Prepositions

In Pandunia, prepositions are words that can function almost like verbs. They always take an object. The most frequent prepositions in Pandunia are en (location), do (destination) and ze (origin). They have broader meanings in Pandunia than the corresponding prepositions in English.

Location: na

The preposition na expresses general location in time or space, 'at, by, in, on'.

mimen marce na dao. – We walk ON the road.
mau side na meza. – A cat sits ON the table.
mi mus sta long na labur. – I must stay long AT work.

Destination: do

The preposition do denotes destination in the broadest sense.

It denotes the destination of movement, 'to'.

homen marce do bazar. – They walk TO the market.

It denotes the destination of giving i.e. the recipient, 'to, for'.

mi don ye buk do tumen. – I give this book TO you.
ye buk es do tumen. – This book if FOR you.

It denotes the causal destination, 'for, for the purpose of'.

mi vud morte do mi su nasia. – I would die FOR my nation.

Origin: ze

The preposition ze denotes separation or origin in the broadest sense.

It denotes the origin of movement, 'from'.

homen lai ze Brazil. – They come FROM Brazil.

It denotes also the origin of existence, 'of'.

el lexe kitab es ze arabe asle. – The word kitab is OF Arabic origin.

It denotes also the material origin, 'of'.

el kopa es ze glass. – The cup is made OF glass.

It denotes also the causal origin, 'because of'.

el mau morte ze sen umre. – The cat died OF old age.
el mau morte ze toxe. – The cat died BECAUSE OF poison.

It denotes also the mental origin, 'of, about'.

mimen loge ze tumen. – We talk ABOUT you.
mi fikre ze hope. – I think OF hope.

ex ('outside')

The preposition ex denotes location on the outside, 'out, outside'.

deme ye proteste ex el burge. – People protest outside the castle.

en ('inside')

The preposition en denotes location on the inside, 'in, inside'.

presiden sir en el burge. – The president hides in the castle.

kon ('in the company of')

The preposition kon denotes togetherness, 'with, in the company of'.

ho loge kon el cef. – He/she talks with the chief.

pos ('after')

The preposition pos denotes later position in time or space, 'after, later than'.

homen lai pos mi. – They come after me.

pre ('before')

The preposition pre denotes earlier position in time or space, 'before, in front of'.

homen lai pre mi. – They come before me.

pro ('toward')

The preposition pro denotes direction or intention, 'toward, forth, for, for the sake of, pro'.

mi kurse pro salita. – I jog for health.

re ('back')

The preposition re denotes movement back, 'back, in return'.

ho don el buk re mi. – He gave the book back to me.

tra ('through')

The preposition tra denotes piercing through, 'through'.

via ('by way of')

The preposition via denotes road or way, 'via, by way of'.

mimen lai do Berlin via Praha. – We come to Berlin via Prague.

vice ('instead of')

The preposition vice denotes substitution, 'instead of, on behalf of'.

ho loge vice mi. – He talks on my behalf.