Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[rice07]

Hi

1.The following is a definition of restraining order in a dictionary.

restraining order noun ~ (against sb) (especially NAmE) an official order given by a judge which demands that sth must or must not be done.

2.McCain had taken a tough stand agaist Moscow even before the invasion, calling for the Kremlin to be expelled from the G8. He says Russia has no place in the group given the increasingly authoritarian tendencies that have taken root under former Russian president Vladimir Putin.

My questions are whether:

a. the given, in example 1, is a past participle served as an adjective phrase, meaning ' being given '?

b. the given, in example 2, is a preposition, meaning synonymously ' considering "?

Thanks for your help!

[Bob S.]