Talk:in case
Status as a compound preposition change
It is difficult to see whether in case is actually a compound preposition, although that is the analysis favoured here. The alternative is a "layered head analysis" (See CGEL p. 620). Under such an analysis, in case is a preposition phrase (PP) composed of a preposition and a noun functioning as its complement. This entire PP then takes a complement, usually another PP as in the following tree: 