Prepositions
Prepositions are particles that govern nouns only and put them in the genitive. The commonest are min, ilā, ʿan, ʿalā, fī, bi-, ka-, li-, and rubba. The particle is indeclinable with no case position, the noun after it is genitive with kasra or its substitute, and the phrase attaches to a verb or something verb-like.
A preposition puts the noun after it into the genitive, and it may never precede a verb. That single restriction is worth more than it looks: it is the reason an implied particle has to be posited after li- and ḥattā when a verb follows them. This lesson covers the commonest nine, the markers of the genitive including the diptote, and the notion of attachment, which no English grammar prepares you for.
Learn: nouns only
A preposition enters upon a noun and puts it into the genitive. It is built and has no position in iʿrāb of its own, and it never precedes a verb.
By the end of this lesson
- Say why a preposition can never precede a verb.
- Give the genitive marker with its reason, including the diptote case.
- Name what a prepositional phrase attaches to, and supply it when omitted.
- Tell the genitive of a preposition from the genitive of annexation.
ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ
dhahabtu ilā l-madrasati
I went to the school.
Show the i‘rāb
ذهبتُ فعل وفاعل، إلى حرف جر مبني على السكون لا محل له من الإعراب، المدرسةِ اسم مجرور بإلى وعلامة جره الكسرة الظاهرة، والجار والمجرور متعلقان بالفعل ذهبت.
Three parts to the answer: the particle is built with no position, the noun is genitive with its marker, and the phrase attaches to the verb. Leaving out the attachment leaves the iʿrāb incomplete.
See: the commonest nine
Each has a principal sense and secondary senses that context settles.
- min: beginning of a limit, part of a whole, explanation of a kind.
- ilā: end of a limit.
- ʿan: moving away from.
- ʿalā: being above, and obligation.
- fī: containment in place or time.
- al-bāʾ: adhesion, instrument, and an extra bāʾ that adds emphasis only.
- al-kāf: comparison.
- al-lām: ownership, entitlement, and cause.
- rubba: fewness or plenty, always with an indefinite noun.
مَرَرْتُ بِإِبْرَاهِيمَ
marartu bi-Ibrāhīma
I passed by Ibrahim.
Show the i‘rāb
مررتُ فعل وفاعل، الباء حرف جر، إبراهيمَ اسم مجرور وعلامة جره الفتحة نيابة عن الكسرة لأنه ممنوع من الصرف للعلمية والعجمة، والجار والمجرور متعلقان بالفعل مررت.
A fatḥa after a preposition, and the noun is still genitive. Without naming the reason, prevention from ṣarf for proper-noun status and foreignness, the answer looks like a mistake.
Understand: attachment
A prepositional phrase is a quasi-sentence and does not stand alone. It attaches to a verb or a word acting like one, and when none is present the analysis supplies an omitted one.
English has no equivalent notion, which is why learners omit it. In Arabic, naming what the phrase attaches to is part of parsing it, not an optional extra.
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ
al-ḥamdu li-Llāhi
Praise belongs to Allah.
Show the i‘rāb
الحمدُ مبتدأ مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الضمة الظاهرة، اللام حرف جر، لفظ الجلالة اسم مجرور وعلامة جره الكسرة الظاهرة، والجار والمجرور متعلقان بمحذوف خبر تقديره ثابتٌ أو مستقرٌّ.
There is no verb in the sentence for the phrase to attach to, so the analysis posits an omitted predicate and attaches it there. This is the same reasoning met with adverbials and with the ḥāl: a quasi-sentence never simply is the predicate.
Check yourself
What does the prepositional phrase attach to here?
الْكِتَابُ عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ
Show the answer
An omitted predicate, estimated as kāʾinun or mustaqirrun.
No verb is present. The phrase cannot itself be the predicate, because a predicate must be a noun or a sentence, so an omitted one is supplied and the phrase attaches to it.
Where learners go wrong
Three errors, and the third is the one that separates a complete parse from an incomplete one.
- Confusing the two genitives. After a preposition the noun is majrūr bi-l-ḥarf; after a first term of annexation it is muḍāf ilayhi. Both are genitive; the reason differs and must be named.
- Putting a preposition before a verb. Impossible. If a verb follows li- or ḥattā, an implied an is doing the governing.
- Omitting the attachment. Always say what the phrase attaches to, and supply the omitted word when there is none.
Sources
The enumeration, the meanings and the doctrine of attachment follow these texts.
- Ibn Hishām al-Anṣārī, مغني اللبيب: the meanings of each particle in detail.
- Ibn ʿAqīl, شرح ابن عقيل على ألفية ابن مالك: attachment and the omitted governor.
- Ibn Ājurrūm, الآجرومية: the list of particles governing the genitive.
Quranic evidence
A rule is clearest in a text you already know by heart. Each ayah below contains the very construction this lesson teaches, and every one has a full word-by-word i'rab on this site. Read the ayah first and try to find the construction yourself, then open its i'rab to check.
- كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ
- مَن يُضْلِلِ ٱللَّهُ فَلَا هَادِىَ لَهُۥ ۚ وَيَذَرُهُمْ فِى طُغْيَٰنِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ
- يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلسَّاعَةِ أَيَّانَ مُرْسَىٰهَا
- صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ
- ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَل لَّهُۥ عِوَجَا ۜ
- رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْوَهَّابُ
Common questions
Frequently asked
How many prepositions are there?
Seventeen in the common enumeration: min, ilā, ʿan, ʿalā, fī, rubba, al-bāʾ, al-kāf, al-lām, wāw and tāʾ of oath, mudh, mundhu, ḥāshā, ʿadā, khalā, ḥattā. Nine of them carry most of the daily load.
Why are they called particles of jarr?
Because they draw the noun after them into the genitive, jarr, meaning dragging. The Kūfans called the case khafḍ, lowering, which is why some texts say makhfūḍ where others say majrūr. The two terms are interchangeable.
What does attachment mean?
A prepositional phrase does not complete a meaning by itself, so it must attach to something that does: a verb, or a descriptive word acting like one. When no such word is present, the analysis supplies an omitted one, usually estimated as kāʾinun or istaqarra.
Can a preposition govern a verb?
No. This is the defining restriction, and it explains a rule elsewhere: since li- and ḥattā are prepositions, they cannot govern the verb after them, so the tradition says an implied an intervenes and does the governing.
How is the noun after rubba parsed?
Genitive, formally, though rubba carries a meaning of fewness or plenty rather than a relation. Its noun must be indefinite, and it is usually followed by a past verb. Many grammarians treat it as a preposition only in form.
How is a diptote put into the genitive after a preposition?
With fatḥa standing in place of kasra: marartu bi-Ibrāhīma. If the diptote carries al- or is annexed, the reason lapses and it takes kasra again: fī l-masājidi.