• Dutch
  • Frisian
  • Saterfrisian
  • Afrikaans
Show all
Meaning of prepositions
quickinfo

Prepositions express a relation between two entities, for example a containment relation, usually in space or time.

readmore

The meaning of prepositions is discussed with the help of a concrete example. Consider the following sentence:

1
Iskander is yn 'e tún
Iskander is in the garden
Iskander is in the garden

The preposition yn in denotes a two place relation, that is, it relates two things to each other, Iskander and the garden. Furthermore, the preposition expresses that Iskander's location is contained in or subsumed in the location of the garden. The preposition can express containment in various dimensions. The following example involves temporal containment:

2
De slach by Warns wie yn 1345
the battle of Warns was in 1345
The battle of Warns took place in 1345

The sentence expresses that the temporal location of the battle is contained in or subsumed within the year 1345. Prepositions can refer to relations involving location, time, mental states, cause and agency, comparison, direction, possession, purpose, source and so on. The following example features the preposition yn in, which expresses a relation between an individual and a mental state:

3
Iskander wie yn 'e wolken
Iskander was in the clouds
Iskander was delighted

The sentence above expresses that Iskander's mental state is subsumed within the mental state of being delighted. The following example features the preposition troch by, which is used for cause and agency:

4
Dizze romte wurdt ferljochte troch de ljochtsjes fan de krystbeam
this space is lit.up by the lights of the Christmas tree
This space is lit up by the lights of the Christmas tree

The preposition troch by expresses a causal relation between the lights and the event of the lighting up of the room, so that the event of the lighting up of the room is causally subsumed within the event of the burning of the lights. Thus, the preposition expresses a containment relation between two things along a specific dimension. The meaning of other prepositions can be described in a similar fashion.

References
    printreport errorcite