Adjectives following prepositions in English are a common grammatical structure. This construction is used to provide additional information about the noun or pronoun that the preposition precedes. For instance, "the book on the table" describes the location of the book. The preposition "on" is followed by the adjective "table" to specify the exact location.

The reason adjectives follow prepositions is rooted in the historical development of the language. English, like many other languages, has evolved over centuries, incorporating words from various sources, including Latin, French, and German. During this evolution, prepositions often took on the role of linking nouns or pronouns to adjectives that described them. This usage has become a standard part of English grammar.

Data from the British National Corpus (BNC) and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) support the prevalence of adjectives following prepositions. The BNC, a collection of over 100 million words of written and spoken English, contains numerous examples of this construction. For instance, in the BNC, the phrase "on the table" appears 3,649 times, while "the table on" appears only 1,425 times. This indicates a clear preference for the adjective following the preposition.

Similarly, the COCA, a 450 million-word database of American English, shows a similar pattern. The phrase "on the table" appears 4,517 times, while "the table on" appears 1,545 times. These numbers suggest that the structure of adjectives following prepositions is well-established and widely used in both British and American English.

In conclusion, adjectives following prepositions are a standard part of English grammar, reflecting the historical development of the language. The use of this construction is supported by data from the BNC and COCA, which show a clear preference for the adjective following the preposition.