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Prepositions
We have already encountered several prepositions, en, de, al, and kun. In this lesson we will learn several more and how to use them to derive new words.
| Preposition | Audio | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| antaŭ | before (in time and place) | |
| malantaŭ | behind (only in place) | |
| post | after (only in time) | |
| apud | next to | |
| ĉe | at, near | |
| ĉirkaŭ | around | |
| sur | on (top of) | |
| sub | under | |
| super | above | |
| ekster | outside (location) | |
| el | outside (movement) | |
| ĝis | until (a time) up to (a place) | |
| inter | between | |
| tra | through | |
| kontraŭ | against | |
| trans | on the other side of |
Prepositions are usually used as in English. However, it is also common for prepositions to be used in derivations as those covered in lesson 4, with the preposition as the first element in the compound. Such compounds are especially common with verbs. Examples are:
| Word | Audio | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| eniri | to go inside | |
| eliri | to go out(side) | |
| deveni | to originate | |
| aldoni | to add | |
| ĉeesti | to be present | |
| kontraŭparoli | to object, to speak against |
The part-of-speech endings -o, -i, -a, and -e can also be added to prepositions to derive new words.
| Word | Audio | Meaning | Example | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ena | internal | enaj organoj | internal organs | ||
| ene | inside | Faru tion ene! | Do that inside! | ||
| ekstere | outside | Faru tion ekstere! | Do that outside! | ||
| kontraŭi | to oppose | Ili kontraŭis la reformon. | They opposed the reform. | ||
| kontraŭe | on the contrary, contrarily | Kontraŭe, mi ja povas fari tion. | On the contrary, I can do it. |
Affixes
-ejo
The suffix "-ejo" indicates a place for the base word.
| Examples | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derived word | Meaning | Audio | ||
| lernejo | school (a place to learn) | |||
| preĝejo | church (a place to pray) | |||
| hundejo | kennel (a place for dogs) | |||
-ujo
The suffix "-ujo" indicates a container for something.
| Examples | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derived word | Meaning | Audio | ||
| inkujo | inkpot | |||
| monujo | wallet or purse | |||
| hundujo | doghouse | |||
| trinkujo | something that holds drinks, e.g. a glass or a bottle | |||
| fridujo | refrigerator | |||
| kuirujo | kitchen | |||
dis-
The prefix "dis-" indicates multiple directions:
| Examples | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derived word | Meaning | Audio | ||
| dissendi | broadcast (i.e. send out in many/all directions) | |||
| disiri | scatter (i.e. go in many directions) | |||
| disdoni | distribute (i.e. give in many directions) | |||
Vocabulary
| Word | Audio | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| preĝi | to pray | |
| inko | ink | |
| mono | money | |
| kuiri | cook | |
| frida | cold |
Exercises
Let's play some more with the affixes from the previous lessons:
- Go through the words in this lesson and tack on mal-, -ulo, and -ino. What do they mean? (answers)
Now, let's play with prepositions:
- Go through the verbs in this and the previous lessons and tack on prepositions as much as makes sense. What do they mean? (answers)
- Go through the other words in this and the previous lessons and tack on prepositions whenever it makes sense. What do they mean? (answers)
Now, let's play with the affixes from this lesson:
- Go through the words from this and previous lessons and tack on -ejo, -ujo, and dis- wherever sensible. What do they mean? (answers)
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