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5 Prepositions

5.1 Introduction

Prepositions are words like “in”, “on”, “from”, etc. They are placed directly before a noun, for example: “in a house”. The preposition “in” is placed directly before the noun “a house”.

In Arabic prepositions, when placed before a noun, put it in the i-state. For example the preposition فِي fī means “in”. We can put it before the noun بَيْت bayt “a house”:

فِي بَيْتٍ
fī baytin
“in a house”

Note how the noun بَيْتٍ baytin “a house” is in the i-state because of the preposition فِي fī “in” before it. The i-state is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the final letter of بَيْت.

Arabic has two types of prepositions: true prepositions and pseudo-prepositions.

5.2 True prepositions

True prepositions are particles. Particles are a class of words, like nouns and verbs. Particles don’t have the properties of nouns. Thus, they cannot be definite or indefinite. They cannot be preceded by ٱَلْ al nor may they be nūnated. And they don’t have state (u-state, a-state, i-state).

Here is a list of the more common true prepositions:

Preposition Meaning
بِ bi with, by, next to
لِ li for, to
فِي fī in
عَلَىٰ ɛalā on
إِلَىٰ ʾilā to, toward
مِنْ min from
عَنْ ɛan from, about
کَ ka like

Notes:

  • Prepositions that are a single letter (like بِ bi, ل li, کَ ka) are joined to the following noun in writing. Example:

    بِقَلَمٍ
    biqalamin
    “with a pen”

    لِرَجُلٍ
    lirajulin
    “for a man”

    کَٱبْنٍ
    ka-bnin
    “like a son”

  • When a single letter preposition comes before a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the preposition is generally joined to the أَلِف in the ٱَلْ al. The أَلِف is now not pronounced (because as we know it has a connecting hamzah). Example:

    بِٱلْقَلَمِ
    bi-lqalami
    “with the pen”

    If the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then the ل in ٱَلْ gets an i-mark ◌ِ instead of its usual ø-mark ◌ْ. We described this in section 3.2.1.2. Example:

    کَٱلِٱبْنِ
    ka-li-bni
    “like the son”

  • The only exception is the preposition لِ li. When joined to a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the أَلِف in ٱَلْ is dropped and we write the two lāms together. Example:

    لِلرَّجُلِ
    li-rrajuli
    “for the man”

    لِلْجَارِيَةِ
    li-ljāriyati
    “for the girl”

    لِلِٱبْنِ
    li-li-bni
    “for the son”

    However, in this case, if the noun too starts with a lām, then we drop the entire ٱَلْ al (in writing, not in meaning). This is to avoid having three lāms joined to each other. Example:

    ٱَللُّعْبَةُ
    ʾalluɛbatu
    “the toy”

    becomes

    لِلُّعْبَةِ
    li-lluɛbati
    “for the toy”

    not

    \(\times\) لِللُّعْبَةِ

    This is also true for the phrase:

    لِلَّـٰهِ
    lillāhi
    “for Allāh”

    which is formed from لِ + ٱللَّـٰهِ

  • The prepositions عَلَىٰ ɛalā “on” and إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” have a long-ā vowel at the end but it is written with a dotless yāʾ ىٰ instead of an أَلِف. (We have already learned that some words are written this way in section 2.3.2.2.)

  • Prepositions that are composed of multiple letters are not joined to the following noun. Example:

    إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ
    ʾilā madrasatin
    “to a school”

  • If a preposition ends with a long vowel, then, as usual, it get shortened to a short vowel when it is followed by a word which begins with a connecting hamzah. Examples:

    فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
    fi -lbayti
    “in the house”

    إِلَى ٱبْنٍ
    ʾila -bnin
    “to a son”

  • If a preposition ends with a ø-mark ◌ْ and it is followed by a word that begins with a connecting hamzah, then the ø-mark is changed to a short vowel according to the following rules:

    • The ending of the preposition عَنْ ɛan gets an i-mark and becomes عَنِ ɛani. Examples:

      عَنِ ٱلرَّجُلِ
      ɛani -rrajuli
      “from the man”

      عَنِ ٱبْنٍ
      ɛani -bnin
      “from the son”

    • The ending of the preposition مِنْ min gets an a-mark if followed by the ٱَلْ al of a definite noun. Otherwise it gets an i-mark if followed by any other connecting hamzah. Examples:

      مِنَ ٱلرَّجُلِ
      mina -rrajuli
      “from the man”

      مِنِ ٱبْنٍ
      mini -bnin
      “from a son”

5.3 Pseudo-prepositions

Pseudo-prepositions are actually nouns but they are used as prepositions. The above rules of writing and pronunciation apply to them as well.

Here is a list of some common pseudo-prepositions:

Preposition Transcription Meaning
عِنْدَ ɛinda at
لَدَىٰ ladā at
لَدُنْ ladun at
مَعَ maɛa together with
بَيْنَ bayna between, among

There are three different prepositions above that we have translated as “at”. لَدُنْ is relatively rarer compared to the others. Otherwise, they are largely interchangeable but there are some differences in meaning that we will explain later, if Allāh wills.

