Gevey prepositions

Prepositions have two uses in Gevey: they are used to describe the relationship between a dative object and the rest of its clause; and they are used with intransitive (motive, spatial, temporal and systemic) verbs where a dative object is promoted to the accusative case.

With dative case objects, the preposition will always prefix to the object. Dative objects - also known as indirect or oblique objects - will also add a suffix depending to whether they help describe the action of the clause in terms of motion, space or time. The systemic ending is used when the relationship to the action not motive, spatial or temporal.

Intransitive verbs can only take one core object, which will always take the nominative case; other objects are normally required to take a preposition in the dative case. However, every intransitive verb is capable of promoting a dative object most directly involved in the action (after the core object) to the accusative case - the kinds of dative object that can be promoted varies from verb to verb, and is mediated by the preposition. For example, the verb noihasen (spit) will only allow dative objects that describe what is being spat towards or into (in other words dative objects taking the motive prepositions ïsta- and ta-) to be promoted to the accusative case.

Special forms exist for each preposition when it is conjoined to an accusative object's dissociated complex. These are detailed below (dissociated complexes are explained in the Gevey object webpage).

There are three forms of each preposition in Gevey. For dative use, there is a form ending in a vowel and a form ending in a consonant; the choice of preposition depends upon the first letter of the following word. For accusatives, the preposition cliticises to the object's dissociated complex - which often leads to phonemic adaptions reflected in the written form; similar changes also occur when prepositions are fused with the coordinating conjunction daet:

• dative objects beginning with a consonant will use the preposition form ending in a vowel
• dative objects beginning with a vowel will use the preposition form ending in a consonant

When a noun phrase acts as a dative object, for instance when two dative objects are linked together with a conjunction, the preposition can be attached to the start of the phrase and the dative suffix applied to the end of the phrase. Genetives always follow the object phrase:

• ơČĂ ĐČĄĤČĀĚĎăŏ ŵƏČĆŠČĀĚČĂ ŴČĀŪČĂůČĂĮČĉŭ ĚČăŀ ĚČĂ
• je pɪ.ʧæ.tɜr ʃlɒ.tʲæ.te ʃæ.se.ze.kʊs ten te
• ye pitcateir clotjate casezekus ten te
• I saw the doctor about my foot
• ơČĂ ĐČĄĤČĀĚĎăŏ ŵƏČĆŠČĀĚČĂ ŴČĀŪČĂůČĂĮČĈ ƢČāƐ ƘČăıŸƈčĄĚČĉŭ ĚČăŀ ĚČĂ
• je pɪ.ʧæ.tɜr ʃlɒ.tʲæ.te ʃæ.se.ze.kʊ ʲæl ʷekʃ.haɪ.tʊs ten te
• ye pitcateir clotjate casezeku âl ëkchietus ten te
• I saw the doctor about my foot and my rash

Motive prepositions

The following table lists the most commonly used motive prepositions, and offers some examples for their use.

Preposition	Representation	Ramajal equivalents	Examples
tas-		to towards	loife tcu daesof strimate the man ran to the temple palcate tatusreks kiy te I threw it to the dog
viid-		between through along	viidxu kliy strimate te I ran along the road palcatce viikliynisuks kiy mizelj we threw it along the alley
cas-		around by past	(rarely accusative with motive verbs) palcate casaomuks kiy de you threw it past the statue
d-		from away from	Mare dxu ljexind vljeemate Mary looked away from the window palcatce dirjoubuks kiy mizelj we threw it away from the house
ïst-		in into	rjaptem ïstcu wjudx lja noihasatce the boys were spitting into a bucket î palcate ïstawjudxuks kiy ke did he throw it into the bucket?
dost-		from out out of	dostcu ken dxesmital grjate âfke she came out of her bedroom Dxone bao palcane dostaljexnjuks kiy John is going to throw it out of the window
tob-		up upwards up to up onto up into	tobyu soufuwk î mispatee ve you all climbed the mountain? Mare palcase tobotsoiluks kiy Mary throws it into the tree
mod-		down downwards down to down onto down into	modxu tjakel klov bladxljano do you could tumble down the hill palcate modogrjipnuks kiy te I threw it on the floor
bas-		along by next to	(rarely accusative with motive verbs) palcatce badoeftuks goegwjiekfixu kiy mizelj we threw it next to the kitchen wall
gles-		via by way of through	glesyu nuigask strimatce mizelj we ran through the market palcatje gletuuruks kiy te I threw it through the door
vos-		over	Dxone vosyu fuudx mispane John will climb over the roof palcanje vodoeftuks kiy mizelj we'll throw it over the wall
sus-		under underneath	Petre susyu ken grjibdal vljeemate Peter looked under his bed sek palcanje sublomuks kiy mizete between us we could throw it under the table
mav-		across	mavyu djount matc luegxanje mizelj we need to swim across the river palcane mavadeefsuks kiy te I'll throw it across the field
dezd-		to and fro between around	Dxaene dezdxum daesov loegvate glesóekuuses Jane travelled between temples by buffalo palcatce dezdandenuksim kiy mizelj we threw it from garden to garden
deb-		behind	ladju ten debyu blom sedu bladxljendou my cup fell behind the table Petre palcate debeluutseks kiy Peter threw it behind the cat
tcis-		in front of before	laebu tcisye ten tuseir sedu clegendou the ball rolled in front of my dog bao palcase tcisapoehadxuks kiy te I'm about to throw it in front of the car
swas-		from place to place around	swasyu üunisk î glou luegxatce mek were they swimming around in the pond again? palcatce swasandenuks kiy mizelj we threw it around the garden
tcelk-		encircling around	monts swuetc tcelkyu rjoub bedxu tsoedrjendou some snow had fallen around the house palcatce tcelkadaesovuks kiy mizelj we threw it around the [outside of the] temple
ânt-		off off from	Dxone ântcu kliy huukate John stepped off of the path palcatce ântekliyuks kiy mizelj we threw it off the path
xus-		on on top of onto	xusyu kliy zneegjkatee ïljs we jumped onto the path palcatce xukliyuks kiy mizelj we threw it onto the path

