[ss Circumstance] is used directly for:
###1. **Contextualization**
- [ex 001 "[pspecial In en/in Circumstance] arguing for tax reform, the president claimed that loopholes allow big corporations to profit from moving their headquarters overseas."]
- [ex 002 "You crossed the line [p en/in Circumstance] sharing confidential information. [but see [exref 026 Topic] under [ss Topic], which is syntactically parallel]"]
- [ex 003 "I found out [p en/in Circumstance] our conversation that she speaks 5 languages."]
- [ss Circumstance--Locus]:
- [ex 004 "I haven’t seen them [p en/in Circumstance--Locus] that setting."]
- [ex 005 "[pspecial In en/in Circumstance--Locus] that case, I wouldn’t worry about it."]
- [ex 006 "We have to keep going [p en/through Circumstance--Path] all these challenges. [metaphoric motion] ([ss Circumstance--Path])"]
- [ex 007 "Bipartisan compromise is unlikely [p en/with Circumstance] the election just around the corner."]
- [ex 008 "[pspecial As en/as Circumstance] we watched, she transformed into a cat. [‘while’, ‘unfolding at the same time as’; not simply providing a ‘when’—contrast [exref 005 Time] under [ss Time]]"]
For these cases, the preposition helps situate the background context in which the main event takes place.
The background context is often realized as a subordinate clause preceding the main clause.
It may also be realized as an adjective complement:
- [ex 009 "My tutor was helpful [p en/in Circumstance] giving concrete examples and exercises."]
- [ex 010 "You were correct [p en/in Circumstance] <u>answering the question</u>/<u>your answer</u>."]
Relatedly, we use [ss Circumstance] to analyze <i>involved [p en/in]</i>:
- [ex 011 "I was involved [p en/in Circumstance] a car accident. ([ss Circumstance])"]
- [ex 012 "Many steps are involved [p en/in Whole--Circumstance] the process of buying a home. ([ss Whole--Circumstance])"]
###2. **Setting events**
- [ex 013 "We are having fun <u>[p en/at Circumstance--Locus] the party</u>/<u>[p en/on Circumstance--Locus] vacation</u>. ([ss Circumstance--Locus])"]
The object of the preposition is a noun denoting a containing event; it thus may help establish the place, time, and/or reason for the governing scene, but is not specifically providing any one of these, despite the locative preposition.
These can be questioned (at least in some contexts) with <i>Where?</i> or <i>When?</i>.
[exref 013 Circumstance] entails [exref 014 Circumstance]:
- [ex 014 "We are <u>[p en/at Circumstance--Locus] the party</u>/<u>[p en/on Circumstance--Locus] vacation</u>. ([ss Circumstance--Locus])"]
which may be responsive to the questions <i>Where are you?</i> and <i>What are you doing?</i>.[^1] Journey-type objects are treated similarly:
- [ex 020 "They are <u>[p en/on Circumstance--Locus] a journey</u>/<u>[pspecial "on\_" en/on_way Circumstance--Locus] the [pspecial " _way" en/on_way Circumstance--Locus]</u>/<u>[pspecial "on_" en/on_way Circumstance--Locus] their<sub>[ss `$]</sub> [pspecial "\_way" en/on_way Circumstance--Locus]</u> ([ss Circumstance--Locus])"]
###3. **Occasions**
- [ex 015 "I bought her a bike [p en/for Circumstance] Christmas."]
- [ex 016 "I had peanut butter [p en/for Circumstance] lunch."]
These simultaneously express a [ss Time] and some element of causality similar to [ss Purpose].
But the PP is not exactly answering a <i>Why?</i> or <i>When?</i> question.
Instead, the sentence most naturally answers a question like <i>On what occasion was X done?</i> or <i>Under what circumstances did X happen?</i>.
###4. Any other descriptions of event/state properties that are **insufficiently specified** to fall under spatial, temporal, causal, or other subtypes like [ss Manner]. E.g.:
- [ex 017 "Let’s discuss the matter [p en/over Circumstance] lunch. [compare [exref 002 Time]]"]
###5. **Conditions**
- [ex 018 "You can leave <u>[p en/as_long_as Circumstance]</u>/<u>provided</u> your work is done."]
- [ex 019 "Whether you can leave <u>depends [p en/on Circumstance]</u>/<u>is subject [p en/to Circumstance]</u> whether your work is done."]
[^1]: When the object of the preposition is not a (dynamic) event, as with <i>We are [p en/at] odds/[p en/on] medication</i>, [ss Characteristic--Locus] usually applies: see discussion of state PPs at [ss Characteristic].