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.

Single-word Prepositions

In Mirad, there are single-word prepositions and compound prepositions.

Here is a chart of single-word prepositions. Most are spatial, but some are temporal, relational, or mathematical.

Simple Prepositions
Positive	Neutral	Negative
Spatial
ab....on, upon	eb....between	ob....off, off of
ayb....over, above	eyb....among, amid	oyb....under, below
bu....to	be....at	bi....from, of
byu....as far as, up to		byi....since, starting with
bay....with	bey....by, via	boy....without
ub....toward		ib....away from
yub....near	yeb....in, inside oyeb....outside	yib....far from
yuz....around	yez....along	yiz....beyond
za....in front of	ze....at the middle of	zo....behind, in back of
zya....throughout	zye....through
	zey....across
Temporal
ja....before	je....during, while	jo....after
ju....until		ji....since
Relational
av....for	ev....neither for nor against vyel....than, as, compared to, about	ov....against
ayv....about		oyv....despite
ay....and	ey....or oey....nor	oy....but, except
bay....with	bey....by, via, with	boy....without
	gel....like ogel....unlike
Mathematical
	ge....equal to oge....unequal to
gab....plus, +	gaob....plus or minus	gob....minus, -
gal....times, ×		gol....divided by, ÷
gar....to the power of, ˆ		gor....to the root of, √

Some of the above prepositions can be negated by prefixing lo. For example:

jo....after --> lojo....no later than, by
ji....since --> loji....not since

The most versatile and useful single-word preposition is be, which means at as a general locative when used literally, but is used before many nouns and noun phrases when the meaning is idiomatic. Some examples follow:

Yat se be tam.....We are at home. (literal, general locative)
Yat se be dropek.....We are at war. (idiomatic)
At teata et be yibsin.....I saw you on television. (idiomatic)
Be Ejna York ese mamyabtomi.....In New York, there are skyscrapers. (general locative)

The preposition bi can mean of or from. It is used for possessive constructions. Here are some examples:

Hus se tam bi ifron.....That is a house of worship.
At tyopa bi ha nam bu ata pur.....I walked from the store to my car.
Bi him bu jobuj.....From here to eternity.
Ha tajem bi Tom se him.....Tom's birthplace is here.
His sa ha gwaifwa tuzun bi eta teyd.....This was your mother's favorite piece of art.

Simple Preposition Examples

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.
Duhos 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 tyopa byu ha mes.....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.
Yibdaliru ub ha uj bi eta pop.....Call me toward the end of your trip.
Emkyoxu eta pur yub ha tam.....Park the car near the house.
At voy se yib et.....I'm not far from you.
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 yijun.....Water is coming through the opening.
Bikiu je pen zey ha domep......Take care when going across the street.
Eso ivan zya ha mir.....There will be happiness throughout the world.
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 dyes se ayv dalzeyntun.....This book is about linguistics.
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 xola zojab.....Nothing is as bad as what we underwent last year.
Yit yexeya ov yat.....They were working against us.
Ha vakdibut dopoxa at oyv ata azovdeyni.....The police officer arrested me despite my protests.
At se ev hua doyafkexut.....I am neither for nor against/neutral toward that candidate.
Et ay Bob yeyfe ser dati.....You and Bob should be friends.
Duhot ako, et ey at?....Who will win, you or I?
Hyat oy hwut ta ha dud.....Everyone but that guy knew the answer.
Esa mag yub at.....There was a fire near me.::
Voy ese fabi yuz ata tam.....There are no trees around my house.
Et yafo tyoper yez ha kunad.....You'll have to walk along the edge.
Ese gla mari yiz yata amar.....There are many stars beyond our sun.
Ha fepet tyopa iz zye hia mes.....The cat walked right through this door.
Boy yombiel, tej voy se fia.....Without ice cream, life is not good.
Et voy se gel at.....You are not like me.
Et se hyagla ogel at.....You are totally unlike me.
Ewa gab ewa gese uwa.....Two plus two equals four.
Uwa gob ewa gese ewa.....Four minus two equals two.
Ewa gal ewa gese uwa.....Two times two equals four.
Ewa gol ewa gese awa.....Two divided by two equals one.
Uwa gar ewa 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...)

Hybridized Prepositions

Some of the above prepositions can be hybridized:

bui taam....to and fro home
zui ha dodalut....to the left and right of the speaker
gaob glos....plus or minus a bit
aov at....for or against me
aoyeb ha tim....in and out of the room
aob ha seem....on and off the counter

Compound Prepositions

Compound prepositions require the use of multiple morphemes, including prepositions, adverbs, and nouns.