Spatial prepositions

The following table lists the most commonly used spatial prepositions, and offers some examples for their use.

Preposition	Representation	Ramajal equivalents	Examples
tas-		at	Petre tcu begdjof quubase Peter works in the bakery Mare yu kem poehadxvit ágate tapoehovubz Élfanen Mary caught her train from (at) Elfane station
d-		not at away from from	freslu drju blom polatu the chair was placed away from the table yu qaveey î fruedjate ditrjesyeefups ke he found the note away from the office?
ïst-		in inside within	Dxone ïstcu kyoplixe blom let sadjate John was lying down inside the wooden box Dxone yu qaveey fruedjate ïstaglomubz John found the note inside the box
dost-		out outside	dostcu velixu daesov glaa quubatce mizelj we stopped working outside the old temple yu qaveey fruedjatee dostaglomubz ïsel we found the note outside the box
bas-		next to by beside	pwiidezeku tem basyu ljexint led boisatu my sock was hanging beside the window Mare yu qaveey fruedjate bacuebubz Mary found the note next to the book
cas-		near to nearby close to	luutse casyu heptum î êrjagane will the cat settle near to the fireplace? yu poehadxar áganje cakrasovnisubz mizelj we shall get the tram from the school
mav-		across from across	yu xablak mavyu tuur rjibate te I placed the painting across from the door yu poehadxar ágate mavakrasovdxarups te I caught the tram from across from the university
dezd-		between inbetween	Puale dezdxem ten lozd âsate Paul sat between his sisters Puale yu qaveey fruedjate dezdecuebubzim Paul found the note inbetween the books
vos-		above over	vosyu tcegmagask taabwjase te I live above a shoe shop tjoele vocuenase votiy the bird flies over me
xus-		on on top of upon	xusyu gyitjixu grjipend glafatee ïsel we knelt on the hard floor yu qaveey fruedjatce xublomubz mek they found the note on the table
sus-		below beneath under underneath	Dxone yu cuep susyu grjibdal tsietjate John hid the book under the bed Petre yu qaveey fruedjase sutcegmubzim Peter finds the note under his shoes
deb-		behind	debyu doeft let talate ke he was sleeping behind the wall yu fresal fruedjatee debetuurubz ïsel we found the chair behind the door
tcis-		in front of before	tcisyu heptum sadjane te I shall lie in front of the hearth ye ten áosal fruedjate tcisadaesovups te I found my friend in front of the temple
tcelk-		encircling surrounding around about	kesnuuc tcelkyum sohun êtjobal lez boisatuu the decorations were dangling around the room's lights yush qaveey paunatce tcelkatrjesyeefubz mizelj we found the notes scattered about the office

Temporal prepositions

The Gevey language views time not so much as an arrow moving ever-forward, with the 'now' of the present a border between what has gone before and what is to come, but rather as a series of events whose duration may be elastic and whose borders may often overlap - this can be seen in the use of the present tense, which native Gevey speakers will use for the immediate past and the immediate future in addition to the 'now'.

Temporal prepositions deal with events. The prepositions themselves can be divided into two groups: those that handle the timing of actions before, during and after a given event; and those which deal more generally with events in the time stream. Intransitive temporal verbs include 'bekarjmen' (live), 'kegen' (talk), 'sekcamen' (wait), 'wjiidrjen' (cry) and 'saven' (die).

