Postpositions After Nouns

FoundationsSounds Like vibhakti

Nepali puts short markers after a noun and writes them joined to it.

How It Works

These small words are called postpositions because they come post, or after, the noun. They are written without a space.

MarkerJobExample
माin, on, atघरमा
लाईto, for a personरामलाई
कोof, belonging toआमाको
बाटfromकाठमाडौंबाट
सँगwithसाथीसँग
लेthe doer, usually in the pastरामले

Some markers are two words, and the second word stays separate: साथीको लागि (for a friend). When a noun takes हरू (the plural), the marker follows it: साथीहरूलाई.

Never write the marker apart from the noun, as in घर मा. Learn each marker with the nouns you meet it with.

Examples (5)

  1. म घरमा छु।

    I am at home.

    मा is joined to घर.

  2. म रामलाई फोन गर्छु।

    I call Ram.

    लाई marks the person who gets the call.

  3. यो आमाको किताब हो।

    This is Mother's book.

    को joins आमा to the thing she owns.

  4. हामी काठमाडौंबाट आउँछौँ।

    We come from Kathmandu.

    बाट shows the starting point.

  5. म साथीसँग बजार जान्छु।

    I go to the market with a friend.

    सँग shows who goes along.

How It Connects

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Postpositions After NounsFoundations

Learn This First

Postpositions follow nouns, so the learner needs to know where words sit in a sentence first.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.