How to parse. ...

250

PREPOSITIONS. [Par. 435, 436.

is as absurd as "of of you;" for "your" means
" of you," and the addition of 's adds a superfluous
of."
35 "These forms were confined in the 13th and 14th centuries to
435 the Northern Dialect, and are probably due to Scandinavian influences." - MORlIS.
The more ordinary form in the Southern Dialect omits the s.
" I wol be your in alle that ever I may." - CHAUCEIR.
The vulgar yourn is an old provincial form, and exemplifies the
same tendency, viz., to emphasize an unemphatic termination,
where emphasis is required.
(Prepositions in Adjective Phrases.)
435 A Phrase consisting of a Preposition between two
Nouns (especially when the former Noun is preceded by "' the " or " a ") often has the force of an
Adjective, the Relative being implied, e.g.(1) "A bird (that is) in the hand is worth two (that
are) in the bush."
Consequently, it is sometimes difficult to tell
whether the Preposition is thus used to connect
two Nouns, or to connect a Verb with an Adverbial
phrase; e.g. "Send back the horse from the Red
Dragon," may mean(1) " Send back the-horse-from-the-Red-Dragon," i.e.,
"the horse that has come from the Red
Dragon," or:
(2) "Send-back the horse from-the-Red-Dragon," i.e.,
"send back from. the Red Dragon my horse."
In the same way there is an ambiguity in
(3) " Did you see my agents at-Portsmouth?"
(4) " Did you see my agents at Portsmouth.?"