prepose

Prepose is a linguistic term describing the action of placing a phrase, clause, or word before its ordinary position in a sentence. The practice, often called preposing or fronting, serves to foreground or emphasize the preposed element and is discussed in syntax, rhetoric, and historical grammar. The word derives from the Latin prae- “before” and pose (ultimately from ponere, “to place”).

Elements commonly preposed include infinitival phrases, dependent clauses such as purpose clauses, prepositional phrases, and sometimes entire noun phrases. In many languages and in literary English, preposing is used to topicalize information, set a theme, or create a particular emphasis or rhythm. It is distinct from postposing (placing elements after their usual position) and from ordinary fixed-order structures.

In English, fronting is a familiar stylistic device, though often optional rather than mandatory. Examples include: “To win the prize, he trained daily,” a fronted infinitival clause that states purpose; and “In the garden stood a statue,” a fronted prepositional phrase that foregrounds location. More complex fronting may involve fronting of a noun phrase or a relative clause for emphasis, as in “This theory, I find, has limitations.”

In linguistic analysis, preposing is discussed under topics such as topicalization, fronting, or discourse-pragmatic structuring. It is common in languages with flexible word order or rich case marking and is less frequent in strictly fixed-order languages, where it tends to occur mainly in formal, literary, or spoken emphasis contexts.

See also: Fronting, Topicalization, Postposing, Inversion. Etymology: from Latin prae- “before” + ponere/pose, “to place.”