Compound Prepositions Using Adverbs

There are certain directional adverbs that can play a part in forming prepositional phrases, but cannot act as prepositions in and of themselves:

Adverbs Used in Compound Prepositions
iz....directly, straight	uz....indirectly, roundabout
yab....up	yob....down
zay....forward, ahead	zoy....back
zi....right	zu....left

The next chart lists some compound prepositions using the above adverbs or other combinations. Note that when combining two words, if the first word ends in b and the second begins with b, one of the b 's is dropped.

Compound Prepositions Using Adverbs and Other Prepositions
Compound Preposition	Example
yabu....up to (< yab + bu)	It fu paper yabu ha mam.....He would like to fly up to the sky.
yabi....up from (< yab + bi)	Su yabi ha sum.....Get up from the bed.
yabey....up (by way of) (< yab + bey)	Yat tyoyapo yabey ha memyayz.....We will walk up the hill.
yabe....up at (< yab + be)	Ha kapet kaxwa yabe ha tam.....The dog was found up at the house.
yabab....up on, upon	Ha fepet se yabab ha abtamas.....The cat is up on the roof.
yobu....down to (< yab + bu)	Igpu yobu ha obmos.....Run down to the cellar.
yobi....down from (< yab + bi)	Ha tat upa yobi ha mam.....The angel came down from the sky.
yobey....down (by way of)	Iyt igtyoyapa yobey ha meab.....She ran down the hill.
yobe....down at	Ha dyes kaxwa yobe ha obem.....The book was found down at the bottom.
yobab....down on	Has kaxwa yobab eta oybmos.....It was found down on your floor.
yebu....into	It pusa yebu ha mip.....He jumped into the river.
yebi....in from	Upu yebi ha oma oyebem.....Come in from the cold outdoors.
oyebe....out in/at	Ha tudi sa oyebe ha zodeym.....The children were out in the backyard.
oyebi....out from	Yepu oyebi ha om.....Come in out from the cold.
oyebu....out to	Yat fu peper oyebu ha meim.....We'd like to ride out to the countryside.
izbu....straight to	Pu izbu fyomir! ....Go straight to hell!
izoybi....right back from	It upu izoybi ha yexim.....He came right back from the office.
zaybu....on to, forth to, ahead to	Ha bixpur popa zaybu zona doym.....The train traveled on to the next town.
zeybi....across from	At simbeseya zeybi et.....I was sitting across from you.
zoybi....back from	At se zoybi ha yextim.....I am back from the office.
zoybu....back to	Pu zoy bu ha nam.....Go back to the store.
zoybe....back at	Duven et se zoybe tam?....Are you back at home?
zubi....to the left of	Ata tam se zubi hut.....My house is to the right of that guy's.
zibi....to the right of	Huta tam se zibi atas.....That guy's house is to the right of mine.

Prepositional Phrases Using Spatial 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
ab....on	abem....top abned....upper surface abmas....roof
eb....between	ebem....interstice ebjob....interval ebnod....intersection ebmas....partition
ob....off	obem....bottom obned....lower surface obmas....foundation
ayb....above	aybem....area above aybmas....ceiling
oyb....below	oybem....area below oybmas....floor
eyb....among	eybem....midst
yab....up	yabem....upstairs, upper area yabneg....top level
yob....down	yobem....downstairs, lower area yobneg....bottom level
yeb....in	yebem....inside, interior, indoors yebnig....inner space
oyeb....out	oyebem....outside, exterior, outdoors
za....in front of	zam....front, foreground zan....face
ze....in the middle of	zem....middle zenod....center, hub zen....center zenad....median
zo....behind	zom....back, rear, background
zi....right	zim....right area zikum....left side ziizon....right direction imer....east
zu....left	zum....left area zukum....left side zuizon....left direction umer....west
iz....straight	izmep....direct route iznad....vector izon....direction
uz....indirectly	uzmep....detour uznad....curve uzon....deviation
yub....near	yubem....vicinity yubkum....near side yubaj....recent past
yib....far	yibem....distance yibkum....far side yibnod....pole yiboj....distant future
yuz....around	yuzem....perifery yuznad....perimeter yuznig....environment
yiz....beyond	yizem....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
At Somewhere	To Somewhere	From Somewhere
be abem bi....at the top of	bu abem bi....to the top of	bi abem bi....from the top of
be obem bi....at the bottom of	bu obem bi....to the bottom of	bi obem bi....from the top of
be ebem bi....in the area between	bu ebem bi....to the area between	bi ebem bi....from the area between
be aybem bi....above, over	bu aybem bi....to the area above	bi aybem bi....from the area above
be oybem bi....below, under	bu oybem bi....to the area below	bi oybem bi....from the area below
be eybem bi....amid	zye eybem bi....through the midst of	bi eybem bi....from the midst of
be zam bi....at the front of	bu zam bi....to the front of	bi zam bi....from the front of
be zem bi....at the middle of	bu zem bi....to the middle of	bi zem bi....from the middle of
be zom bi....at the back of	bu zom bi....to the back of	bi zom bi....from the back of
be zim bi....at the right of	bu zim bi....to the right of	bi zim bi....from the right of
be zum bi....at the left of	bu zum bi....to the left of	bi zum bi....from the left of
be yubem bi....in the vicinity of	bu yubem bi....to the vicinity of	bi yubem bi....from the vicinity of
be yibem bi....at a distance from	bey azon bi....by dint of	be avon bi....in favor of
be ubem bi....in the direction of	bay ux bi....with assistance from	be byux bay....in touch with
be yabem bi....in the upper reaches of	be vyen bu....in relation to	doytaxwa bay....associated with
be yobem bi....in the bottom area of	be ned bi....on the level of	be mep bu....on the way to, en route
be yebem bi....on the inside of, inside	be oyebem bi....on the outside of, outside	bu oyebem bi....to the exterior of
bey mep bi....by way of, via	be kum bi....beside, at the side of	be ij bi....at the start of
be uj bi....at the end of	bey uxun bi....by means of	be kunad bi....at the edge of
be nod bi....at the point of	be yebem bi....at the interior of, inside	be oyebem bi....at the exterior of, outside
be nad bay....in line with	be uznod bi....alongside	be tes bi....in the sense of
be teas bi....in the guise of	be san bi....in the form of	be yanx bi....in conjunction with
be bol bi....in support of	be gab bu....in addition to	be dyun bi....in the name of
be avson bi....on behalf of	be vyeson bi....on the subject of	bay yux bi....with the aid of

