Lesson 7.2: Prepositions
Prepositions are notoriously difficult, often not following any consistent rules, though in my experience Greek is one of the most consistent languages. This lesson is simply broken into two sections, a list of some common prepositions, and a section of dialogues and usage examples.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Prepositions
· ? | ||
|---|---|---|
| με | with, by means of | |
| μαζί με | together with | |
| χωρίς | without | |
| για | for | |
| από | from (moving away from) | |
| σε, εις | in, at, on, moving to | |
| μέσα σε | into | |
| πάνω σε | on | |
| πάνω από | above, over | |
| κάτω από | below, under | |
| ύστερα από | after | |
| πρίν | before (~"pre-") | |
| πρό | before, in front of (~"proactive") | |
| ενάντια σε | against | |
| εναντίον | against | |
| εκ, εξ | from, out of (~"ex-wife") |
Usage Examples
Dialogue
Prepositions
· ? | ||
|---|---|---|
| Το κλειδί της Άννας είναι κάτω από το τραπέζι. | Anna's key is under the table. | |
| Είμαι από την Αμερική. | I'm from America. | |
| Από που είσαι; | Where are you from? |
If the preposition σε is followed by a definite article, the joint form στο(ν)/στη(ν)/στο (σε plus το(ν)/τη(ν)/το) is used:
| Το κλειδί της Άννας είναι στο τραπέζι. | Anna's key is on the table. |
| Ο Παύλος είναι στο θεάτρο. | Paul is at the theater. |
As a remnant of ancient Greek's more complex case system, certain prepositions (πρό, εναντίον, εκ/εξ) are supposed to take the genitive case rather than the object (accusative) case. In these constructions, the genitive is really being used as the dative (indirect object) case, as in the use of the genitive with the verb αρέσω. This is a usage that is dying out, and a beginner doesn't need to worry about it too much. There are, however, certain fixed phrases that will seem inexplicable otherwise:
| πρό Χριστού, π.Χ. | before Christ |
| εν τάξει | OK |
Prepositions as Prefixes
It is extremely common for Greek verbs to be formed by adding a preposition as a prefix to a simpler verb. However, the preposition may be in a different form than the ones given above, e.g., εις rather than σε. A common prefix is συν-/συμ-, from the ancient Greek preposition συν, with, together. Two other prefixes based on ancient Greek prepositions are δια, for, because of, relating to, and υπό, under (~"hypodermic").
| βάλλω | to shoot; in ancient Greek, to throw (~"ballistic") |
| εισβάλλω | to invade: σε (modern εις)+βάλλω, 'throw in' |
| συμβάλλω σε | to contribute to: συν+βάλλω σε, 'throw together' |
| εκβάλλω | to debouch |
| αποβάλλω | to expel |
| καταβάλλω | to pay, put down money, buckle to |
| διαβάλλω | to slander someone, put someone down |
| υποβάλλω | to submit something, subject to, suggest |
| πνέω | to blow (~"pneumatic") |
| εισπνέω | to inhale something |
| εκπνέω | to exhale, die, expire, terminate something |
| διαπνέω | to run through |
| λείπω | to be away, to be lacking |
| καταλείπω | to leave something behind |
| εκλείπω | to vanish, be in eclipse (~"eclipse") |
| διαλείπω | to be intermittent (also διάλειψη = lapse of memory) |
| υπολείπομαι (passive) | to fall short of (also υπόλοιπο = the rest, residual) |