Here are some examples using pseudo-prepositions:

مَعَ ٱلْغُلَامِ
maɛa -lg͡hulāmi
“with the boy”

عِنْدَ ٱلْبَيْتِ
ɛinda -lbayti
“at the house”

لَدَى ٱلْبَابِ
lada -lbābi
“at the door”

بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ
bayna -nnāsi
“among the people”

5.4 Attached pronouns

We have already learned detached pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, and أَنَا in section 4.4. Detached pronouns are the equivalent of “he”, “she”, and “I”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the u-state.

Now we will learn about attached pronouns. Attached pronouns are, more or less, the equivalent of “him”, “her”, and “me”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the a-state and the i-state. One place where attached pronouns are used is when the replace the noun directly following a preposition.

The singular attached pronouns are listed below. The detached pronouns are included as well for easy comparison.

Participant Detached pronoun Attached pronoun
Masc. absentee هُوَ huwa “him” هُ -hu “him”
Fem. absentee هِيَ hiya “her” هَا -hā “her”
Masc. addressee أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” کَ -ka “you1,m”
Fem. addressee أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” کِ -ki “you1,f”
Speaker أَنَا ʾana “I” ي “me”

5.4.1 Attached pronouns with prepositions

As mentioned above, one place the attached pronouns are used are after prepositions. Here are some notes regarding how they attach to prepositions:

  1. Generally, these pronouns attach to the last letter of the preposition before it. Examples:

    • مِنْکَ minka “from you”
    • مَعَهُ maɛahu “with him”
    • عَنْهَا ɛanhā “from her”

  2. The ىٰ ā ending of prepositions become ◌َيْ -ay when attaching an attached pronoun. Examples:

    • إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to her”
    • عَلَيْکَ ɛalayka “on youm”

  3. The pronoun هُ -hu “him” becomes هِ hi when it is preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. So we get

    • بِهِ bihi “with him”
    • فِيهِ fīhi “in him”
    • إِلَيْهِ ʾilayhi “to him”

  4. The attached pronoun for the speaker deserves special attention. The pronoun itself is the letter ي. But it has two variants:

    1. ◌ِي -ī
    2. ◌ِيَ -iya

    Generally, both of these variants cause the final letter of the word before them, if a consonant, to have an i-mark ◌ِ, regardless of the whether or not that letter originally had an i-mark. Examples:

    • لِي lī and لِيَ liya “for me”
    • بِي bī and بِي biya “with/by me”
    • مَعِي maɛī and مَعِيَ maɛiya “together with me”
    • عِنْدِي ɛindī and عِنْدِيَ ɛindiya “at me”

    Between these two, variants, ◌ِي -ī is more commonly used generally, except in the cases described in the next point, below:

  5. For any word that ends with a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw), the variant ◌ِي -ī for the speaker attached pronoun is not used. Instead, only the variant يَ -ya may be used with such words.

    Prepositions that fall under this category are فِي fī, عَلَىٰ ɛalā, إِلَىٰ ʾilā, and لَدَىٰ ladā. Furthermore, the ىٰ -ā ending in these will become ◌َيْ ay instead when attaching the pronoun.

    In addition, the pronoun يَ -ya will not cause the final letter of word before it to have an i-mark because it does that only to consonants, not to vowels or semivowels.

    So we get:

    • يَ + فِي = فِيَّ fiyya “in me”
    • يَ + إِلَيْ = إِلَيَّ ʾilayya “to me”
    • يَ + عَلَيْ = عَلَيَّ ɛalayya “on me”
    • يَ + لَدَيْ = لَدَيَّ ladayya “at me”.

  6. The preposition کَ ka “like” is not used with any attached pronoun. So, for example, we don’t say:

    • \(\times\) کَهُ kahu for “like him.”

    Instead, we will learn another method to express this meaning in later chapters, if Allāh wills.

  7. The word “between”, because of its meaning, is typically used with two or more individuals. For example, “between us”, “between you and him”, etc. In Arabic, when the pseudo-preposition بَيْنَ bayna is used with a singular attached pronoun, it is repeated. For example,

    • بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَکَ baynī wabaynaka “between me and you”

5.5 Translating prepositions

For each preposition that we have listed above, we have also given its meaning. For example,

  • فِي fī “in”
  • بِ bi “with”, “by”, “next to”

These meanings are not always fixed. And there is some degree of overlap in meanings as well. For example, in order to say “in the city” we will usually say فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ fi -lmadīnati but sometimes we can also say بِٱلْمَدِينَةِ bi -lmadīnati with the same meaning. As you keep learning, practicing, and reading Arabic, you will learn how to choose which preposition to use, if Allah wills.

Similarly, sometimes we have two or more prepositions with almost the same meaning. For example,

  • مِنْ min “from”
  • عَنْ ɛan “from”, “about”

Knowing when to use one or the other will also take practice.

