Irish/Compound Prepositions

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Irish

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Compound Prepositions

opposite 

ar aghaidh, os coinne, os comhair

behind 

ar chúl, taobh thiar de

during 

ar feadh, i gcaitheamh, i rith, in imeacht, le linn

throughout 

ar fud

looking for 

ar lorg

like, in the manner of 

ar nós

for the sake of 

ar son, thar ceann, de cheann

about to 

ar tí

as a result of, because of 

de bharr, dá bhrí, de thairbhe

according to 

de réir

on account of 

de thairbhe

for the purpose of 

faoi choinne, le haghaidh, i gcomhair

to meet 

faoi dhéin

to the end of, to the top of 

go ceann

in charge of, minding 

i bhfeighil, i gcionn

along with 

i dteannta

against 

i gcoinne, in aghaidh, in éadan

in the middle of 

i lár

present at, in the presence of 

i láthair

among 

i measc

after 

i ndiaidh, tar éis

in place of 

in áit

along with 

le cois, i dteannta, in éineacht le

beside 

le hais, in aice (le), taobh le

above 

os cionn

in front of 

os coinne, os comhair

near 

in aice (le)

therefore 

dá bhrí sin

under the care of 

faoi chúram

at the head of 

ar ceann

at the end of 

i gceann, faoi cheann

in reference to 

um cheann (very rare)

Remember:

• A compound preposition usually governs a genitive. But if it ends in a simple preposition, then not: in éineacht le behaves essentially as the simple preposition le.

• "ar" doesn't lenite a naked noun (i.e. a noun not preceded by an article) when it's part of a compound preposition or when it signifies an abstract state rather than a concrete position, or when it signifies a relative position. Cf. ar muin capaill "on horseback", but ar mhuin an chapaill áirithe seo "on the back of this particular horse". Note, though, the phrase ar fheabhas "excellent", which violates this rule (originally ar a fheabhas).

Essentially the same rule applies to thar, cf. the expressions thar barr "excellent", thar fóir "beyond (reasonable) limits, beyond measure", thar cailc "beyond the chalked mark, overstepping the limit"