Prepositions

=0. Contents=


 * 1) General facts about prepositions
 * 2) Case government
 * 3) Leniting and non-leniting prepositions
 * 4) Definite variant prepositions in //-s//
 * 5) Definite variant prepositions in //-n//
 * 6) Conjugated prepositions
 * 7) Possessive prepositions

This page is for facts relating to Gaelic prepositions in general, or to particular groups of prepositions with features in common. Each of the most common prepositions has its own special page, for facts relating to it alone:
 * //A|à//, //aig//, //air//, //ann aN//, //gu//, //le//, //ri// (the non-leniting, dative-governing prepositions).
 * //bho//, //de//, //do//, //fo//, //mu//, //ro//, //tro// (the non-leniting, dative-governing prepositions).

In addition, there are also pages dedicated to:
 * the nominative-governing prepositions: //eadar//, //gun//, //mar//, //seach//.
 * the genitive-governing prepositions: //chun//, //fad//, //far//, //rè//, //tarsainn//, //thar//, //timcheall//.
 * preposition/noun idioms (e.g. //ri taobh//, //às dèidh// ).
 * compound prepositions (e.g. //faisg air//, //coltach ri// ).

=1. General facts about prepositions=

a. Prepositions in Gaelic behave much like prepositions in other languages. For example, they generally mark complements or modifiers of verbs and nouns:
 * //Tha Màiri anns an taigh//. (Mary is in the house), where the preposition //anns// (in) marks the predicate complement of the copula //tha//.
 * //Bha mi a' bruidhinn ri sagart an-dè//. (I was talking to a priest yesterday), where the preposition //ri// (to) marks the complement of the verbal noun //bruidhinn// (talking).
 * //fear le falt fada// (a man with long hair), where the preposition //le// (with) is a modifier of the noun //fear// (man).



b. A preposition must have exactly one **complement**, which must be a noun (or pronoun). Both the complement noun itself, and all its dependents, must follow the preposition (hence the name).

For example:
 * //mu bhalach// (about a boy): the lenited form of the noun // balach // (boy) is the complement of the preposition //mu// (about).
 * //anns an taigh// (in the house): the noun // taigh // (house) is the complement of the preposition //anns// (in); the definite article // an // (the) is the specifier of the noun // taigh //, and hence must follow the preposition.
 * //air an t-seann bhòrd// (on the old table): the lenited form of the noun // bòrd // (table) is the complement of the preposition //air// (on); both the definite article // an t- // and the adjective // seann // are dependents of the noun (specifier and modifier respectively), and hence must follow the preposition.



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=2. Case government=

a. By default, the complement of a Gaelic preposition must be in the **dative** case.

For example:
 * //le caileig// (with a girl), rather than ? //le caileag//, where // caileig // is the (formal register) dative form of the feminine noun // caileag // (girl). The genitive case is also unacceptable: * //le caileige//.
 * //air a' bhòrd// (on the table), rather than * //air am bòrd//, where // a' bhòrd // is the dative form of the masculine noun phrase // am bòrd // (the table). Again the genitive is also unacceptable: * //air a' bhùird//.

b. However, the complement of the following prepositions must be in the **nominative** case:
 * //eadar// (between), //gun// (without), //mar// (like), //seach// (instead of).

For example:
 * //mar a' chailleach// (like the old woman), rather than * //mar a' chaillich// (dative) or even * //mar na cailliche// (genitive).
 * //gun chaileag// (without a girl), rather than * //gun chaileig// (dative) or even * //gun chaileige// (genitive).

Read more about the nominative-governing prepositions

c. And the complement of the following prepositions must be in the **genitive** case:
 * //chun// (to), //fad// (during the whole of), //far// (off), //rè// (during), //tarsainn// (across), //thar// (over), //timcheall// (around).

For example:
 * // far a' bhùird // (off the table) rather than *// far am bòrd // (nominative) or *// far a' bhòrd // (dative).
 * // rè na h-oidhche // (during the night) rather than // rè an oidhche // (nominative/dative).

Read more about the genitive-governing prepositions

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=3. Leniting and non-leniting prepositions=

a. The following prepositions lenite the following noun or adjective [or numeral?], subject to dental blocking in the case of prepositions ending with //-n// :
 * [dative-governing] //bho// (from), //de// (of), //do// (to/for), //fo// (under), //mu// (about), //ro// (before), //tro// (through)
 * [nominative-governing] //gun// (without), //mar// (like).

