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8.4 Prepositions — the workhorses

8 · Particles — the little connecting words · a plain-language guide to Assyrian (Sureth) grammar

A preposition is a word that hooks a noun into the sentence and says where/when/how it fits: on the chair, to my father, from the village, with you. This is the one part of the chapter with moving parts, so start with the three rules that cover everything, then use the table.

How Assyrian prepositions work — three rules

Rule 1 — In front of a plain noun, just stick it on. Usually in the same breath-group, often hyphenated in writing:

Rule 2 — Before "this / that / which," the pointing word switches to its d- form. You met these dependent demonstratives in Chapter 2 (do- "that," de- "that f.," dem- "which"). After a preposition they're required:

Rule 3 — To say "to him / from me," add a pronoun ending. Most prepositions take the same possessive suffixes as nouns (Chapter 2), but often onto a slightly changed stem. Two you'll use nonstop:

A few prepositions can't take a suffix directly; they borrow the genitive particle diyy- from Chapter 2 instead — but-diyyu "about him," hal-diyyo "until her," d-la-diyye "without them." When in doubt, preposition + diyy- + suffix is always understood.

The core preposition table

Everything you need for ordinary conversation. The "+ suffix" column shows the shape it takes with a pronoun ending (using "him" as the example).

A few practical notes:

• ka- vs al- for "to." Both can mean "to," and they overlap. ka- leans toward "to / for (a person)" — giving, saying, doing for someone (ka-babi "to/for my father"). al- is your "onto / on" word that also covers "to (a place)" (al-mata "to the village," al-kursi "on the chair"). Historically al- swallowed the old plain "to," which is why it does double duty.
• men = "from" AND "with." One word covers both — men-babi is "from my father" or "with my father," context decides. (Two old words, "from" and "with," merged into one.) In fast speech it shortens to just m- before a vowel: m-akhkha "from here."
• b- is the versatile "with / by / in" of instrument and means: b-ida "by hand," b-khmara "by donkey." With a suffix it becomes biyy- (biyyu "by him"). It also hides inside a set idiom: bet-lebbi "I think" (literally "in my heart").
• Two words for "between," two for "around," two for "about." Don't agonize — see the cheat box below.

Which one when — the near-synonyms. - between: bel- is the plain everyday one; arallegh- is a fuller, slightly more formal variant. Use bel-. - around: marzan- and khadervan- are interchangeable; pick either. - about / concerning: but and bazet both work; but is the common short one. - before / in front of: kam- covers both space and (in the longer form kamtet) time — "first of all." There's also kamayt- for "before" in the sense of meeting someone; you can recognize it and lean on kam-.

Built straight from the table: ka-babi "to my father", gu-beta "in the house", men-mata "from the village", d-la-diyyu "without him", and — using Rule 2 — al-do-kursi "on that chair".

Prepositions in real sentences

Attested sentences (from Khan and the dictionary), each showing a preposition doing its job:

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