Prepositions

In Panlingue, prepositions are basically a sub-category of verbs.

Core prepositions

Panlingue has six core prepositions of place, time and relation.

1. a – location in space or moment in time: at, in, on, by
2. ja – origin, beginning or cause: from, since, because
3. ta – destination, end or purpose: to, till, until, for
4. va – presence or togetherness: with
5. na – absence or lack: without
6. ka – point of comparison: like, as, than

A preposition begins a prepositional phrase. In a simple prepositional phrase the preposition is complemented by a pronoun or a noun phrase.

me a hotel. – I'm in the hotel.
me sona a hotel. – I sleep in the hotel.
me sona ja xam ta sube. – I sleep since evening until morning.
me safara ja London ta Paris. – I travel from London to Paris.

Prepositions can be complemented also by a verb phrase. Then they refer to time.

me denga ja te kita. – I have waited since you left.
me denga ta te laya dom. – I wait until you come home.
me denga a te sona. – I wait while you sleep.

Location: a

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

memen marche a dao. – We walk ON the road.
mau side a mez. – A cat sits ON the table.
mi mus sta long a labur. – I must stay long AT work.

Destination: pa

The preposition pa denotes destination in the broadest sense.

It denotes the destination of movement, 'to'.

homen marche pa bazar. – They walk TO the market.

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

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

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

mi vud morte pa mi se nasia. – I would die FOR my nation.

Origin: ja

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

It denotes the origin of movement, 'from'.

homen anda ja Brazil. – They come FROM Brazil.

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

lexe kitab sa ja arabi asle. – The word kitab is OF Arabic origin.

It denotes also the material origin, 'of'.

kupe sa ja glas. – The cup is made OF glass.

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

mau mortu ja seni umre. – The cat died OF old age.
mau mortu ja toxe. – The cat died BECAUSE OF poison.

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

memen loga ja tumen. – We talk ABOUT you.
me fikra ja ashe. – I think OF hope.

Togetherness: va

The preposition va indicates that two things are together or in the company of each other.

me sta  va   te  a  dom.
I  stay with you at house
'I am with you at home.'

me loga  panlingue va   mi doste.
I  speak Panlingue with my friend
'I speak Panlingue with my friend.'

It can be used also to indicate that two actions happen at the same time.

me kata ban  va    uza dau.
I  cut  bread with use knife
'I cut bread using a knife'

Comparison: ka

Preposition ka indicates the way something is done. It corresponds to English prepositions like, than, as and as if.

me sava panlingue ka master. – I know Panlingue like a master.

ka relates the verb or the adjective to a point of comparison. In the above example (sava) 'know' is the verb and master ('master') is the point of comparison.

ka is also used when adjectives are compared.

pute sa min dayi ka pape. – The child is smaller than the father.
laupape sa simo dayi ka pape. – Grandfather is as big as father.

ka relates the adverbs of comparison – max ('more'), min ('less') and simo ('same') – to the point of comparison, which is pape (father) in the examples above.

Compound preposition

The core prepositions can be combined with other words to form compound prepositions, that show more specifically where an object is in relation to another object. There are two ways to make compound prepositions, the sandwich method and the genitive method. They have the same meaning despite their different structure, so it is only a matter of personal preference, which method to use.

In the sandwich method, start with a core preposition, add a place noun, and then add a noun of relative position.

a dom – at the house
a dom en – (lit.) at the house inside → inside the house
a dom chien – (lit.) at the house front → in front of the house

In the genitive method, compound prepositions are formed with the structure a ... da ('at ... of').

a en da dom – (lit.) at the inside of the house → inside the house
a chien da dom – in front of the house