GRAMMAR
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Prepositions

A preposition is a special word that introduces a noun phrase, forming a prepositional phrase. A prepositional phrase typically modifies a preceding noun, pronoun, adjective, or adverb – or it can modify a whole sentence. The preposition indicates how the noun phrase relates to the containing structure, showing the role it plays in the modification.

LFN has 22 prepositions.

a

A means “at”. It presents a place or a time as a simple point, or as a general space or period, ignoring its internal structure:

By metaphorical extension, a introduces the point of reference in a relationship:

In addition, a can express movement towards a point. This includes metaphorical movements such as transfers to recipients, and changes into new states:

In fact, any preposition that indicates a location can also indicate movement towards that location. For example, in me pone mea libros en mea saco (“I put my books in my bag”), en obviously implies motion “into”. When extra clarity is needed, a can be placed before the preposition to clarify the sense of movement towards:

A special use of a is before another preposition, to create an adverb. If the preposition denotes a place, the combination suggests movement in the direction indicated. A ante and a pos are also used to denote earlier or later times:

Another special use of a is to add a complement to the object in a sentence. (In some cases, other prepositions can also be used for this purpose.)

The complement can be an infinitive. Per can be used instead of a, but then the meaning is that the subject of the main verb intends to perform the action of the infinitive verb. A indicates that the subject intends the object to do it:

ante

Ante means “before” or “in front of”. Its opposite is pos.

In space, ante indicates a location at the more important side of a specified object. Which side is more important depends on the object and its context. Many things have an obvious front side with which they face the world; in other cases ante just means “at the nearer side of”:

In time, ante indicates a point that precedes a specified time:

Ante can also indicate movement to a point in front of something (= a ante):

Ante cuando, or ante ce, means “before” as a conjunction (“before the time when”):

asta

Asta means “up to” or “as far as” a specified object or location:

This leads to the temporal sense of asta, which is “until”:

ca

Ca means “than”. It indicates the reference point for an inequality comparison:

como

Como means “as” or “like”. It indicates the reference point for an equality comparison:

con

Con means “with”. Its opposite is sin.

It introduces an accompanying person, thing, or state:

Con can also mean “by means of”, presenting something that is used as a tool:

When an action happens by means of something more abstract or less tool-like, par is preferred.

An con means “despite”:

contra

Contra means “against”. It introduces something that faces or moves in the opposite direction, either for real or metaphorically:

de

De means “from”. It presents something as an origin:

By extension, de introduces the person or thing that something belongs to:

More abstractly, de often indicates a general relationship between two things, or between a quality or action and a thing:

What would be a compound noun in some languages is commonly expressed as two nouns joined by de in LFN:

De occurs as the second element in a number of fixed expressions that function as complex prepositions:

De can be placed before another preposition to indicate motion away from:

Like a, de can convert a preposition to an adverb. The adverb means “from the location suggested by the context”:

De cuando, or de ce, means “since” as a conjunction (“from the time when”):

en

En means “in”. Its opposite is estra.

It indicates a location in space or time that is wholly or partly contained in something else:

Metaphorically, the location can be a state, or an activity, or a manner:

En can also mean “into” (= a en):

En cuando, or en ce, means “while”, “at a point during the time when”:

entre

Entre means “between”. It indicates that one place or time is surrounded by two or more others:

estra

Estra means “outside”. Its opposite is en.

It indicates a location that is not contained in something else:

Estra can also indicate movement towards such a location (= a estra):

Metaphorically, estra can mean “except for”:

longo

Longo means “along”. It indicates the route that something follows as it moves:

By extension, it can also mean “according to” what someone has said or written:

par

Par means “by”. It indicates the agent of a passive verb, or the author of a creation:

By extension, it also indicates an action or method by which something is done:

When a transitive verb is converted into a noun, and the verb’s subject and object are of a similar nature (e.g. they’re both people), par is used to indicate the subject and de or a to indicate the object:

per

Per means “for”. It introduces an intended goal or recipient:

By extension, it also indicates an item exchanged for another:

It can indicate an intended period of time:

As a special case, per introduces something that is favoured or represented:

pos

Pos means “after” or “behind”. Its opposite is ante.

In space, it indicates a location at the less important side of a specified object:

In time, pos indicates a point that follows a specified time:

Pos can also indicate movement to a point behind something (= a pos):

Pos cuando, or pos ce, means “after” as a conjunction (“after the time when”):

sin

Sin means “without”. It indicates something that is absent:

sirca

Sirca means “around”. It indicates a position that surrounds or encloses something else:

It can also indicate movement along a surrounding path:

With expressions of time and quantity, sirca indicates that the value is approximate – the actual value is somewhere in the surrounding range:

su

Su means “under”. It indicates a location that is lower than another, either physically or metaphorically:

By extension, su can also indicate any location that is physically covered by something, whether it’s actually lower or not:

Su can also indicate motion to a location below something (= a su):

supra

Supra means “above”. It indicates a location that is higher than another, either physically or metaphorically:

Supra implies a gap between the two items. If there is no gap, sur is used instead.

By extension, supra can also indicate anything that physically covers something else, whether it’s actually higher or not:

Supra can also indicate motion to a location above (= a supra):

sur

Sur means “on”. It indicates a location at the surface of something, either held on top of it by gravity, or fixed to it in some other way:

Sur can also mean “onto” (= a sur):

Metaphorically, sur means “concerning” or “on the subject of”:

tra

Tra means “through”. It indicates a location within which movement occurs, passing from one end to the other:

Tra cuando, or tra ce, means “as long as, so long as, while, throughout the time when”:

ultra

Ultra means “beyond”. It indicates a location on the other side of something:

It can also indicate movement towards such a location (= a ultra):

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