Preposition	Ramajal equivalents	Examples
tcis-	before sometime before	Dxaene tatj te tcisyu rulvuel kegatce I spoke with Jane before the meeting ye tuseir gluufate tcisarulvueluljs te I saw the dog sometime before the meeting
xus-	before just before	Dxaene tatj Puale xusyu rulvuel zavbasye Jane was arguing with Paul just before the meeting ye tuseir gluufate xurulvueluljs te I saw the dog just before the meeting
bas-	at the start of just as early on in	basate basyu mizen kouneey let wjiidrjate the child was crying at the start of our lunch ye tuseir gluufate barulvueluljs te I saw the dog at the start of the meeting
cas-	during in the middle of just as	ôeheelec tcotixec casyu fintsixu saljk bwjoecatee the chicks hatched in the middle of last night ye tuseir gluufate carulvueluljs te I saw the dog in the middle of the meeting
mav-	near the end of just as late in	gyane velixe mavyu fintsixu dxinesk savate the old woman died at the end of last year ye tuseir gluufate mavarulvueluljs te I saw the dog near the end of the meeting
ânt-	after next just after	mizelj nedz Dxone ântcu gvekixu mel sekcamatce we waited for John after the footbal match ye tuseir gluufate ânterulvueluljs te I saw the dog just after the meeting
deb-	after then sometime after	fozdomux debyu guezem bao tjuezdatuu the food started to rot after the feast ye tuseir gluufate debarulvueluljs te I saw the dog sometime after the meeting
den-	during at	degju Dxonen âl Marem bielaop wjiidrjate te I cried at John and Mary's wedding ye tuseir gluufate denerulvueluljs te I saw the dog at the meeting
viid-	until before	viidxu Dxonen rjesherj kezguezmatee ïsel we celebrated before John's birthday ye tuseir na gluufate viirulvueluljs te I didn't see the dog until the meeting
dost-	until after by	Dxone dostcu ten rjesherj buedzguezmase John is getting ready for his birthday ye tuseir na gluufane dostarulvueluljs te I won't be seeing the dog until the meeting
dezd-	between inbetween not at	qulmizmu noest ctipe Petren dezdxum rulvuel quakatu Peter's heart attack happened between meetings ye tuseir gluufate dezderulvueluljsim te I saw the dog between meetings
swas-	sometime around	Tome swasyu mizen huwjonix zavbase tokan Tom likes to argue mostly around our breakfast time ye tuseir gluufate swarulvueluljs te I saw the dog sometime around the meeting

Systemic prepositions

There are no systemic intransitive verbs in the Gevey language; however some transitive verbs are in the habit of promoting systemic dative objects to the accusative.

ye Gevil clotjate tatusres ten te

Preposition	Ramajal equivalents	Examples
tas-	with accompanied by	(rarely promotes datives to the accusative case) ye Gevil clotjate tatusres ten te I visited [went to] Gevile with my dog
cas-	concerning about	ye Mar casyu rulvuel rjiedznate te I told Mary about the meeting ye pitcateir clotjate casezekus ten te I saw the doctor about my foot
d-	without not accompanied by	(rarely promotes datives to the accusative case) ye Gevil clotjate ditusres ten te I visited [went to] Gevile without my dog
ïst-	for (acquisitive)	yu puendist ïstcu raes rut yapetj î djoetrato do Have you asked the waiter for a bottle of wine? vesk, yu fintsixu yierj dxano ïstatez do please will you keep the last cake for me
dost-	at as a result of because of	yu cueb dostcu kun vuisk stoukase te I adore the book because of its story ye Dxone kezrjaznate dostakarju te I broke the contract with John because of the cost
gles-	for, by (benefactive) - not used with people	ye Jaend glesyu ken trjaqadx âbdase te I admire Jane for her strength Tome ye tuseir kapyane glesuebueljus ken Tom will catch the dog by its neck
tcis-	for, by (benefactive) - used with people	yu telaa qaveey tcisye Pual trjesyase te I'm writing this note for Paul Tome ye tuseir kapyane tcisaDxaenes Tom will catch the dog for Jane
den-	for, of (measurement)	yu ladj degju maey stoukane te I'll need the cup for [measuring] the rice yu nask tathase denedxaakuz dizue te I'll buy six metres of rope
kot-	with using	Petre yu doeft kotcu ken zwjugjg li gutcate Peter was hitting the wall with his hammer Tome ye tuseir kapyane kotoicus Tom will catch the dog with a net
set-	without not using	(rarely promotes datives to the accusative case) Tome ye tuseir kapyane setoicus Tom will catch the dog without a net