Prepositions

Prepositions are words that are used before pronouns, nouns or their equivalents to express position, movement or circumstance etc. relative to or affecting them.

In relative clauses prepositions occur only finally and are frequently omitted.

The mercat staund (that) A bocht it (frae). The market stall from which I bought it.

At the wall's a raip (that) ye can pou the bucket back up (wi). At the well is a rope with which you can pull the pale back up.

A haena been til a dance yet that A haena gotten hame (frae) the sel same nicht. I haven't been to a dance yet from which I haven't got home the same night.

1. Prepositions of position and movement.

   ablo	below	but	out of
   aboot	about, around	by	by, beside
   abuin	above	doun	down
   aff	off	efter	after
   afore	before, in front of	endlang	along
   again	against	forenen(s)t	in front of, facing
   ahint	behind	f(r)ae	from
   alang	along	in	in
   amang	among	intae/intil	into, inside
   aneath	beneath	near/naur	near
   anent	concerning, opposite	on	on, upon
   aside	beside	oot	out
   at	at	ootwi(th)	outside
   athort	across, over	ower	over, across
   atween	between	tae/til	to
   atweesh	between	throu	through
   awa	away	up	up
   ayont	beyond	upon	upon
   back	at the back of	within	within
   ben	into	withoot	without
   		yont	beyond

   Particular syntax and idiom are connected to many prepositions.

   Uses of ablo, often preceded by in.

   He pit ane o his haunds in ablo the tails o his coat. He but one of his hands under the tails of his coat.

   Uses of aboot.

   The tither's no bad but thay're aboot it. The other's not bad but they're about the same.
   Aboot Brochty. In the neibourhood of Broughty Ferry.
   Tak yer auld plaid aboot ye. Take your old plaid around you.
   Come in aboot the hoose. Come into the house.	He gaed aboot the pairk. He went around the field.

   Uses of abuin.

   Gang up the brae an ower the tap an ye'r abuin the toun. Go up the hill and over the top and you are above the town.

   Uses of aff.

   Aff often expresses the source of something.

   The lad wisna wantin beaten aff that man. The boy didn't want to be beaten by that man.
   He wis fashin hissel aff you. He was worrying himself because of you.
   He teuk the coat aff me. He took my coat away from me.
   A gat the breid aff ma mither. I got the bread from mother.	A teuk it aff him. I took it from him.

   Scots uses o where Standard English omits it.

   Tak thon joug aff o the tap bink. Take that jug off the top shelf.

   A bit collop aff o the sou. A small cut from the pig.

   Uses of afore.

   He stuid afore the door. He stood infront of the door.

   Again may also take the form agin.

   At lang an last the law gaed agin him. At long last the law acted against him.

   The cycle's agin the waw. The bicycle is against the wall.

   She fell agin the bink. She fell against the bench.

   Uses of alang.

   The troot soumed alang the shallaes. The trout swam along the shallows.

   Scots uses amang (also contracted 'mang) where Standard English uses 'in'.

   He wrocht ootby amang the rain. He worked outside in the rain.

   Ower the muir amang the heather. Over the moor in the heather.

   The bairns wis oot amang the snaw. The children were out in the snow.

   She tint her gowd ring amang the saund. She lost her gold ring in the sand.

   Uses of aneath.

   The dug's aneath the buird. The dog is under the table.

   Uses of anent.

   Anent the kirk. Opposite the church.	He turnt anent her. He turned to face her.
   He's appearin anent the juidge the morn. He's appearing before the judge tomorrow.
   A rin anent her doun the brae. I ran along side her down the slope.

   Uses of aside.

   Thay war sittin aside ither. They were sitting side by side.

   The birks aside the burn. The birches beside the stream.

   Uses of at.

   Angry at him. Angry with him.	Whit are ye at? What do you mean?
   A canna come at a name for't. I can't think of a name for it.
   She lat at him 'ithoot lissins. She attacked him without respite.
   Ye can tak the grue at her. You may become disgusted with her.
   She speirt at me anent ma wark. She asked me about my work.
   That drunken man wantit tae lay at me. That drunkard wanted to strike me.
   A need tae speir at ye hou ye war late. I must ask you why you were late.
   Thay war aye at me anent it. They were always talking to me about it.
   We are haen a gemme at the rummy We are having a game of rummy.
   The train cam in aboot fower at e'en. The train arrived at approximately four in the evening.

