INTRODUCTION
Imagine your old teacher whittling you away with prepositions, how it functions, and why prepositions are things you never end your sentences with. Can you ever escape the nightmare? With Nepali, you can! Featuring only postpositions, you no longer have to ever worry about ending your sentences with prepositions ever again.
But in a more serious tone, what are postpositions and what do they have to do with prepositions? Just like how prepositions are words that precede another to show a relation of that word with other words, postpositions are words that postcede succeed another to show a relation of that word with other words. In other words, postpositions are connector words that succeed a noun, pronoun or a phrase show its relationship to other words within a sentence, such as to show direction, cause, location etc. They run parallel to English prepositions, and the two are together called adpositions, a word you can immediately forget without consequences after this paragraph ends.
Postpositions are called नामयोगी (nāmyogī) in Nepali.
TYPES OF POSTPOSITIONS
Postpositions should be easier than case markers, as they function at a level similar to prepositions. However, they are also similar to case markers that we have looked at earlier, and in most cases, are appended along with the word they modify. Take the following sentences:
The celebrations happen after the wedding ceremony.
The car is behind the tree.
Calvin lives with his grandparents.
I donated a euro for the cause.
Each sentence consists of several prepositions, which can be translated into postpositions in Nepali. More specifically, the sentences above show the four types of postpositions we will be exploring, namely postpositions that deal with time (the first sentence), postpositions that deal with location (the second sentence), postpositions that deal with mood (the third sentence) and finally, postpositions that deal with cause (the last sentence). Their names are not important to understand, but rather the concept on how to use them. Thus, I will not be naming the specific terms in Nepali, not because I definitely do not know how to or the divisions are arbitrary, but rather because we want to focus on how they work out in a broader sense. Also, some postpositions can be several different types, that being for example, a temporal postposition can also function as a local postposition. There are no hard boundaries, but the terms used are stated so as to help create guidelines.
Causal Postpositions
Causal postpositions are postpositions that deal with information regarding cause, or the reason for an action that was undertaken. For example, in the following sentence, the word made bold is what a causal postposition is:
Mr. Brown worked hard for his family.
There are several different causal postpositions, such as: निम्ति (nimti), लागि (lāgi), मार्फत (mārphat) etc.
Local Postpositions
Local postpositions are postpositions that deal with information regarding location, pointing out more information about where something is located. For example:
The months flew towards the light.
There are many different local postpositions, such as: तिर (tira), भित्र (bhitra), माथि (māthi) etc.
Modal Postpositions
Modal postpositions are postpositions that deal with information about how an action or things are done, or how an action is achieved. It basically deals with the manners by which an action is achieved. For example:
Jordan can’t eat without a spoon.
There are many different modal postpositions, such as: अनुसार (anusār), बिना (binā), झैँ (jhaim̐) etc.
Temporal Postpositions
Temporal postpositions are postpositions that deal with information regarding time. For example:
I will do the work until tomorrow.
There are many different temporal postpositions, such as: अघि (aghi), पछि (pachi), भित्र (bhitra) etc.
POSITION OF POSTPOSITIONS
As the name implies, postpositions come after the word they modify. They are usually appended along with the word (written together), but sometimes they are written separately, especially those which require the use of the genitive case.
SUMMARY
- Postpositions are connector words that succeed a noun, pronoun or a phrase show its relationship to other words within a sentence, such as to show direction, cause, location etc. They run parallel to English prepositions.
- There are four categories of postpositions: causal, local, modal, temporal
- Causal postpositions are postpositions that deal with information regarding cause.
- Local postpositions are postpositions that deal with information regarding location.
- Modal postpositions are postpositions that deal with information about how an action or things are done.
- Temporal postpositions are postpositions that deal with information regarding time.
- Postpositions are written together with the word they modify except in some cases.
EXERCISES
A. IDENTIFY THE PREPOSITIONS IN THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH.
A high castle with barbaric towers floated above the heads of mortal men upon whom it ruled with ruthless cruelty. No one knew what that the ruler, who hid behind paper screens, wanted. Was it the servitude of men it had enslaved? The mystery only deepened every passing day. For reasons unknown, before the midday bells rang, the castle always spun against the wind violently, and suddenly stopped. What lied between those walls of peril? Not even the deities of the old had an answer, for they had fallen silent between their walls of dilapidated marble.
B. IDENTIFY THE TYPE OF PREPOSITION USED IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES.
1.The mice lived under the streets of London.
2. The pandemic struck fear within people’s hearts.
3. Everyone left the stage except dad, who shared a terrible joke.
4. No one should remain here past midnight.
5. The neighbours left hurriedly for no good reason.
ANSWERS
A. A high castle with barbaric towers floated above the heads of mortal men upon whom it ruled with ruthless cruelty. No one knew what that the ruler, who hid behind paper screens, wanted. Was it the servitude of men it had enslaved? The mystery only deepened every passing day. For reasons unknown, before the midday bells rang, the castle always spun against the wind violently, and suddenly stopped. What lied between those walls of peril? Not even the deities of the old had an answer, for they had fallen silent between their walls of dilapidated marble.
B.1. Local
B.2. Local
B.3. Modal
B.4. Temporal
B.5. Causal