Do you know what a compound preposition is? They appear often in legal writing, and for no good reason. Read the list below. On the left—compound prepositions. After each dash—replacements for them. The examples will teach you to recognize compound prepositions, although most lawyers already know then, they do not know their name. Nearly every time, some clearer way exists to make the same point.
- At that point in time – then
- At this point in time – no
- By means of – by
- By reason of – because of
- By virtue of – by, under
- During the course of – during
- For the purposes of – for, under
- From the point of view of – from, for
- In accordance with – by, under
- In a manner similar to – like
- In excess of – more than, over
- In favor of – for
- In receipt of – having received
- In relation to – about, concerning
- In terms of – in
- In the event of – if
- In the nature of – like
- In the immediate vicinity of – near
- In close proximity with – near
- On the basis of – by, from
- To the extent of – insofar as
- With a view to – to
- With reference to – about, concerning
- With regard to – about, concerning
- With respect to – on, about, for, in, concerning, with, to