   Uses of athort.

   Sae mony traivelers gaun back an forrit athort the kintra. So many travelers going to and fro across the country.

   Daena lea' yer gear liggin athort the hoose. Don't leave your belongings lying all over the house.

   Uses of atween and atweesh.

   Thare's nae luve tint atween thae twa. There's no love lost between those two.

   He stuid atweesh the door an the winnock. He stood between the door and the window.

   Uses of awa.

   He wun awa hame. He slipped off home.	The boat wis awa wi't. The boat was done for.
   The auld man wis awa wi't. The old man was dead.	Weel, that's awa wi't. Well, that's it lost.

   Uses of ayont.

   He wrocht ayont the brae. He worked beyond the hill.

   Uses of back.

   Back i.e. towards the back.

   Back the close. In the entrance, back from the street.

   Uses of by.

   He wis by himsel. He was off his head.	A'll tak thaim aw by that ane. I'll take them all except that one.
   We haed ither kins by thae We had other kinds besides those.
   By the glesses. Beside the glasses.	A cam by the wey o Perth. I came via Perth.
   Thare's juist twa fowk steyin here by masel. There's only two people living here besides me.
   Daena fash yersel lass, thare's mony by him. Don't trouble yourself girl, there are others besides him.

   Uses of but and ben.

   ben indicates movement into the inner room.

   Gang ben the hoose. Go into the inner room.

   Come ben the hoose. Come in (to) the house.

   but indicates movement into the outer outer room.

   It's but the hoose. It's in the outer room (kitchen).

   Scots omits 'to' after doun (down) where Standard English retains it.

   A'm gaun doun the shaps. I'm going down to the shops.

   Doun the hoose. In the best room.

   Doun the watter. Down (along) the river.

   Uses of efter.

   Whit ye efter? What do you want?	He ran efter the dug. He ran after the dog.
   Chap an aks efter her. Knock (in order) to ask for her.	It's ten efter twal. It's ten past twelve.

   Uses of endlang.

   Throu the yett an endlang the pad. Through the gate and along the path.

   Uses of for.

   He winna taigle for fear o missin the bus. He won't dawdle in order to avoid missing the bus.
   A'm no feart for you, ony wey. I'm not scared of you, at any rate.
   Tell Jock A wis speirin for him. Give my regards to Jock.
   It's no for ony uiss. It's not of any use.	It's for nae mainer o uiss. It's of no use.
   A winna kneel doun for fylin ma breeks. I won't kneel down for fear of dirtying my trousers.
   Shoud we gang roond an caw for wir pals? Shall we go round and call on our friends?
   A'm for a cauld ale. I'd like a cold ale.	Whit ye for? What would you like?
   Tell yer brither A wis aksin for him. Tell your brother I was asking after his health.
   Thir horse is gaun daft for watter. These horses are going mad for want of water.
   It's makkin for snaw. It looks like it's about to snow.	A wis stairvin for hunger. I was starving of hunger.
   Will ye no speir for her? Won't you ask after her?	A cam for tae see ye. I came to see you.
   A will speir for her haund. I shall ask for her hand in marriage.

   Uses of frae (fae).

   Frae is a literary form - fae being common in speech, except in South West Central Scots and Southern Scots where it is pronounced thrae.

   Frae often expresses cause.

   The auld carle dee'd frae the cauld. The old man died of the cold.

   A'm no feart frae speeders. I'm not scared of spiders.

   A'm gaun tae get killt frae ma faes. I'm going to get killed by my enemies.

   Other uses.

   A hae been pitten frae that thochtie. I've been put off that idea.
   Ma sister wis skelpit frae the teacher. My sister was slapped by the teacher.
   Whaur d'ye come frae? Where do you come from?	He's awa frae his wark. He's unable to work.
   That's different frae this. That is different than this.

   Uses of in and intae/intil. Intae is more commonly used in Southern and Central Scots than intil.

