Complex prepositions

List of complex prepositions

Those that evolved from a participle are called “participle prepositions”

Expression	Prepositional use (PP)	Regular / verbal / participial use
according to	According to the report, the system is stable.	They act according to instructions (verbal phrase)
as regards	As regards your application, we have decided to wait.	He acted as regards the rules (semi-verbal / archaic)
barring	Barring unforeseen circumstances, the event will take place.	We are barring him from the club (verb)
concerning	We need to talk concerning your behavior.	We are concerning ourselves with the details (verb)
considering	Considering the weather, we should stay inside.	We are considering the proposal carefully (verb / gerund-participle)
contrary to	Contrary to popular belief, cats like water.	— (rarely verbal)
during	He fell asleep during the movie.	— (always preposition)
following	Following the meeting, the report was released.	The dog following the child was friendly (participial modifier)
given	Given the evidence, the jury reached a verdict.	The evidence given by the witness was crucial (past participle verb)
in light of	In light of recent events, the policy was revised.	He acted in light of the evidence (semi-verbal phrase)
including	The price is $50, including tax.	The package includes items including a charger (verb)
notwithstanding	Notwithstanding his protests, the plan was approved.	He acted notwithstanding the rules (verb / adverbial, rare)
owing to	The meeting was cancelled owing to rain.	Money owing to the bank must be paid (gerund-participle verb)
pending	Pending approval, the project will start next week.	The documents pending approval must be signed (participial modifier)
relative to	The results were small relative to previous years.	— (rarely verbal)
regarding	I’m writing regarding your recent application.	We are regarding him as a friend (verb)
subject to	Subject to approval, the deal will proceed.	They are subject to scrutiny (adjective / participial)
thanks to	Thanks to her efforts, the project succeeded.	— (not verbal)
with regard to	With regard to your request, we have no updates.	He acted with regard to the circumstances (participial phrase)
by virtue of	By virtue of her position, she approved the plan.	She acted by virtue of her authority (participial phrase)
prior to	Prior to the meeting, the report was circulated.	— (rarely verbal)

Explanation

The flight was delayed owing to the weather

A gerund functions as a thing or a concept. In the sentence, “owing” isn’t functioning as a noun or the name of an action.

Instead, “owing to” works as a single unit to show a relationship of cause and effect, similar to “because of”

In “owing to,” the word “owing” has lost its verbal properties (like tense or the ability to take an object directly) and has become a grammatical marker. It functions purely to link a noun phrase (the reason) to the rest of the sentence.

In CGEL, when a word’s only job is to express a relationship (like causality), it behaves as a preposition.

Guide: Identifying participle-origin prepositions

Considering the weather, the event may be postponed.

1. Look for the head:

   Head of the phrase = considering (preposition), forming a PP.

    PP = considering the weather → weather = NP complement.
   

2. Check the complement:

   Prepositions take only NP complements, not verbal objects.

    Test: Considering the weather ✅ grammatical
   
    Test: Considering the committee the weather ❌ ungrammatical
   

3. Cannot take auxiliaries or tense:

   Prepositions do not combine with auxiliary verbs.

    Test: was considering the weather ❌ (if PP meaning)
   

4. Cannot take verbal modifiers:

   Adverbs that modify verbs do not work.

    Test: quickly considering the weather ❌
   

5. No subject allowed:

   Prepositions do not have an implicit or explicit subject.

    Test: Considering the weather, the event may be postponed → no “we are considering…” implied
   

6. Meaning / paraphrase test:

   Usually expresses reason, cause, or condition.

    Can be paraphrased as: Given the weather / In view of the weather.
   

Grammaticalization of complex prepositions

“owing” hasn’t fully transitioned into a standalone preposition in standard English. For example, you can say “I have a question concerning the report,” but you cannot say “I was late owing the traffic”. You must include “to.”