. As The Rolling Stones sang in 1969, "Well, we all need someone we can lean on, and if you want to, well, you can lean on me." [Caution: The rest of the lyrics to "Let it bleed" are low on the register of formality and far less useful for English learners. Poets and songwriters can be relied on for rhythm, but their lyrics are frequently impolite, ungrammatical or obscure.]

So we'll return to standard English words. Just as the gentry of the past couldn't go anywhere without their valets or lady's maids, nouns and adjectives are often accompanied by those firm allies, their special prepositions.

Let's look at some nouns first. Joy goes with of and so does pain. The joy of love is soon followed by the pain of conflict or the pain of separation. Respect travels with for. We have respect for the law, respect for authority and respect for our elders.

Adjectives, too, are often attached to, or fond of their prepositions. While the Stones may be proud of their lyrics, back in the sixties, a lot of parents thought those rockers ought to be ashamed of themselves.

As a further illustration, when we feel alone, we can be glad of company, even though we are friendly to some and unfriendly to others. This unkind behaviour may be unworthy of us, but we might still indulge in it. (Oops, that last was a verb.)

I'll close this post by letting you know that there are lots more of these unbreakable pairs and groups. What I've shared here is just the tip of the iceberg.