For example:
 * //do bhalach// (for a boy), rather than * //do balach//.
 * //fo sheann bhòrd// (under an old table), rather than * //fo seann bhòrd//.
 * //gun fhacal// (without a word), rather than ? //gun facal//.



b. The following prepositions do //not// lenite the following noun or adjective [or numeral?]:
 * [dative-governing] //A|à// (out of), //aig// (at), //air// (on), //ann aN// (in), //gu// (until), //le// (with), //ri// (against).
 * [nominative-governing] //eadar// (between), //seach// (instead of).
 * [genitive-governing] //chun// (to), //fad// (during the whole of), //far// (off), //rè// (during), //tarsainn// (across), //thar// (over), //timcheall// (around).

For example:
 * //le balach// (with a boy), rather than * //le bhalach//.
 * //eadar clach agus craobh// (between a stone and a tree), rather than * //eadar chlach agus craobh//.
 * //air seann bhòrd// (on an old table), rather than * //air sheann bhòrd//.



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=4. Definite variant prepositions in //-s//=

a. The following five non-leniting, dative-governing prepositions **cannot** be immediately followed by a form of the definite article:
 * //A|à// (out of), //ann aN// (in), //gu// (until), //le// (with), //ri// (against).

For example:
 * * //le a' chaileig// (with the girl), cf. //le caileig// (with a girl), //le gach caileig// (with every girl).
 * ? //le na caileagan// (with the girls), cf. //le caileagan// (with girls), //le trì caileagan// (with three girls).
 * * //à an taigh// (out of the house), cf. //à taigh// (out of a house).
 * * //ann an na h-eaglaisean// (in the churches), cf. //ann an eaglaisean// (in churches).

b. Rather, each of these prepositions has a special, **definite variant** ending in //-s// :
 * //às//, //anns// , //gus// , //leis// , //ris//.

c. These definite variant prepositions **must** be immediately followed by a form of the definite article (though see the detailed discussion for //A|à//, //gu// and //le// for a couple of exceptions).

For example:
 * //leis a' chaileig// (with the girl) but not * //leis caileig// (with a girl), ? //leis gach caileig// (with every girl).
 * //leis na caileagan// (with the girls), but not * //leis caileagan// (with girls), * //leis trì caileagan// (with three girls).
 * //às an taigh// (out of the house) but not * //às taigh// (out of a house).
 * //anns na h-eaglaisean// (in the churches) but not * //anns eaglaisean// (in churches).

d. Just like with their non-definite counterparts, the complement of the definite variant prepositions //às//, //anns// , //gus// , //leis// and //ris// must be in the dative case.

For example:
 * //leis a' chaileig// (with the girl), rather than ? //leis a' chaileag// (nominative) or * //leis na caileige// (genitive).
 * //anns a' bhòrd// (in the table), rather than * //anns am bòrd// (nominative) or * //anns a' bhùird// (genitive).

[Etymological note: "the preposition once ended in a consonant which fused with the *//s-// of the ancestor of the definite article" (Gillies/Ball, p.193). Anyone care to add more detail?]

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=5. Definite variant prepositions in //-n//=

a. The situation with the leniting, dative-governing prepositions is similar, but not exactly the same. These seven prepositions **cannot** be immediately followed by a singular/dual form of the article (i.e. leniting //an// ), but they **can** be followed by a plural one (i.e. //na// ):
 * //bho// (from), //de// (of), //do// (for/to), //fo// (under), //mu// (about), //ro// (before), //tro// (through).

For example:
 * * //fo a' bhòrd// (under the table), cf. //fo bhòrd// (under a table), //fo na bùird// (under the tables).
 * * //mu a' chaileig// (about the girl), cf. //mu chaileig// (about a girl), //mu na caileagan// (about the girls).
 * * //bho an eaglais// (from the church), cf. //bho eaglais// (from a church), //bho na h-eaglaisean// (from the churches).

b. Each of these seven prepositions has a definite variant ending in //-n// :
 * //bhon//, // den / dhen //, // don / dhan //, //fon// , //mun// , //ron// , //tron//.

c. These definite variant prepositions **should** be immediately followed by a singular/dual form of the definite article (i.e. leniting //an// ), but **not** by a plural definite article (i.e. //na// ).

For example:
 * //fon a' bhòrd// (under the table), but not * //fon na bùird// (under the tables).
 * //mun a' chaileig// (about the girl), but not * //mun na caileagan// (about the girls).
 * //bhon an eaglais// (from the church), but not * //bhon na h-eaglaisean// (from the churches).

d. However, the definite article can be **dropped** after a definite variant preposition ending in //-n (// but not after one ending in -//s// ).

For example:
 * //fon bhòrd// (under the table) is a variant on //fon a' bhòrd//, not to be confused with //fo bhòrd// (under a table).
 * //mun chaileig// (about the girl) is a variant on //mun a' chaileig//, not to be confused with //mu chaileig// (about a girl).
 * //bhon eaglais// (from the church) is a variant on //bhon an eaglais//, not to be confused with //bho eaglais// (from a church).
 * **but** * //leis chaileig// is **not** a possible variant on //leis a' chaileig// (with the girl).
 * **and** * //anns eaglais// is **not** a possible variant on //anns an eaglais// (in the church).

e. Just like with their non-definite counterparts, the complement of the definite variant prepositions //bhon//, // den / dhen //, // don / dhan //, //fon// , //mun// , //ron// and //tron// must be in the dative case.

