< Mirad Grammar

Prepositions

Prepositions are words that connect and show a relationship between a noun or noun phrase and the rest of the sentence. In Mirad, prepositions are simple monosyllables or phrases. Prepositions, as in English, are positioned before the noun or noun phrase they connect.


Simple Prepositions

In Mirad, there are single-word and multi-word prepositions. Single-word prepositions are called simple propositions.
Here is a chart of simple prepositions. Most are spatial, but some are temporal, relational, or mathematical.
Simple Prepositions
POSITIVENEUTRALNEGATIVE
SPATIAL
ab....on, uponeb....betweenob....off, off of
ayb....over, aboveeyb....among, amidoyb....under, below
bu....tobe....atbi....from, of
byu....as far as, up to byi....since, starting with
ub....toward ib....away from
za....in front ofze....at the middle ofzo....behind, in back of
zu....(to the) left (of)zey....acrosszi....(to the) right (of)
zya....throughoutzye....through 
yez....along, flush with
TEMPORAL
ja....beforeje....during, whilejo....after
ju....until ji....since
RELATIONAL
bay....withbey....by, viaboy....without
av....forvyel....than, as, compared to, aboutov....against
ayv....aboutoyv....despite
ay....andey....oroy....but, except
MATHEMATICAL
gab....plus, + gob....minus, -
gal....times, ×gel....like
ogel....unlike
gol....divided by, ÷
gar....to the power of, ˆgor....to the minus power of,
Examples showing how these single-word prepositions are used:
  • Ha dyes se ab ha sem.....The book is on the table.
  • Von pyosu ob ha abtamas!....Don't fall off the roof!
  • Ha pati papa ayb ata tam.....The birds flew over my house.
  • It kosa oyb ha yagsim.....He hid under the bench.
  • Simbiu eb hut ay at.....Take a seat between that person and me.
  • Yat teje eyb fiati.....We live among good people.
  • Hos se nax bi pop bu ay bi Boston?....What is the cost of a trip to and from Boston?
  • His se ifek bi kyen.....This is a game of luck.
  • Duven et sa be hua duzun zomoj?....Were you at that concert last night?
  • Yit se embwa be ha zenod bi ha mapil.....We are positioned at the hub of this storm.
  • Iyt tyoyapa byu ha mis.....She walked up to/as far as the door.
  • Ha twob tojbwa bey goblar.....The man was killed with/by a knife.
  • Et xu ga fiay ser bay at vyel boy at.....You would do better to be with me than without me.
  • Teaxu ib ha amar.....Look away from the sun.
  • Von teaxu iz ub ha man.....Don't look directly toward the light.
  • Iyt simpa za at. ....She sat in front of me.
  • Et yeyfe simbier zo hua toyb.....You should sit in back of that woman.
  • Embu has zu ha mis.....Put it to the left of the door.
  • At simpo zi et.....I will sit to the right of you.
  • Ha pat besa ze ha tim.....The bird stayed in the middle of the room.
  • Mil upeye zye ha mes.....Water is coming through the door.
  • At tyoyapu zey ha domep bay gla bik.....I would walk across the street with great care.
  • His xwo ja zajub. ....This will happen before tomorrow.
  • Esa mapil je ha moj.....There was a storm during the night.
  • Ju zamaj.....Until tomorrow morning.
  • At voy teataye et ji zoyejub.....I have not seen you since last week.
  • Diwe xu hes av at.....Please do something for me.
  • Hia dyen se din vyel ewa fiuti.....This book is a story about two lovers.
  • Datan se ga fia vyel nas.....Friendship is better than money.
  • Hos se ge fua vyel has hu yat soa zojab.....Nothing is as bad as what we underwent last year.
  • Yit yexeya ov yat.....They were working against us.
  • Et ay Bob yeyfe ser dati.....You and Bob should be friends.
  • Hot ako, et ey at?....Who will win, you or I?
  • Hyat oy hwut ta ha dud.....Everyone but that guy knew the answer.
  • Et voy se gel at.....You are not like me.
  • Et se hyagla ogel at.....You are totally unlike me.
  • E gab e gese u.....Two plus two equals four.
  • U gob e gese e.....Four minus two equals two.
  • E gal e gese u.....Two times two equals four.
  • E gol e gese a.....Two divided by two equals one.
  • U gar e gese asya.....Four squared (42) equals sixteen. (Lit: Four to the power of two...)
  • Alya gor e gese u.....The square root (√16) of sixteen is four. (Lit: Sixteen to the minus power of two...)