5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions

We have seen how a noun can be used after a preposition to get a prepositional phrase, for example:

فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
fi -lbayti
“in the house”

We can put an indefinite noun in front of this structure:

رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
rajulun fi -lbayti
“a man in the house”

This is a phrase and not a complete sentence. Note that the preposition فِي fī “in” only puts the noun after it (ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾalbayti “the house”) in the i-state. It has no effect on the state of the noun before it (رَجُلٌ rajulun “a man”). In this case, it is in the u-state.

Instead of an indefnite noun, we can also put a definite noun in front of the prepositional phrase. Now the resulting structure can, in general, have two meanings: (i) a complete sentence, and (ii) an incomplete sentence. For example,

ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti
(i) “The man is in the house.”
(ii) “The man in the house”

Usually, it will be clear from the context which of the two meanings is valid. For example, the second meaning, “The man in the house”, can be part of a complete sentence:

ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ مُعَلِّمٌ.
ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti muɛallim.
“The man in the house is a teacherm.”

5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject

We said, in section 4.6, that the subject of a sentence is usually a definite noun. Now, we shall explore one way of allowing a sentence with an indefinite subject.

We have seen that if an indefinite noun is placed in front of a prepositional phrase, we get an incomplete sentence. For example,

رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
rajulun fi -lbayti
“a man in the house”

Now we will see how to make the complete sentence (with an indefinite subject):

“A man is in the house.”

In order to express this sentence, we put the prepositional phrase first, and place the indefinite subject after it:

فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلٌ.
fi -lbayti rajul.
“In the house is a man.” = “A man is in the house.”

In English, it may sometimes be more convenient to translate this type of sentence using the expression “there is”:

“There is a man in the house.”

5.8 Prepositions with multiple nouns/pronouns

In English, we can use a preposition with multiple nouns separated by “and”, thus:

“The boy went to the school and the house.”

A similar meaning can be achieved by repeating the preposition before each noun:

“The boy went to the school and to the house.”

In Arabic as well, if there are multiple nouns associated with a preposition then you may choose to repeat the preposition or not. Examples:

إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَإِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ
ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati
“to the school to and the house”

إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَٱلْبَيْتِ
ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati
“to the school and the house”

Note that when you don’t repeat the preposition, the second noun is still in the i-state.

In English, you have a similar option when you use pronouns instead of nouns. All of the following should be acceptable:

“to the boy and me”
“to the boy and to me”
“to him and me”
“to him and to me”

In Arabic, however, if one or more pronouns is used then the prepositions must be repeated. Examples:

إِلَيَّ وَإِلَى ٱلْغُلَامِ
ʾilayya waʾila -lg͡hulāmi
“to me and to the boy”

إِلَيَّ وَإِلَيْهِ
ʾilayya waʾilayhi
“to me and to him”

5.9 To have something

English uses the verb “have” or “has” to express that someone Arabic does not have a verb for “have” or “has”. In order to express sentences like

“I have a book.”
“The boy has a father.”

Arabic uses prepositions like

  • لِ li “for”
  • عِنْدَ ɛinda “at”
  • لَدَىٰ ladā “at”
  • مَعَ maɛa “together with”

Here are some examples:

لِلْغُلَامِ أَبٌ.
li -lg͡hulāmi ʾab.
“The boy has a father.” (literally: “For the boy is a father.”)

عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb.
“The man has a book.” (literally: “At the man is a book.”)

مَعَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ لُعْبَةٌ.
maɛa -ljāriyati luɛbah.
“The girl has a toy.” (literally: “With the girl is a toy.”)

Here are some notes that can help you choose which preposition to use to express “has” or “have”:

  • لِ li “for” is used to express personal relationships, like “I have a friend”, “I have a son”, etc. It is also used when you wish to imply that you own the object. For example, the sentence

    لِلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
    li -rrajuli kitāb.

    implies that the man owns a book. But it is possible that he has lent it to someone else so he does not actually have it on his person or at his house, etc.

  • عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession, but not necessarily that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence

    عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
    ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb.

    implies that the man has a book in his possession. But it is possible that it may not be with him right now. It may be at his house or elsewhere.

  • لَدَىٰ ladā “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession and that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence

    لَدَى ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
    lada -rrajuli kitāb.

    implies that the man has a book in his possession and that he has it with him right now.

  • مَعَ maɛa “together with” is used to express that the person has the object with him right now. But it doesn’t necessarily imply ownership. For example, the sentence

    مَعَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
    maɛa -rrajuli kitāb.

    means that the man has a book with him right now. But it is possible that he does not own it and that someone else has lent it to him.

There is some degree of overlap in meaning and you will get a feeling of which preposition is more appropriate in which circumstance as you progress in your learning, if Allah wills. For now, if you find that the object can be used with all of these prepositions, you might go with عِنْدَ ɛinda as it is the more commonly used.