Quiz: Feb. 29
An object of a preposition is an NP that depends on a preposition. In other words, unlike Subject, Direct Object, Prepositional Object, Indirect Object and Adjunct, which are functions at the clausal level, Object of a Preposition is a function within the phrase. For each of the descriptions given below, find an object of a preposition in the text that matches the description. In order to help you make your choice, the objects of a preposition to choose from are in bold.
(Back story, NYT, February 24th 2016)
Feb. 29 appears on the calendar this month, as this is a leap year. That got us wondering: How did we end up with this calendar and its periodic recalibrations? While China and other countries recently celebrated Lunar New Year, and Iran is preparing for Nowruz on the first day of spring, most of the Western world abides by the Gregorian calendar. Pope Gregory XIII issued a papal bull, or proclamation, outlining the new calendar on this day in 1582. It refined the Julian calendar that was in use at the time by synchronizing it more precisely with the Earth's rotation around the sun. While the Gregorian calendar took the pope's name, its adoption was heavily influenced by Christopher Clavius, a German priest and astronomer, and Aloysius Lilius, an Italian doctor. Like the Julian calendar, it ensured that every year divisible by four would be a leap year. But it added an exception: Years ending in two zeros would be a leap year only if divisible by 400. This more sparing use of leap years lets the calendar resolve a discrepancy with the solar year in the Julian calendar. (That explains why Eastern Orthodox churches, which still observe the Julian calendar, celebrate Christmas in early January.) Britain, along with its American colonies, adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752. Russia waited until 1918.
Even with the elaborate system of leap years, the calendar will still require another tweak. A day will need to be dropped in about 3,000 years.