prepoziia

Prepoziia is a linguistic term used to denote a class of words that link a noun or pronoun to another word in a sentence and express relations such as location, time, direction, or manner. In English, the corresponding category is called preposition. Prepoziia typically form prepositional phrases, which consist of the preposition and its complement (a noun phrase or pronoun). These phrases function as adverbials or modifiers, providing additional information about other elements in the clause.

The set of prepoziia is usually small and closed, and its members are syntactically distinct from verbs, adjectives, and conjunctions. In languages with rich case systems, the noun or pronoun inside a prepositional phrase may take a specific case required by the preposition. In languages with less overt case marking, the object often remains uninflected, as in English with forms like in the park or at dusk.

Prepoziia can be simple (one word) or complex (compound prepositions) formed from multiple words that together express a relation, such as in front of, because of, or due to. They may designate various categories of relation, including spatial (inside the box), temporal (before dawn), directional (toward the east), and manner or means (with careful hands). Some languages also use postpositions, which follow their complements, while others have fused or contracted forms with pronouns.

Etymology traceable to Latin praepositio, from prae ‘before’ and ponere ‘to place,’ the concept of prepoziia is central to syntax across languages. In cross-linguistic studies, prepoziia are often discussed together with postpositions under the broader heading of adpositions, which cover all relation-expressing function words.