For example:
 * //mun a' chaileig// (about the girl), rather than ? //mun a' chaileag// (nominative) or * //mun na caileige// (genitive).
 * //fon a' bhòrd// (under the table), rather than * //fon am bòrd// (nominative) or * //fon a' bhùird// (genitive).

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=6. Conjugated prepositions=

a. A dative-governing preposition should **not** have one of the seven personal pronouns, i.e. //mi//, //thu// , //e// , //i// , //sinn// , //sibh// , //iad// as its complement (because the personal pronouns do not have a dative form, just a nominative one).

For example:
 * * //aig mi// (at me), where the personal pronoun // mi // (me) cannot be the complement of the preposition //aig// (at).
 * * //bho iad// (from them), where the personal pronoun //iad// (them) cannot be the complement of the preposition //bho// (from).
 * * //ann an i// (in her), where the personal pronoun //i// (her) cannot be the complement of the preposition //ann an// (in).

b. Rather, for every dative-governing preposition and every personal pronoun, there is a **conjugated preposition**, which should be used instead.

For example:
 * //agam// (at me) is used instead of *// aig mi .//
 * //bhuapa// (from them) is used instead of *// bho iad .//
 * //innte// (in her) is used instead of *// ann an i .//

c. These conjugated prepositions cannot have an surface complement (and hence are not really prepositions at all). The underlying complement personal pronoun has been **incorporated** into the preposition itself.

For example:
 * //Tha leabhar aig Màiri//. (Mary has a book, literally "A book is at Mary"), where // Màiri // is the object of the preposition //aig// (at).
 * //Tha leabhar aice//. (She has a book, literally "A book is at her"), where the conjugated preposition // aice // (at her) has no complement.
 * **but** * //Tha leabhar// //aice Màiri.// i.e. //Màiri// cannot be the object of the conjugated preposition //aice// (at her).

d. Here is a complete list of the conjugated prepositions:


 * ~  ||~ à ||~ aig ||~ air ||~ ann aN ||~ gu ||~ le ||~ ri ||
 * ~ ... mi ||= asam ||= agam ||= orm ||= annam ||= thugam ||= leam ||= rium ||
 * ~ ... thu ||= asad ||= agad ||= ort ||= annad ||= thugad ||= leat ||= riut ||
 * ~ ... e ||= às ||= aige ||= air ||= ann ||= thuige ||= leis ||= ris ||
 * ~ ... i ||= aiste ||= aice ||= oirre ||= innte ||= thuice ||= leatha ||= rithe ||
 * ~ ... sinn ||= asainn ||= againn ||= oirnn ||= annainn ||= thugainn ||= leinn ||= r(u)inn ||
 * ~ ... sibh ||= asaibh ||= agaibh ||= oirbh ||= annaibh ||= thugaibh ||= leibh ||= r(u)ibh ||
 * ~ ... iad ||= asta ||= aca ||= orra ||= annta ||= thuca ||= leotha ||= riutha ||


 * ~  ||~ bho ||~ de ||~ do ||~ fo ||~ mu ||~ ro ||~ tro ||
 * ~ ... mi ||= (bh)uam ||= dhìom ||= dhomh ||= fodham ||= umam ||= romham ||= tromham ||
 * ~ ... thu ||= (bh)uat ||= dhìot ||= dhu(i)t ||= fodhad ||= umad ||= romhad ||= tromhad ||
 * ~ ... e ||= (bh)uaidhe ||= dheth ||= dha ||= fodha ||= uime ||= roimhe ||= troimhe ||
 * ~ ... i ||= (bh)uaipe ||= dhith ||= dhi ||= foi(dh)pe ||= uimpe ||= roim(h)pe ||= troim(h)pe ||
 * ~ ... sinn ||= (bh)uainn ||= dhinn ||= dhuinn ||= fodhainn ||= umainn ||= romhainn ||= tromhainn ||
 * ~ ... sibh ||= (bh)uaibh ||= dhibh ||= dhuibh ||= fodhaibh ||= umaibh ||= romhaibh ||= tromhaibh ||
 * ~ ... iad ||= bhuapa/(bh)uat ||= dhiubh ||= dhaibh ||= fodhpa/fòpa ||= umpa ||= rom(h)pa ||= trom(h)pa ||

e. [Add a note on emphatic forms.]

