Preposition "to"

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Ginkgo

#319194 Wed, 24 Jan 07 08:51 AM

Dear everyone,

Would you please show me why "to" is put after "rather than" in the following phrase?

"of or pertaining to a single or specific person, thing, group, class, occasion, etc., rather than to others or all;"

The preceding phrase appears in the following dictionary.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=particular
particular [adjective] 1.

I suppose that the red "to" might be the same as the blue "to".
If so, does the red "to" need to be deleted when "or pertaining to" is deleted?
If not so, would you please show me another way of expressing the red "to"?

Awaiting your replies, I remain. Yours sincerely,
Ginkgo.

Ginkgo

Joined on Tue, Dec 26 2006

New Member (15)

Please forgive me if you find anything offensive in this post. I am poor at expressing my meaning in the English language.

Prepositions, Yours sincerely

CalifJim

#319198 Wed, 24 Jan 07 09:10 AM

of or pertaining to a single or specific person, thing, group, class, occasion, etc.,
rather than (of or pertaining) to others or all

This construction is simply a matter of leaving out repeated words.

Compare:

Mr. Smith gave a present to me and to my brother. =
Mr. Smith gave a present to me and (Mr. Smith gave a present) to my brother.

This house belongs to Daniel rather than to Jane. =
This house belongs to Daniel rather than (this house belongs) to Jane.

does the red "to" need to be deleted when "or pertaining to" is deleted? Yes.
of a single or specific person, ... rather than of others or all.

CJ

CalifJim

Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004

California

Veteran Member (16,490)

"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

Constructions, Prepositions

Ginkgo

#319460 Wed, 24 Jan 07 08:42 PM

Dear CalifJim,

Thank you very much for your reply.
It has good example sentences. What is more, it shows me that "of" is put after "rather than" instead of "to" when "or pertaining to" is deleted. Therefore, the reply is very helpful to me.

It is very difficult for me to grasp the exact meaning of a preposition on a case-by-case basis.
Your continued support will be greatly appreciated.

Yours sincerely,
Ginkgo.

Ginkgo

Prepositions, Yours sincerely

Goodman

#319462 Wed, 24 Jan 07 08:54 PM

<<Would you please show me why "to" is put after "rather than" in the following phrase?>>

Perhaps, you may see it this way more clearly…

"of or pertaining to a single or specific person, thing, group, class, occasion, etc., rather than [pertaining] to others or all;". The bracketed [pertaining] is omitted because it’s been mentioned in the main body of the sentence.

Goodman

Joined on Mon, Nov 7 2005

Calif. USA

Senior Member (3,082)

The name says it all!

Prepositions

Ginkgo

#319562 Thu, 25 Jan 07 01:37 AM

Dear Goodman,

Thank you very much for your reply. I suppose it may be stricter.
If you don't mind, please answer this question. Is the following sentence correct in grammar?

"pertaining to or of a single or specific person, thing, group, class, occasion, etc., rather than of others or all;"

The preceding sentence results from interchanging "of" and "pertaining to" in the original sentence and putting "of" after "rather than" instead of "to" in it.

Awaiting your replies, I remain. Yours sincerely,
Ginkgo.

Ginkgo

Grammar, Prepositions, Yours sincerely

Goodman

#319576 Thu, 25 Jan 07 02:17 AM

Hi Ginko,

First, this is not a sentence in my opinion, rather; it looks like an explanation probably extracted from a dictionary which does not usually follow 100% of grammatical rules as you know it. I am not exactly sure what you really are asking. Perhaps, other gurus can help.

Goodman

Prepositions

Ginkgo

#320237 Fri, 26 Jan 07 12:02 PM

Dear Goodman,

Thank you very much for your further reply.
In the post: 319562, I shouldn't have used the word "sentence" and then I may have had to write "I suppose the reply may be exacter." instead of "I suppose it may be stricter."
Please excuse me.

<This is the second question I am asking.>
In the original phrase (word group?), if "of or pertaining to" were replaced with "pertaining to or of", would "rather than to others or all;" need to be replaced with "rather than of others or all;"?

Your continued support will be greatly appreciated.

Yours sincerely,
Ginkgo.

Ginkgo

Yours sincerely

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