Majority of Indo-European languages uses prepositions together with nouns to describe directions, locations and time intervals. Prepositions are auxiliary words placed before nouns, hence their name. However in Nûrlâm such words are usually placed after nouns, and are called postpositions. Nûrlâm has both pre- and post-positions, and such words are collectively called adpositions.

While Nûrlâm has more postpositions than prepositions, in this lesson we'll study only few of them. However, because they are very important in Nûrlâm's grammar there will be a lot of special lessons about them. Here only the postpositions that do not require any additional grammatical forms of nouns are listed.

• as (across; but may also mean: through, by, along, past [travel through visiting the location])
• kurn (around [place])
• thu (beyond, over [place, horizontally], past [to get past the place])

English prepositions like “by” have different meanings, and may be translated with differen Nûrlâm's words. These examples will hopefully clarify how to properly use Nûrlâm's postpositions mentioned above.

• across the mountains = za rod as
• along the road = mûlum as
• around the city = goim kurn
• beyond the gates = hûmum thu
• by the sea = kârshum as
• over the hills = za kaup thu¹⁾
• past the river = sîrum as = sîrum thu
• through the forest = taum as

• hûm (gate)
• kârsh (sea)
• kaup (hill)
• mûl (road)
• sîr (river)

While postpositions in Nûrlâm are always used to describe locations or directions, prepositions mostly describe time or actions towards persons or objects. And words describing locations are placed before nouns only if they consist of two syllables.

• bug (against [someone or something])
• gus (about [someone or something])
• ik (before [time], by [some time])
• la (after [time])
• lata (under, beneath, below)
• shi (at [exact time])
• tala (above, over [vertically], on top of)

• about some shit = gus mûd push
• above the sea = tala kârshum
• against wraiths = bug gûl
• after 7 years = la udug lau
• at night = shi fugh
• before the dusk = ik ândhum
• below the dirt = lata dugum
• beneath the water = lata nînum
• by the dawn = ik ânshum
• on top of the tower = tala lugum
• over the hills = tala za kaup²⁾
• under the mountain = lata rodum

• ândh (evening, dusk)
• ânsh (morning, dawn)
• ârsh (day)
  • ârshik (yesterday)³⁾
• fugh (night)

Some of prepositions may be used without nouns as adverbs. Example: “Come after” ⇒ “Skât la”.

The whole phrases made of prepositions or postpositions with nouns act together similar to adverbs and adjectives, and are always placed after the words they describe.

• Burn the forests around the mountain ⇒ Ghâsh za tau rodum kurn;
• Orcs walk at night ⇒ Uruk ukhû shi fugh.

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• Lesson: "Descriptive words: adverbs"
• Adpositions