Estonian prepositions and postpositions
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Sign up for freeWhile in English prepositions are used a lot, the Estonian language employs mostly postpositions. Postpositions come after the main word, but otherwise correspond to English prepositions. There are prepositions in Estonian as well, but only a few. In addition, the preposition or postposition can often be left out because the case and the declension of the word already indicate it.
Lesson outline
HidePrepositions
Most of the prepositions are used together with the genitive or the partitive case.
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Martin L. 
Olga T.
Diana B.
With the genitive case
| English | Estonian | Example sentence | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Through | Läbi | You have to walk through the park. | Sa pead kõndima läbi pargi. |
| Besides | Peale | Besides this, only 3 people showed up. | Peale selle tuli kohale ainult 3 inimest. |
| Over | Üle | Go over the bridge. | Mine üle silla. |
| Around | Ümber | The children were sitting around the fire. | Lapsed istusid ümber lõkke. |
With the partitive case
| English | Estonian | Example sentence | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Down | Alla | Everything is going down hill. | Kõik läheb alla mäge. |
| Before | Enne | This happened before Christ. | See juhtus enne Kristust. |
| In the middle of | Kesk / Keset | He was sleeping in the middle of the day. | Ta magas keset päeva. |
| Along | Mööda | I am walking along the street. | Ma kõnnin mööda tänavat. |
| Along(side) | Piki | The promenade goes along the coast. | Promenaad läheb piki kallast. |
| After | Pärast / Peale | He became famous after his death. | Ta sai kuulsaks pärast oma surma. |
| Against | Vastu | It's hard to swim against the current. | Vastuvoolu on raske ujuda. |
With other cases
| English | Estonian | Example sentence | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Without | Ilma | I can't live without him. | Ma ei saa ilma temata elada. |
| Until, as far as | Kuni | I'm here until Sunday. | Ma olen siin pühapäevani. |
| (Together) With | Ühes / Koos | She went to the party with her friends. | Ta läks peole koos oma sõpradega. |
Postpositions
With the genitive case
| English | Estonian | Example sentence | |
|---|---|---|---|
| (To) Under - underneath - from under | Alla - all - allt | Cat is under the table. | Kass on laua all. |
| (To) In front of - in front of - from in front of | Ette - ees -eest | He flees before the enemy. | Ta põgeneb vaenlase eest. |
| For | Jaoks | I bought it for you. | Ma ostsin selle sinu jaoks. |
| To - at - from | Juurde - juures - juurest | I am staying at my sister's (place). | Ma elan õe juures. |
| (To) after - after - from after | Järele - järel - järelt | He is walking after (behind) me. | Ta käib mul järel. |
| After, according to | Järgi | I did it according to his instruction. | Ma tegin tema õpetuse järgi. |
| Via, through | Kaudu | I drove to Lithuania via Latvia. | Ma sõitsin Leetu Läti kaudu. |
| (In) to the middle - in the middle - from the middle | Keskele - keskel - keskelt | The table is in the middle of the room. | Laud on toa keskel. |
| (To) above - above, at - from above | Kohale - kohal - kohalt | The bird is flying above the lake. | Lind lendab järve kohal. |
| About, regarding | Kohta | Did you hear the stories about him? | Kas sa kuulsid tema kohta lugusid? |
| Onto - on - off | Peale - peal - pealt | Put the glass on the table! | Pane klaas laua peale! |
| After, on account of, for | Pärast | I did it for (because of) you. | Ma tegin seda sinu pärast. |
| Into - in - out of | Sisse - sees -seest | The flowers are in the vase. | Lilled on vaasi sees. |
| (To) behind - behind - from behind | Taha - taga -tagant | I was standing behind the door for a long time. | Ma seisin pikalt ukse taga. |
| (To) between - between - from between | Vahele - vahel - vahelt | You can sit between us. | Sa võid meie vahele istuda. |
| Against, toward | Vastu | I have nothing against her. | Mul pole midagi tema vastu. |
| (To) beside - beside - from beside | Äärde - ääres - äärest | I like to sit by (beside) the sea | Mulle meeldib istuda mere ääres. |
| Over, about | Üle | We were discussing (about) it for a long time. | Me arutlesime selle üle pikalt. |
| Around | Ümber | The children were sitting around the fire. | Lapsed istusid lõkke ümber. |
With other cases
| English | Estonian | Case | Example sentence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Along | Mööda | Partitive | I was walking along the road. | Ma kõndisid teed mööda. |
| Down | Alla | Elative | Please come down the stairs! | Palun tule trepist alla! |
| Through | Läbi | Elative | You have to go through the park. | Sa pead minema pargist läbi. |
| Since | Peale | Elative | I have been sitting here since noon. | Ma olen siin istunud lõunast peale. |
| Since | Saadik | Elative | Since when are you here? | Mis ajast saadik sa siin oled? |