Adjectivized Prepositions

Simple prepositions can be converted into adjectives by suffixing the adjectival ending -a. Here are some examples:

aba....superior (ex. aba doyevam....superior court)
oba....inferior
ayba....upper
oyba....lower
yaba....high
yoba....low
eba....in-between
gaba....additional
goba....subtractive
gala....multiple
gaza....logarithmic
gea....equal
gela....same
iba....away
ogea....unequal
jaa....anterior, prior
jea....present
joa....posterior
ava....in favor, favorable, pro
eva....neutral
ova....against, unfavorable, counter
yeba....inner
oyeba....outer
yeza....flush
yuba....near
yiba....far, distant
yiza....extreme, yonder
yuza....circular
zaa....front, anterior
zea....medial, middle
zoa....rear, back, posterior
zia....left
zua....right

A slight nuanced meaning can be achieved by suffixing -na instead of -a.

zana....next
zona....last, foregoing
ovna....antithetical
yebna....interior, internal
oyebna....exterior, external
zena....central
ebna....intermediate
yizna....ulterior, extreme
yuzna....peripheral
yubna....proximate

Prepositions and Adverbs as Verb Prefixes

Prepositions and adverbs can be prefixed to verbs to alter their directionality. If such a prefix ends in -b and the verb begins with b or p, the final b of the prefix is dropped.

Let take the verb per....to go as an example:

ab....on + per = aper....to get on, to board
ob....off + per = oper....to get off, to dismount
eb....between + per = eper....to intervene
ib....away + per = iper....to go away
ub....toward + per = uper....to come
yab....up + per = yaper....to get up, to rise, to ascend
yob....down + per = yoper....to get down, to descend
yeb....in + per = yeper....to get in, to enter
oyeb....out + per = oyeper....to get out, to exit
yub....near + per = yuper....to get near, to approach
yib....far + per = yiper....to retreat, to distance oneself
yiz....beyond + per = yizper....to pass, exceed
yuz....around + per = yuzper....to go around, to circulate
yez....along + per = yezper....to go along
yan....together + per = yanper....to get together, to meet
yon....apart + per = yonper....to go apart, to separate
ja....before + per = japer....to go before, to precede
jo....after + per = joper....to go after, to follow
za....front + per = zaper....to lead, to go in front
zo....back + per = zoper....to lag, to go in back
zay....forward + per = zayper....to go forward, to advance
zoy....backward + per = zoyper....to go back, to return
zey....across + per = zeyper....to go across, to transit

Separable Verb Prefixes

Verbal prefixes that are formed from prepositions and adverbs can usually be "unpacked", that is, treated as separate words. This works like separable verbs in German. The following table demonstrates this:

Separable Verb Prefixes
Verb-bound	Unpacked	English
Mapuzlun yuzpa yata tam.	Mapuzlun pa yuz yata tam.	A tornado circled/went around our house. (= went around)
Ha yux bi calk yeyfe yobnogxwer.	Ha yux bi cal yeyfe nogxwer yob.	The use of carbon should be downscaled. (= scaled down)
Yat zaybuxo hia dovyabdren.	Yat buxo hia dovyabdren zay.	We shall advance this legislation. (= push forward)