A nonexhaustive list of senses which are much more specialized and idiosyncratic than the coarse-grained supersenses. They are also generally rare. (Perhaps we should call these "microsenses".)
See senses at The Preposition Project (TPP)
- such NP as VP cxn
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- such words as may comfort you
- Operating/manning
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- behind the wheel; behind the counter
- Individual instantiating a role
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- You've got a friend in me
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- especially, someone serving an important role, such as a political candidate: "In Mehmet Oz, Herschel Walker and JD Vance, the Republican party has three celebrities running for Senate in November." (The Guardian)
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- person as a conduit for an action (used by no less an authority than the pope)
- Musical key
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In V-ing adjunct cxn
seems to favor nonvolitional results. But evaluations may be different ("He was justified in X-ing", "He was helpful in X-ing").
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query
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Collins
You use in with a present participle to indicate that when you do something, something else happens as a result.
- In working with others, you find out more about yourself.
- Longman
26 while doing something or while something is happening, and as a result of this
in doing something
- In trying to protect the queen, Howard had put his own life in danger.
interest(ed) in V-ing
"interested in seeing a movie" versus "interested to see a movie": a theory and some corpus evidence
- Causal discourse connective: old-fashioned
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- They stared, for they had never before seen such a creature.
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- ?? TODO
- (are these idiom-specific?)
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- can’t see the forest for the trees
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- Evaluee of degree-modified adjective
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- Is it really that good OF a restaurant?
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- They are too big OF a threat.
- Gossip Construction
- (Goldberg and Herbst 2021)
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- It's nice/good OF you to be here.
- Property/part evaluee of non-degree-modified adjective
- archaic-sounding. specific to body parts/capabilities?
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- Cinderella’s stepsisters were beautiful OF face, but vile and black OF heart.
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- I am slow OF speech and slow OF tongue.
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- I was on a team called the “Indians,” although I was puny of chest, so if you saw me in my uniform you’d have thought my team was called the “NDIAN,” because the end letters got wrinkled up in my armpits. (Dave Barry's Greatest Hits (1988), "Catching Hell", p. 187)
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- The object is characteristically singular. ChatGPT was used to get some potential plurals. One of them was "broad of shoulders", which seems to be in use but less popular than "broad of shoulder" (Google n-grams).
- become of
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- "What has become of the idea?" Sounds a bit archaic.
- Assigned Duty/Role, Musical Instrument in a Performance
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- Bearer of Responsibility
- esp. financial responsibility
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- It's on you to make the case for the project.
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- traveling on the taxpayer's dime
- Drugs
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- Nagging
- (see course paper by Jessica Cusi)
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- My parents are on me about getting a summer job.
- Progress
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- I'm on the third episode of the series.
- Sports
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- on a hat trick (see course paper by Caroline Gish)
- Sustenance
- sustaining fuel/resource
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- making a decision on very little information
- Target of opposition
- arraying of literal or metaphorical force against some opponent. cf. TPP sense 11(5) OEC examples
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- [contest, e.g. fight or sport] man-on-man fight; cf. team1 takes on team2
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- [military/law enforcement] attack/assault on Pearl Harbor; war on drugs; firing on targets; "FBI moves on alleged members of extremist groups"; raid on bin Laden's compound
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- [advocacy] march on Washington
- Pseudopossessor
- something that can be accessed with an associated instrument or part; or something with an associated quality (discussion)
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- key to the door; entry to the room
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- There is a nice texture to the painting
- Possessor (idiom)
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- Result infinitive
- unexpected discovery prompted by a manner of gaining information (going somewhere, change of awareness)
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- I awoke/arrived (only) to find...
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perhaps related to "suprised/disappointed to find..."
- Toast
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- To health and prosperity!
- Adjective's cause
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- His hands were black with soot.
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- They listened to the inspirational speech, their eyes wet with tears.
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possessive: 's, `$, ...
- Superlative Object Construction
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