   With verbs of movement Scots omits 'to' after in where Standard English retains it.
   In colloquial speech in is often shortened to i' before consonants, many writers also use this form.

   She ran in the hoose. She ran into the house.	A gat it in a praisent. I got it as a present.
   Lay yer luif in mines lass. Lay your palm in mine girl.	Sit intil the ingle. Sit nearer the fire.
   She didna want ither fowk tae hear sae she said it in til hersel. She didn't want other people to hear so she whispered.
   A winna gang in ower her door. I won't go inside her door.	A niver pit a fit intil't. I never put a foot inside it.

   Uses of on.

   Shoot on him afore he gangs. Shout to him before he goes.
   Hou lang maun A wait on thon train? How long must I wait for that train?
   Think on whaur she is. Think about where she is.	Waitin on a bus. Waiting for a bus.
   She's sair on her shuin. She mistreats her shues.	She's mairit on ma brither. She's married to my brother.
   A waitit an oor on him. I waited an hour for him.	Can ye no mak up on him? Can't you overtake him?
   Daena mak on ye can write. Don't pretend that you can write.
   Can ye no mynd on thon chield? Can't you remember about that fellow?
   Cry on Willie tae come ower. Call William to come over.
   A wadna lippen on Scotrail. I wouldn't depend on Scotrail.
   She wis fair on me efter A duntit her caur. She was fair to me after I hit her car.
   Ma guid-sir gaed on a stick. My grandfather went supported by a stick.
   He did it on himsel. He did it on his own account
   Lief is me on thon braw lassie. I am fond of that beautiful girl.
   Whaur'd ye faw on thon auld plaid. Where did you discover that old plaid.
   A happent tae faw on Hamish in the toun. I happened to meet Hamish by chance in town.
   Ye winna can mak muckle on't. You won't be able to make much of it.
   Cry on Tam for tae come here. Call to Tom to come here.
   Ye aye yoke on the prentice. You always find fault with the apprentice.
   Mony lees is made on thon auld limmer. Many lies are told about that old slag.

   Uses of oot.

   Scots omits o (of) after oot (out) where Standard English retains it.

   The schuil wis oot. School was finished.	He teuk the thochtie oot a beuk. He took the idea from a book.
   We cam oot the shap an gaed ower the brig. We came out of the shop and went across the bridge.
   Can ye redd oot whit ye war daein in the wids? Can you explain what you were doing in the woods?
   Jurnalists speirs oot the wittins thay're efter. Journalists track down the information they are after.
   He bides oot ower the mains ower bi the heuch. He lives beyond the home farm over the way from the quarry.
   Keek oot ower the door yont the road. Peep outside the door along the road.

   Uses of ower.

   The wife hit me ower the heid. My wife hit me on the head.

   She wis taen in ower by the swick. She was deceived by the swindler.

   A spak til him ower the phone. I spoke to him by telephone.

   Ye canna tak in ower sicna mensefu chield. You can't deceive such a sensible fellow.

   Whan ye're auld it's haurd tae faw ower. When you're old it's hard to fall asleep.

   A coudna come ower siclike wirds afore a leddy. I couldn't repeat such words in front of a lady.

   The bairn haed thrawn the baw ower the windae. The baby had thrown the ball out of the window.

   Dae A hae tae threap ower ye aw the time? Do I have to insist all the time?

   Tae is used with the infinitive (in the mood that expresses, the verbal idea without reference to person, number or time). Til is usually used before nouns, with the definite or indefinite article and in Central and Southern Scots usually before words that begin with a vowel or the letter h.

   Other uses of tae and til.

   The meenister gaed awa til the kirk. The minister went off to church.

   A spak til him ower the phone. I spoke to him by telephone.

   Naur til his dochter. Near to his daughter.

   Uses of throu.

   Send that paircel throu the post. Send that parcel by post.

   We gaed throu auld times thegither. We talked about old times together.

   A wis waukrif an gat up throu the nicht. I was wakeful and got up during the night.

   Uses of up.

   Scots omits 'to' after up where Standard English retains it.

   Are ye gaun up the braeheid? Are you going up to the hilltop?
   Are ye gaun tae redd up yer accoont? Are you going to settle your account?
   Coud ye redd up ma carburettor? Could you adjust my carburettor?

