postpositionally

Postpositionally is an adverb derived from postpositional, used to describe something done in a manner that involves postpositions. In linguistic usage, it denotes how grammatical relations are expressed by elements that follow the noun or noun phrase they govern.

A postposition is a function word or particle that follows its complement to mark a relation such as location, direction, time, possession, or instrument. This contrasts with prepositions, which precede the noun. In postpositional languages, the typical order is noun phrase followed by a postposition, rather than a preposition before the noun.

Languages with postpositions often combine this strategy with other morphological devices. Some languages rely on separate particles after the noun (as in Japanese or Korean), while others use affixes or suffixes attached to the noun to express similar relations (as in Turkish, Finnish, or Hungarian). The result is a typological distinction between postpositional and prepositional systems, though many languages exhibit mixed or overlapping strategies in practice.

In linguistic descriptions, postpositionally describes how a relation is expressed rather than how it is spoken in ordinary discourse. The term is commonly used in grammar descriptions, typology, and comparative linguistics to contrast with prepositional or otherwise marked constructions. It is not typically used in everyday language outside scholarly discussion.

See also: postposition, adposition, particle, preposition, language typology.