Re: OT: ago

On 1/20/06, Jim Henry <jimhenry1973@...> wrote:

> But this works:
>
> *Ages hence, ....
Sorry, that shouldn't have had a * in front.

At least one other adposition in English can
also take an adjective rather than a noun
as its object: e.g.

Before long I'll have figured this "agoative"
stuff out.

Oddly enough, this is the opposite meaning
of the "before" preposition that Esperanto,
German, etc. use as equivalent of "ago".

*Antaux longe mi elkomprenos cxi tiujn "postpoziciojn".

wouldn't make sense, because "antaux longe"
means "long ago" and doesn't fit the future tense.
Past tense would make sense in both languages,
but would mean different things:

Before long I had figured it out.

Antaux longe mi komprenis tion.
= I figured it out long ago.

I can't think of any other adpositions in
English that act like that.

*above high (high above)
*below/under deep (deep below)
*behind far (far behind)

etc.  Many prepositions can turn
into adverbs and follow an adjective,
as in "high above", etc. but only
"below" and "ago" take their adjective
arguments in the usual position.

Alternatively, could one analyze these
as adpositions that precede noun
objects and follow adjective objects?
Or is this a case of the adjective
modifying the adpositional phrase,
and the adpositional phrase being
truncated by object deletion?

A balloon is floating high above the trees.

High above [something], a balloon is floating .