Postposition (Noun)
Meaning
(linguistics) the placing of one linguistic element after another (as placing a modifier after the word that it modifies in a sentence or placing an affix after the base to which it is attached).
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Examples
- In the sentence "the man in the corner", the word "in the corner" is a postposition that functions as a prepositional phrase in reverse order.
- The word "ago" in the sentence "I saw him five years ago" is an example of a postposition, as it comes after the word it modifies.
- In some languages, postposition is used to indicate grammatical relationships, such as the relationship between a noun and its modifier.
- The phrase "five years ago" in the sentence "I will see him five years ago" is not a typical example of a postposition, as it is used in a non-standard way.
- In languages such as Finnish and Hungarian, postposition is a common way to indicate the relationship between a noun and its modifier.