Prepositions, conjunctions

A

1. preposition of aim, direction, "to":

Treba go a shop. — One should go to the shop.
Lu he returni a Moskva. — He returned to Moscow.

2. dative case preposition, "to":

Me dai kitaba a ela. — I give the book to her.
Me rakonti a yu. — I tell you.
Ela shwo a lu. — She says to him.

Afte

After (in temporal as well as spatial meaning); in (in temporal meaning):

un afte otre — one after another
afte se — after this
afte tri dey — in three days
aftemanya — the day after tomorrow

Al

1. with verbs denotes simultaneity of actions (= "verb+yen"):

Al pasi bus-stopika me he vidi ke lu stan dar. — Passing the bus-stop I saw him standing there.
al shwo om se — when speaking about it;
al kupi auto — when buying a car

2. introduces current circumstances, situation, denotes simultaneity:

al to — at that, in the process
al bakdao — on the way back
al klosi-ney dwar — behind closed doors, with doors closed
al sey halat — under these conditions
al un-ney kansa — at first sight
Me joi al vidi yu. — I am glad to see you.

Along

Along:

along riva — along the river
along gata — along the street

An

indicates object of action:

fai gola an koysa – take aim at smth
darba an tabla – a strike on the table
wuli an luna — howl at the moon
kansa an dwar — a glance at the door
lopi kun sikin an koywan — to run at someone with a knife

Aus

(preposition and adverb) out (of):

1. expresses movement outwards:

Lai aus! — Come out!
Lu go-te aus shamba. — He went out of the room.

2. denotes material:

botela aus glas — bottle made of glass, glass bottle

Ausen

(preposition and adverb) outside (at what place?), beyond the limits of:

ausen dom — outside the house
Me jivi ausen urba. — I live out of town.
Dwar bu ofni fon ausen. — The door does not open from outside.
Ausen ye frosta. — It freezes outdoors.
ausen-temperatura — the outside temperature
lo ausen — the outside

Avanen

(preposition and adverb) ahead (of):

avanen kolona — ahead of the column
Lu es dalem avanen. — He is far ahead.
May kloka es pet minuta avanen. — My watch is 5 minutes fast.

Baken

(preposition and adverb) behind (at what place?):

Surya bin baken badal. — The sun was behind the clouds.
urba resti baken — the city stayed behind
My kloka es pet minuta baken. — My watch is 5 minutes slow.

Bay

1. introduces a means or tool, "by", "with", "by means of":

ta he darbi ta bay stik — he/she hit her/him with a stick
Treba replasi lao bataria bay nove-la. — One should replace the old battery with new one.
bay forsa — by force
Ela lai-te bay avion. — She came by airplane.
bay tren — by train
sendi leta bay aviameil — to send a letter by air mail

bay to ke — in that, by the fact that:

Ais farki fon akwa bay to ke it es twerde. — Ice differs from water in that it is solid.

2. refers to doer or author:

Se es zwo-ney bay me. — This is done by me.
kitaba bay Gogol — book by Gogol

Bifoo

Before (in temporal as well as spatial meaning):

Woshi handas bifoo chifan! — Wash your hands before eating!
Lu zai stan-te bifoo me. — He was standing before me.
bifoo ke lu en-somni — before he fell asleep
bifoo-ney — former

Bikos

Because (= por ke).

Bli

(preposition and adverb) near, nearby, beside, close by:

bli may dom — near my house
bli klok char — around 4 o'clock (one may say also "sirke klok char")
Ela zai sidi bli. — She is sitting beside.

Dabe

In order to, in order that:

dabe oli samaji problema... — in order that everyone understands the problem...
dabe zwo olo kom gai... — in order to do everything as needed...

Dank a

Thanks to:

dank a lu — thanks to him
dank a fakta ke... — thanks to the fact that...

De

The preposition of genitive case, "of":

lingwa de planeta — the language of planet
deskovra de Amerika bay Kolombo — the discovery of America by Columbus

The preposition may also denote an amount or portion of something:

tasa de chay — a cup of tea (but 'tasa chay' is also acceptable)

Depos

Since, starting from, for (in temporal meaning):

Me es hir depos klok shi. — I have been here since ten o'clock.
depos ke me lai hir — since I came here
depos longtaim — long since

Do

Preposition introducing a specific characteristic, distinctive feature, or purpose of object:

gela do grin okos — green-eyed girl
okula do surya — sun spectacles
jen do lignagamba — a man with wooden leg
es kosa do ridi — this is ridiculous
mashina do skribi — typewriter

Duran

During:

duran gwer — during the war
duran laste dwa yar — in the course of the last two years
duran ke — while
duran to — meanwhile

E

And:

me e yu — me and you
me sal go a kino, e yu? — I am going to go to the cinema, and you?

