IDIOMATIC PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

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