   Uses of within, often 'ithin, sometimes written 'athin'.

   The new causey wisna 'ithin the schame. The new causeway wasn't within the plan.

   Juist 'ithin the door. Just inside the door.

   Uses of withoot, also wioot or 'ithoot, sometimes written 'athoot'.

   A gaed awa 'ithoot ae bawbee in ma pootch. I left without a penny in my pocket.

   He'd be a hail sicht better aff 'ithoot it. He'd be a lot better off without it.

2. Prepositions of time.

   afore	before	ere	before
   again	by, before	f(r)ae	from
   at	at	in	in
   atween	between	near/naur	near
   ayont	past, later than	sin	since
   by	by	syne	since
   efter	after	till	until
   		within	within

   Uses of afore.

   A'll be hame afore ye. I'll be home before you.

   Again also takes the form agin, often contracted to 'gin.

   'Gin we get thare it'll be daurk! By the time we get there it will be dark.

   Uses of at.

   Whit time's the dance at? When does the dance begin?

   Uses of atween.

   It'll tak atween twinty an thritty meenit langer. It'll take between twenty and thirty minutes longer.

   Uses of by.

   Be hame by twal. Be home by twelve.

   Thae aiples is by thair best. Those apples are past their best.

   Uses of efter.

   Hit's aboot ten efter aicht. It's about ten past eight.

   Uses of ere.

   A biggit the waw ere denner time. I built the wall before dinner time.

   Uses of f(r)ae.

   Its five meenit frae nine, whaur is he nou? Its five to nine, where is he now?

   Uses of in.

   The bus'll gang in aboot sax meenit. The bus will leave in approximately six minutes.

   The lectur stairts in twal meenit. The lecture starts in twelve minutes.

   Uses of near or naur.

   It's gey naur the twal o nicht. It's nearly midnight.

   Uses of syne.

   The train gaed eleiven meenit syne. The train left eleven minutes ago.

   Within may be contracted to 'ithin, sometimes written 'athin'.

   Can ye come 'ithin the neist oor? Can you come within the next hour?

3. Prepositions of manner.

   aboot	about	forby	bsides
   anent	concerning	maugre	in spite of, despite
   binna	except, unless	o	of
   but	without, except	tae/til	in comparrison
   by	in comparrison	wi	with
   for	for

   Uses of anent.

   A s' write the provost anent thae ongauns. I will write to the mayor concerning those going ons.

   Uses of binna.

   A hae nae horse binna ma cuddie an wee Donald. I have no horses besides my donkey and little Donald.

   Uses of but.

   But care or pain. Without care or pain.

   Uses of by.

   He's auld by me. He's older than me.

   The beuk wis written by Shuggie Broun. The book was written by Hugh Brown.

   A ken nocht waur by her. I know nothing worse about her.

   Uses of forby.

   Thare wis naebody forby masel in the wids. There was no one besides me in the woods.

   Uses of maugre.

   Gang oot maugre o the rain. Go out in spite of the rain.

   He'll lear hou tae dae't, maugre o his sair haund. He'll learn how to do it, despite his sore hand.

   Uses of o.

   A'm the better o that. I'm the better for that.	He's the waur o drink. He's worse for drink.
   Tak a swatch o this. Take a critical look at this.	Aicht score o sheep. Eight score of sheep.
   Can ye mynd o wha't wis? Can you remember who it was?
   He wisna blythe o wir meetin John. He wasn't pleased with us meeting John.
   The bairns is awfu crouse o the Yuil. The children are exited over Christmas.
   Gie's a read o yer beuk. Lend me your book.	A'm bored o this beuk. I'm bored with this book.
   We canna mak a better o't A daur say. I suppose we can't improve on it.
   Nane the better o yer speirin. None the better for your asking.
   The gorblin wis in o its nest. The fledgling was inside its nest.
   Thare's a queer thing o that lassie. There's a strange thing about that girl.
   Efter aw thon ettle ye'd be better o a rest. After all that endeavour you'd be better for a rest.

   Uses of tae and til.