See i

Ewalaa

(coordinating conjunction introducing new, often little expected circumstances):

Ta en-chi ewalaa ye tro mucho pepa. — As he began to eat, he felt that there is too much pepper added.

Me zin shop ewalaa may amiga zai kupi pan. — When I entered the shop, I saw that my friend was buying bread.

Pa un dey saja zai prei, ewalaa orla pasi, mah-lwo maus inu saja-ney handas. Saja ofni okos, ewalaa ye maus in handas. — One day when the sage was praying, an eagle happened to pass by and the eagle dropped a mouse in the hands of the sage. The sage opened his eyes, and there was a mouse in his hands.

Exepte

Except:

oli exepte me — everyone except me

Fo

For:

1. indicates the object, aim, or purpose of an action or activity:

es fo yu — this is for you
me lai-te fo vidi yu — I came to see you
fo ke — in order to (=dabe)

2. indicates duration or a specific time:

fo kelke taim — for some time
mita aranji-ney fo klok dwa — the meeting arranged for two o'clock

Fon

From:

Me zai go fon teatra — I am going from the theatre.
fon kapa til peda — from head to foot
fon sabah til aksham — from morning till evening

I

"i… i..." — "both... and...":

i lu i ela — both he and she
i sey-las i toy-las — these as well as those

(adverb)
too, also (relates to the following word)

I me koni lu. — I too know him.
Me jan i ela. — I know also her.

In

In:

1. refers to place:

Nu jivi in Rusia. — We live in Russia.

2. refers to time:

in petdi — on Friday
in lai-she yar — in the next year

3. expresses other meanings:

in nove palto — in a new overcoat
kreda in Boh — belief in God
in tal kasu — in such case

Inen

(preposition and adverb) inside, within:

inen dom — within the house
Dwar es klosi-ney fon inen. — The door is closed from inside.
inen me — within me
Lu es inen. — He is inside, he is in.
inen-temperatura — the inside temperature
lo inen — the inside

Inplas

instead (of), in place (of):

Go dar inplas me! — Go there instead of me!
Inplas resti lu go-te for. — Instead of remaining here he went on.
Lu plei inplas gun. — He plays instead of working.

Inter

between:

inter dwar e winda — between the door and the window.
Lu lai-te inter klok ot e shi de sabah. — He came between 8 and 10 in the morning.
mutuale samaja inter jenmin — mutual understanding between the peoples

Inu

(preposition and adverb) into:

Ela go-te inu shamba. — She went into the room.
Kan inu! — Look inside!
Nulwan mog transformi fer inu golda. — Nobody can change iron into gold.

Kontra

(preposition and adverb):

1. against, contrary to:

kontra may vola — against my will

2. opposite, in front of (in space):

Dom es kontra. — The house is on the opposite side.

3. against (contact from an opposite direction):

apogi kontra mur — lean against the wall

(prefix):

kontratoxin — antidote
kontrakosa — opposite (noun)

Krome

Besides:

Krome ke nu es fatigi-ney, nu bu hev pyu taim. — We are tired, and besides we don't have any more time.
krome to — besides that, moreover

Kun

With, along with:

ela shwo kun smaila — she said with a smile
filma kun Jeki Chan — a film with Jackie Chan
kompari kun koysa — to compare with something
Lu klosi-te dwar kun shum. — He closed the door with a noise.
kun forsa — with force (cf.: bay forsa — by force)

Malgree

In spite of.

Miden

Amid, in the middle; among:

miden shamba — in the middle of the room
miden amigas — among friends
Miden li ye diverse jen. — There are various people among them.

Nich

(preposition and adverb) down(wards):

go nich — to go down
nich kolina — down the hill

Nichen

(preposition and adverb) down (at what place?), at the lower part of:

Lu es nichen. — He is down.
nichen bey — at the lower part of back
nichen kolina — at the bottom of the hill
nicha — bottom, lower part

Obwol

Though, although:

Obwol me jan urba aika hao, sey plasa, me totem bu jan it. — Although I know the city quite well, this place is completely unknown to me.

Oda (the short form is 'o')

Or:

yu o lu — you or he

"oda... oda..." — "either... or..."

Of

Indicates that a mechanism or connection is off:

Radio es of. — The radio is off.
mah-of radio — to switch the radio off

Om

About, concerning, on (refers to the subject of activity):

Me dumi-te om yu. — I thought about you.
Nau om otre kosas. — Now about other things.
Li oli ridi-te om sey insidenta. — They all laughed about this incident.
Nu zai gun om sey problema. — We are working on/at this problem.