Phrasal Prepositions

Phrasal Prepositions Using Adverbs

There are certain directional adverbs that can play a part in forming phrasal prepositions, but cannot act as prepositions in and of themselves:
Adverbs Used in Phrasal Prepositions
yub....nearyib....far
yuz....aroundyiz....beyond
iz....directly, straightuz....indirectly, roundabout
yab....upyeb....in
oyeb....out
yob....down
zay....forward, aheadzoy....back
The next chart lists some phrasal prepositions using the above adverbs:
Phrasal Prepositions Using Adverbs
PHRASAL PREPOSITIONEXAMPLE
yub bi....near to, close toAt fe tujer yub bi et.....I want to sleep close to you.
yib bi....far fromHa amar se yib bi ha imer.....The sun is far from the earth.
yab bu....up toIt fu paper yab bu ha mam.....He would like to fly up to the sky.
yab bi....up fromSu yab bi ha sim.....Get up from the bed.
yab bey....up (by way of)Aat tyoyapo yab bey ha meab.....We will walk up the hill.
yab be....up onHa yipet kaxwa yab be ha abtammmas.....The cat was found up on the roof.
yob bu....down toIgpu yob bu ha obmos.....Run down to the cellar.
yob bi....down fromHa tat upa yob bi ha mam.....The angel came down from the sky.
yob bey....down (by way of)Iyt igtyoyapa yob bey ha meab.....She ran down the hill.
yob be....down onHa dyes kase yob be ha oybmas.....The book is down on the floor.
yob ab....down onHas kaxwa yob ab eta oybmos.....It was found down on your floor.
yeb be....in, insideEta teyd se yeb be ha tam.....Your mother is in(side) the house.
yeb bu....intoIt pyasa yeb bu ha mip.....He jumped into the river.
yeb bi....in fromUpu yeb bi ha oma oyebem.....Come in from the cold outdoors.
oyeb be....out in/atHa toboti sa oyeb be ha zodeym.....The children were out in the backyard.
oyeb bi....out fromYepu oyeb bi ha om.....Come in out from the cold.
oyeb bu....out toAat fu peper oyeb bu ha meim.....We'd like to ride out to the countryside.
yuz bi....aroundHa pati papa yuz bi yata tam.....The birds flew around our house.
yiz bi....beyond, pastEt paye yiz bi ha yuznad.....You have gone beyond the perimeter.
iz bu....straight toPu iz bu fyomir! ....Go straight to hell!
iz zoy bi....right back fromIt upu iz zoy bi ha yexim.....He came right back from the office.
zay bu....on to, forth to, ahead toHa naadpar popa zay bu zona doym.....The train traveled on to the next town.
zoy bi....back fromAt se zoy bi ha yexim.....I am back from the office.
zoy bu....back toPu zoy bu ha nam.....Go back to the store.

