Prepositions / حُرُوف الجَرّ

In Arabic, the noun governed by a preposition will always come after it and be in genitive form. The actual prepositions in Arabic حُروف الجَرّ are particles that are not subject to noun cases. Understanding how prepositions function is essential for mastering elementary Arabic grammar, as they play a critical role in sentence construction.

List of prepositions /قائِمة حُروف الجرّ 

Note: prepositions consisting of only one letter are attached to the words following them.

Prepositions: contexts of use

Particle بِـ

• With/by (instrument):

• At, in, during (temporal or spatial continuity):

• To take an oath:

• Preceded by إِذا (= and suddenly): 

• In combination with other words:
  • → Prepositional groups: بِدونِ / بِغَيْرِ / بِلا = without
  • → Interrogatives: بِمَ؟ = with what ?
  • → Adverbs: بِسُرْعة = quickly (with speed) / بِالضَبْط = exactly

 Particle لِـ

• For, to, because (purpose and cause):

• Express possession:

Note: Takes the fatḥa instead of the kasra when used with a pronoun (except for the 1st person singular pronoun ي )   

لَهُ (for him)

Note 2: Before a noun is preceded by the definite article (ال – أَداة التَعْرِيف), the ا of the article disappears:

  لِلْمُعَلِّمِ = for the teacher

• Express possibility/permission, with أَنْ:

• Express dependency or relationship (when annexation is difficult):

• In combination with other words:
  • Prepositional group: لِأَجْلِ = in order to
  • Interrogatives: لِماذا؟ = why?
  • Conjunction: لأَنَّ = because

Particle كَـ

• Like, as:

• In combination with other words:
  • Relative clause: كَمَن/ كَالذي = like the one…
  • Adverbial expression: كَذَلِكَ = also / as well / likewise
  • Conjunction: كَأَنّ = as if / كَما = like (followed by a relative clause)

Note: Particle كـ can’t be followed by a pronoun (as opposed to مِثْل which can be followed by one)

Particle عَنْ

• About:

• Estrangement, separation or detachment:

• Express the origin. Style very much used in classical resources like collections of hadith or khabar when mentioning the isnād (chain of transmitters of the information).

• Generally when used with verbs, عَنْ has other values attached to it:
  • Research and exposure: كَشَفَ عن = to unveil / بَحَثَ عن = to look for
  • Defense: دافَعَ عَنْ = to defend

• In combination with other words:
  • Adverbial expression: عَنْ قَرِيب = shortly
  • Interrogative: عَمَّنْ؟ = about who? / عَمَّ؟ = about what?

Particle إِلى

• To, towards, until (time and place):

Note: Becomes إِلَيْـ when a pronoun is attached to it

Particle مِنْ

• From, of, that (time and place):

• Comparison (than):

• In combination with other words:
  • Prepositional group: مِنْ أَجْلِ = in order to / مِنْ قِبَلِ = from (someone)
  • Adverbial expression: مِنْ قَرِيب = closely
  • Interrogative: مِمَّنْ؟ = from who? / مِنْ أَيْنَ؟ = from where?
  • Expressions with adjectives and أَنْ or أَنَّ:
    • مِنْ الأحْسَنَ أَنْ = It is better that…
    • مِنْ المُمْكِنِ أَنْ = It is possible that…

Particle فِي

• In, inside, at (time and place):

• About, concerning:

Particle حَتَّى

• Until, up to:

Note: Can also mean ‘even/also’ but when adopting this meaning حَتّى isn’t anymore a preposition (حَرْف جَرّ), and consequently doesn’t influence the noun case of the noun following it:

أَكَلَ السَمَكةَ حَتَّى رَأْسَها

He ate the fish even its head

Particle مُنْذُ / مُذْ

• Since/from:

Note: Can’t be followed by a pronoun. 

Note 2: The مُذْ form is more archaïc and not very much used.

Particle عَلى

• Above/upon/on:

Note: Similarly to إِلى, the particle على becomes عَلَيْـ when a pronoun is attached to it

• Against:

• Express duty/obligation:

• In combination with other words:
  • Adverbial expressions: عَلى الإطْلاقِ=absolutely,by no means / عَلى حِسابِ = at the expense of
  • Conjunctions: عَلى أَنَّ = however, though / عَلى أَنْ = at the condition of
  • Interrogatives: عَلامَ؟ = why? in what purpose?
  • Prepositional group: عَلى حَسَبِ = depending on…