On

On:

1. indicates that something is on a surface:

on tabla — on the table

2. indicates that a mechanism or connection is on:

Radio es on. — The radio is on.
mah-on radio — to switch the radio on

Pa

Preposition of wide meaning, often can be used instead of other prepositions:

1. indicates place, time (at, on, in):

pa dom — at home
pa mur — on the wall
pa gata — in the street
sidi pa tabla — sit at the table
London lagi pa Tems. — London lies on the Thames.
Ob mani es pa yu? — Is the money with you?
pa vesna — in spring

2. introduces an adverbial phrase:

shwo pa inglish — speak (in) English
pa un-ney kansa — at first sight
Ta jivi pa shi kilometra fon mar. — He lives 10 km from the sea.
pa exponenta — exponentially
pa ol mogsa — with all one's might
pa char — four (together)
pa fortuna — fortunately

Per

Per, for each (every):

6% per yar — 6% per year.
pinchanem dwashi dolar per jen — usually 20 dollars per head
100 gram per kilo — 100 gram per kilo

Po

Refers to distribution in portions:

Olo es po dwa dolar. — Everything costs 2 dollars apiece.
po tri — in threes
po shao, shao-po-shao — little by little

Por

Due to, because of:

Ela bu lai-te por bade meteo. — She did not come because of bad weather.
Lu zwo se por gamanditaa. — He does this out of vanity.
Danke por atenta! — Thank you for your attention!

Pro

Pro, in favor of:

Li es pro guverna. — They support government.

Pur

1. For, in exchange for:

kupi pur mani — to buy for money
rekompensa pur gunsa — recompense for the work
Lu gun pur shi dolar per wik. — He works for 10 dollars per week.

2. for, in place of:

Lu chifan pur tri jen. — He eats for two men.

Relatem

In relation to:

Lu es neutrale relatem sey kwesta. — He is neutral in relation to this question.

Segun

According to, in accordance with:

segun laste investiga — according to last investigations
pikter segun vokasion — painter by vocation

Segun ke — as, in proportion as:

Segun ke presa fa-syao, volum fa-gran. — As pressure diminishes, the volume grows.

She

At -'s house/place, with. Corresponds to the French chez, indicating:

1. abode:

Lu resti-te she nu. — He remained with us/at our house.
Me ve bi she me. — I shall be at my house.
Me jivi bu dalem fon she yu. — I live not far from you.
Me zai lai fon she ela. — I am coming from her house.
Sta ba kom she yu! — Make yourself at home!

2. land, country:

she ruski jenta — among Russians, in Russia
she dushman — in enemy territory, among the enemy

3. author:

she Homer — in Homer

4. found in/among (person or animal):

es abyas she lu — it is a habit with him
instinkta she animal — instinct in animals

Sin

Without:

sin me — without me

Sirke

Approximately, about, around:

Dar ye-te sirke dwashi jen. — There were about 20 people there.
sirke mil dolar — around 1000 dollars

Sirkum

(preposition and adverb) around:

sirkum dom — around the house
kan sirkum — to look around
lo sirkum — surroundings

Sobre

Above, over:

sobre may kapa — above my head
sobre urba — over the city

Sub

Under:

sub tabla — under the table
sub nuy kontrola — under our control

Til

Till, until:

til nau — until now
fon kapa til peda — from head to foot
Til aksham! — Till the evening!
Til manya! — Till tomorrow!

Tra

Through; over, across, to (on) the other side of:

Lu zai go-te tra urba. — He was going through the town.
Tra winda oni vidi gao baum. — Through the window one can see a high tree.
Lu gun-te om to tra mucho yar. — He worked on this through many years.
Kaval salti-te tra bariera. — The horse leaped over the barrier.
Lu jivi tra osean. — He lives over/across the ocean.

Uupar

(preposition and adverb) up(wards):

kan uupar — to look up
uupar kolina — up the hill

Uuparen

(preposition and adverb) up (at what place?); at the upper part of:

Lu es uuparen. — He is up there.
uuparen kolina — at the top of the hill
fon uuparen — from above
uupara — top, the upper part/side

Versu

Towards:

versu westa — to the west
Me turni-te versu dom. — I turned towards home.
elay senta versu lu — her feelings towards him

Via

Via:

via radio — via radio
a London via Paris — to London via Paris
Me en-jan-te sey habar via may visin. — I learned this news through my neighbour.