Phrasal Prepositions Using Nouns

The following chart shows how prepositions and directional adverbs can be joined with the spatial ending -(e)m meaning place (or others) to be form spatial nouns, which, in turn, can be used in idiomatic prepositional phrases:
Spatial Nouns Built on Prepositions or Adverbs
PREPOSITION OR ADVERBSPATIAL NOUN
ab....onabem....top
abned....upper surface
abmas....roof
eb....betweenebem....interstice
ebjob....interval
ebnod....intersection
ebmas....partition
ob....offobem....bottom
obned....lower surface
obmas....foundation
ayb....aboveaybem....area above
aybmas....ceiling
oyb....belowoybem....area below
oybmas....floor
yab....upyabem....upstairs, upper area
yabneg....top level
yob....downyobem....downstairs, lower area
yobneg....bottom level
yeb....inyebem....inside, interior, indoors
yebnig....inner space
oyeb....outyobem....outside, exterior, outdoors
za....in front ofzam....front, foreground
zan....face
ze....in the middle ofzem....middle
zenod....center, hub
zen....center
zenad....median
zo....behindzom....back, rear, background
zi....rightzim....right area
zikum....left side
ziizon....right direction
imer....east
zu....leftzum....left area
zukum....left side
zuizon....left direction
umer....west
iz....straightizmep....direct route
iznad....vector
izon....direction
uz....indirectlyuzmep....detour
uznad....curve
uzon....deviation
yub....nearyubem....vicinity
yubkum....near side
yubaj....recent past
yib....faryibem....distance
yibkum....far side
yibnod....pole
yiboj....distant future
yuz....aroundyuzem....perifery
yuznad....perimeter
yuznig....environment
yiz....beyondyizem....area beyond
yiznod....extremity
The following chart shows phrasal prepositions that can be created with the use of the spatial nouns in the previous section or other nouns. These phrases are considered idiomatic, because they are abbreviated by the omission of the definite article ha in front of the noun:
Idiomatic Phrasal Prepositions
be abem bi....at the top ofbu abem bi....to the top ofbi abem bi....from the top of
be obem bi....at the bottom ofbu obem bi....to the bottom ofbi obem bi....from the top of
be ebem bi....in the area betweenbu ebem bi....to the area betweenbi ebem bi....from the area between
be aybem bi....above, overbu aybem bi....to the area abovebi aybem bi....from the area above
be oybem bi....below, underbu oybem bi....to the area belowbi oybem bi....from the area below
be eybem bi....amidzye eybem bi....through the midst ofbi eybem bi....from the midst of
be zam bi....at the front ofbu zam bi....to the front ofbi zam bi....from the front of
be zem bi....at the middle ofbu zem bi....to the middle ofbi zem bi....from the middle of
be zom bi....at the back ofbu zom bi....to the back ofbi zom bi....from the back of
be zim bi....at the right ofbu zim bi....to the right ofbi zim bi....from the right of
be zum bi....at the left ofbu zum bi....to the left ofbi zum bi....from the left of
be yubem bi....in the vicinity ofbu yubem bi....to the vicinity ofbi yubem bi....from the vicinity of
be yibem bi....at a distance frombey azon bi....by dint ofbe avon bi....in favor of
be ubem bi....in the direction ofbay ux bi....with assistance frombe byux bay....in touch with
be yabem bi....in the upper reaches ofbe vyen bu....in relation todoytaxwa bay....associated with
be yobem bi....in the bottom area ofbe ned bi....on the level ofbe mep bu....on the way to, en route
be yebem bi....on the inside of, insidebe oyebem bi....on the outside of, outsidebu oyebem bi....to the exterior of
bey mep bi....by way of, viabe kum bi....beside, at the side ofbe ij bi....at the start of
be uj bi....at the end ofbey uxun bi....by means ofbe kunad bi....at the edge of
be nod bi....at the point ofbe yebem bi....at the interior of, insidebe oyebem bi....at the exterior of, outside
be nad bay....in line withbe uznod bi....alongsidebe tes bi....in the sense of
be teas bi....in the guise ofbe san bi....in the form ofbe yanx bi....in conjunction with
be bol bi....in support ofbe gab bu....in addition tobe dyun bi....in the name of
be avson bi....on behalf ofbe vyeson bi....on the subject ofbay yux bi....with the aid of

Separable Verb Prefixes

Verbal prefixes that formed from prepositions and adverbs can usually be "unpacked", that is, treated as separate words. The following table demonstrates how that works:
Separable Verb Prefixes
yuzper = per yuz....go around, circleZyulmap yuzpa yata tam. = Zyulmap pa yuz bi yata tam.....The tornado circled/went around our house.
yobnoger = noger yob....scale downHa yux bi yams yeyfe yobnogwer. = Ha yux bi yams yeyfe nogwer yob.....The use of carbon should be downscaled.
zaybuxer = buxer zay....advance, push forward Aat zaybuxo hia dovyabdren. = Yat buxo hia dovyabdren zay.....We shall advance this legislation.


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