[The hyphen is generally omitted, unless it is needed to prevent violations of the spelling rule.]
 * ~  ||||~ singular ||~   ||
 * ~  ||~ masc ||~ fem ||~ plural ||
 * ~ first ||= -sa ||=  ||= -e ||
 * ~ second ||= -sa ||=  ||= -se ||
 * ~ third ||= -san ||= -se ||= -san ||

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=7. Possessive prepositions=

a. For each of the dative-governing prepositions (apart from // A|à //, // aig // and // air //) and every possessive article (i.e. //mo//, //do// , //a// , //ar// , //ur// and //aN// ), there is a **possessive preposition**, i.e. a single word which //may// be used instead of the two separate words.

For example:
 * //nar taigh// (in our house) may be used instead of //ann an ar taigh// (in our house).
 * //lem chù// (with my dog) may be used instead of //le mo chù// (with my dog).
 * //trom baile// (through their town) may be used instead of //tro am baile// (through their town).

b. These possessive prepositions have exactly the same effect on the following word as does the incorporated possessive article, in terms of leniting or not leniting a following consonant, prefixing //h-// or //n-// to a word beginning with a vowel, etc.

To be precise:
 * forms incorporating //mo// and //do// lenite the following word, e.g. //fod bhòrd// (under your table - //fo do bhòrd// ).
 * forms incorporating the third-person singular **masculine** //a// also lenite the following word, e.g. //mu chù// (about his dog - //mu a chù// ).
 * forms incorporating the third-person singular feminine //a// **do not** lenite the following word, e.g. //mu cù// (about her dog - //mu a cù// ); however they do prefix //h-// to a following vowel, e.g. //mu h-eaglais// (about her church - //mu a h-eaglais// ).
 * forms incorporating //ar// and //ur// prefix //n-// to a following vowel, e.g. //bhor n-eaglais// (from our church - //bho ar n-eaglais// ).
 * forms incorporating //aN// assimilate with a following consonant, e.g. //lem bó// (with their cow - //le am bó// ), //len cù// (with their dog - //le an cù// ).

For example:
 * //na baile// (in her town) versus //na bhaile// (in his town), cf. //ann an a baile// (in her town) versus //ann an a bhaile// (his town).
 * //bhor n-eaglais// (from our church), cf. //bho ar n-eaglais// (from our church).
 * //fom bòrd// (under their table) versus //fon doras// (under their door), cf. //fo am bòrd// (under their table), //fo an doras// (under their door).

c. Note that in most cases, the third-person possessive preposition is identical to the preposition itself.

For example:
 * //le cù// can mean either "with a dog" or "with her dog" (i.e. //le a cù// ); //le chù// means "with his dog" (i.e. //le a chù// ).
 * //bho h-eilean// means "from her island" (i.e. //bho a h-eilean// ); //bho eilean// can mean either "on an island" or "on his island" (i.e. //bho a eilean// ).

d. Note also the following potential confusion with the third-person plural forms, where either the definite variant or the first person singular form is identical:
 * //bhon eaglais// can mean either "from the church" (i.e. //bhon an eaglais// ) or "from their church" (i.e. //bho an eaglais// ).
 * //fom bhòrd// (under my table - //fo mo bhòrd// ) versus //fom bòrd// (under their table - //fo am bòrd// ).

e. Here is a complete list of the possessive prepositions:
 * ~  ||~ ann aN ||~ gu ||~ le ||~ ri ||
 * ~ ... mo ||= nam ||= gum ||= lem ||= rim ||
 * ~ ... do ||= nad ||= gud ||= led ||= rid ||
 * ~ ... a ||= na ||= gu ||= le ||= ri ||
 * ~ ... ar ||= nar ||= gar ||= ler ||= rir ||
 * ~ ... ur ||= nur ||= gur ||= lur ||= rur ||
 * ~ ... aN ||= naN ||= guN ||= leN ||= riN ||


 * ~  ||~ bho ||~ de ||~ do ||~ fo ||~ mu ||~ ro ||~ tro ||
 * ~ ... mo ||= bhom ||= d(h)em ||= dom/dham ||= fom ||= mum ||= rom ||= trom ||
 * ~ ... do ||= bhod ||= d(h)ed ||= dod/dhad ||= fod ||= mud ||= rod ||= trod ||
 * ~ ... a ||= bho ||= d(h)e ||= d(h)a ||= fo ||= mu ||= ro ||= tro ||
 * ~ ... ar ||= bhor ||= d(h)er ||= dor/d(h)a ||= for ||= mar ||= ror ||= tror ||
 * ~ ... ur ||= bhur ||= d(h)ur ||= d(h)ur ||= fur ||= mur ||= rur ||= trur ||
 * ~ ... aN ||= bhoN ||= d(h)eN ||= doN/d(h)aN ||= foN ||= muN ||= roN ||= troN ||

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