   A'm juist a puir man tae you. I'm a poor man compared with you.
   No tae whit it ance wis. Not in comparison with what it once was.
   A telt her tae dae that. I told her to do that.	A telt her tae dicht the bink. I told her to wipe the shelf.

   The infinitive marker for tae or for til (used with verbs) means 'in order to'.

   He cam for tae eat his denner. He came to eat his dinner.	A gaed for tae get it. I went to get it.
   Ye'll come for tae mak up a gemme. You'll come to make up a game.
   He ettelt for tae gang. He meant to go.	Thay aw gaed for tae see't. They all went to see it.
   The war room for tae get yer haund in. There was a space to get in your hand.

   Scots omits tae as a sign of the infinitive where Standard English retains it.

   He kens better nor say siclike. He knows better than to say suchlike.

   Did ye write him? Did you write to him?

   Other uses of tae and til.

   Ma mither shewed it tae me. My mother sewed it for me.
   Leuk tae thon bonnie pictur. Look at that pretty picture.
   Ma faither's a jyner tae tred. My father is a joiner by trade.
   She haed a bairn tae ma cuisin. She had a baby with my cousin.
   A telt it til her. I told it to her.	She wis dochter tae the Shirra. She was the Sheriff's daughter.
   Dauvit wrocht tae Mr. Gourlay. David worked for Mr. Gourlay.
   Can ye hear til the laverock? Can you hear the lark?
   A maun leuk gin thare's a bit post tae him. I must check if there's some mail for him.
   A'm gaun tae hae a fried egg tae ma tea. I'm going to have a fried egg for tea.
   He cam til a hoose amang thae braes. He came to a house in those hills.

   Uses of wi.

   A didna speak wi him. I didn't speak to him.

   He cam wi a fremmit chield. He came with a strange fellow.

   Scots uses wi where Standard English uses 'by' or to express cause.

   The aits wis etten wi the mice. The oats were eaten by the mice.	She'll gang wi the bus. She'll go by bus.
   It wis thair weans that gat battert wi some ither weans. It was their children who got battered by some other children.
   She wis rin ower wi a bus forenent the hoose. She was run over by a bus in front of her house.
   We misst the bus wi sleepin in. We missed the bus because we overslept.
   She wis gey pitten on wi the wey ye dresst. She was impressed by the way you dressed.
   The wind's sae snell ye coud dee wi cauld. The wind is so severe you could die of cold.
   The bairn coudna get sleepit wi the lichtnin. The child couldn't sleep owing to the lightning.
   The polis wis set on wi a muckle dug. The policeman was attacked by a large dog.

   Other uses of wi.

   She's gaun tae mairy wi ma brither. She's going to marry my brother.

   A wrocht wi him fower year. I worked for four years for him.

   Ye're aither awthing or naething wi him. You're either everything or nothing to him.

   Tak tent nou - daena faw wi bairn! Take care now - don't get pregnant!

4. Prepositions in colloquial speech.

   The forms o the, in the, at the and on the are often shortened to ee. Tae the is often shortened to t'ee. Wi the is often shortened to w'ee. By the is often shortened to b'ee and tae shortened to 'ae.

   The heid ee toun. The highest part of town.	At the back ee kirk. At the back of the church.
   Ee gloamin. In the twilight.	Ee morn. In the morning.
   Ee muckle hoose. In the mansion house.	Twice ee day. Twice a (in the) day.
   Ee back end ee year. At the end of the year.
   A haena been ee toun yet. I haven't been into town yet.	Thay wis rowin ee fluir. They were rolling on the floor.
   A skelp ee lug. A slap on the ear.	Ee conter. On the contrary.
   He bides ee ither side o Crief. He stays on the other side of Crief.
   It fell oot his haund ee fluir. It fell out of his hand on to the floor.
   He wis in t'ee craig. He was up to the neck (in it).	Tae sowp w'ee deil. To drink with the devil.
   A'm no gaun'ae dae't. I'm not going to do it.	A'm gaun'ae gie ye something. I'm going to give you something.
   Ye hae the wrang sou b'ee lug. You have the wrong pig by the ear.
   A'm gaun awa t'ee wall for watter. I'm going along to the well for water.

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