The retrospective sense of the English preposition from

Abstract

Abstract This paper examines the retrospective sense of the English preposition “from.” This previously undescribed sense is manifest in three constructions, two in the form of [NP1 from NP2] and one [V cognition verb NP1 from NP2], exemplified respectively by “That’s [the guy from the beach]!,” “Samba’s [a dance from Brazil],” and “Susan [remembered him from the beach].” In the first construction, NP1 is identified as a participant of the NP2-evoked event representing NP1’s existential starting point in memory. In the second, NP1’s existential starting point is located in reality, not in someone’s personal memory. The third involves personal memory, the searching of which is overtly expressed (while left implicit in the first). This study reveals the discursive/pragmatic nature of retrospective “from.” It is also shown that all this can be described by employing Cognitive Grammar constructs only.