IDIOMATIC PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES
by Alan Murray O' Sullivan
1. by no means
1.1. MEANING : not at all; certainly not.
1.2. EXAMPLE : The outcome is by no means guaranteed.
1.3. SYNONYMS : not at all, in no way, not in the least, not in the slightest, not the least bit, not by a long shot, certainly not, absolutely not, definitely not, on no account, under no circumstances
1.4. GRAMMAR : usually qualifies a verb [it goes before main verb / after verb 'to be']
1.5. NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH : by ALL means = of course; certainly (granting permission)
2. in favour of
2.1. MEANING : in support of
2.2. EXAMPLE : Members have voted in favour of strike action .
2.3. SYNONYMS : on the side of, pro, for, giving support to, giving backing to, right behind, approving of, sympathetic to
2.4. GRAMMAR : in favour of + NOUN / -ING
3. in light of
3.1. MEANING : taking into account , considering
3.2. EXAMPLE : Of course, everything that's known about matter and consciousness will have to be rethought in light of your father's discovery.
3.3. SYNONYMS : taking into consideration, considering, taking into account, bearing in mind, in view of
3.4. GRAMMAR : in light of + NOUN
4. in response to
4.1. MEANING : as an answer or reaction to
4.2. EXAMPLE : I should like to make one remark, however, in response to some of the opinions you have expressed.
4.3. SYNONYMS : regarding , concerning
4.4. GRAMMAR : in response to + noun
5. in terms of
5.1. MEANING : with regard to the particular aspect or subject specified
5.2. EXAMPLE : Replacing the printers is difficult to justify in terms of cost.
5.3. SYNONYMS : with regard to regarding concerning
5.4. GRAMMAR : in terms of + NOUN / -ING
6. in the event of
6.1. MEANING : if ______ happens
6.2. EXAMPLE : This will reduce the chance of serious injury in the event of an accident .
6.3. SYNONYMS : ----------------
6.4. GRAMMAR : in the event of + NOUN / -ING
7. on the face of it
7.1. MEANING : without knowing all of the relevant facts , apparently
7.2. EXAMPLE : On the face of it, these improvements look to be insignificant.
7.3. SYNONYMS : to the casual eye, to all appearances, to go/judge by appearances, to all intents and purposes, at first glance, on the surface, superficially
7.4. GRAMMAR : At the beginning of a sentence followed by a comma
8. on the increase
8.1. MEANING : becoming greater, more common, or more frequent
8.2. EXAMPLE : Fraud is on the increase.
8.3. SYNONYMS : increasing spreading expanding escalating multiplying developing on the rise proliferating
8.4. GRAMMAR : TO BE + ON THE INCREASE
