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Postpositions

Avar Postpositions (Послелоги)

Version: 1.0
Last Updated: May 26, 2026

This section is part of our living public grammar of Avar and is regularly updated to reflect the latest linguistic research, database enhancements, and morphological analyses.

Avar uses postpositions rather than prepositions. They immediately follow the noun or pronoun they modify, refining spatial, temporal, causal, and abstract relations that cases alone cannot express precisely enough.

Postpositions typically require the head noun to be in a specific oblique case (most commonly a Locative case, Genitive, or Dative).

1. Structural Types

Postpositions in Avar are divided into three main morphological groups:

1.1 Adverbial Postpositions (Наречные послелоги)

These are derived from adverbs and can often function independently as adverbs of place or time.

  • цебе (in front / before)
  • нахъа (behind)
  • тӀад (on top / over)
  • жаниб (inside)
  • гъоркь (under)
1.2 Denominal Postpositions (Отыменные послелоги)

These are derived from nouns, typically frozen in a specific spatial case.

  • сверухъ (around) ← сверел (turn/rotation)
  • хъолбохъ (next to / beside) ← хьибил (side/flank)
  • расӀалда (on the edge / near) ← рагӀал (edge)
1.3 Class-Marked Postpositions

A subset of postpositions agree in grammatical class with the absolutive noun in the clause. While аскӀо- (near) is the most prominent, this group also includes хаду- (after/for), жани- (inside), and це- (before/front).

  • Дов дида аскӀов гӀодов чӀана. (He [I] sat next to me.)
  • Дун (I) библиотекалда тӀехьалда хадув ине вуго. (I am going to the library for a book.)
  • ГӀака гъотӀода аскӀоб букӀана. (The cow [III] was next to the tree.)
2. Case Government & Trajectory Agreement

Postpositions in Avar possess a dual case dynamic: they govern the case of the preceding noun, but many spatial postpositions also decline themselves to show the trajectory of motion.

2.1 Postposition Declension (Trajectory Agreement)

Unlike simple local cases, postpositional phrases specify exact trajectories. A single postposition stem like тӀад- (on top) declines through the local case series:

  • Locative (Rest): столалда тӀад (on the table)
  • Allative (Motion towards): столалда тӀаде (onto the table)
  • Ablative (Motion away): столалда тӀаса (off/from the table)
  • Perlative (Motion through/across): столалда тӀасан (across the table)

Other examples include гъоркь (under) → гъоркье (to under), and къватӀив (outside) → къватӀибе (outward).

2.2 Simultaneous Class & Case Agreement

For the rare class-marked postpositions (like аскӀо- "near"), the postposition simultaneously takes a class marker (agreeing with the absolutive noun) AND a local case suffix (agreeing with the trajectory).

  • Гьев дунялалда аскӀо-в-е гӀагарлъун вуго. (He [Class I] is approaching [Allative -е] near [Base аскӀо-] the world.)
2.3 Specific Case Requirements for the Head Noun

While spatial postpositions of rest generally require Locative I (-да), other types demand highly specific cases:

Temporal Postpositions:

  • Allative → цебе (before). E.g., боржиналде цебе (before flight).
  • Ablative → хадуб (after), нахъе (since). E.g., собраниялдаса хадуб (after the meeting), радалалдаса нахъе (since morning).

Causal, Purpose & Abstract Postpositions:

  • Dative → гӀоло (for the sake of). E.g., лъималазе гӀоло (for the children).
  • Locative I → хаду- (when meaning "fetching/for"). E.g., тӀехьалда хадув (for a book).
  • Genitive → хӀакъалъулъ (about). E.g., дур хӀакъалъулъ (about you).
  • Absolutive (Nominative) → сабаблъун (because of). E.g., щиб сабаблъун? (because of what?).
  • Comitative → цадахъ (together with). E.g., дида цадахъ (with me).
3. Semantic Categories
Category Postpositions Example Usage
Spatial цебе, нахъа, жаниб, тӀад, гъоркь рукъалда аскӀоб (by the house)
Temporal нахъе (since), хадуб (after), цебе (before) собраниялдаса хадуб (after the meeting)
Causal/Purpose гӀоло (for the sake of), сабаблъун (due to) ватаналъе гӀоло (for the homeland)
Topical хӀакъалъулъ (about) Дагъистаналъул хӀакъалъулъ (about Dagestan)
Substitution бакӀалда (instead of) дир бакӀалда (instead of me)
Comitative цадахъ (together with) лъималазда цадахъ (with the children)
4. Syntax: Postposition vs. Case Overlap

Because Avar has an extremely rich system of local cases (over 20 spatial forms), there is significant overlap between a bare noun in a local case and a noun + postposition.

Why use a postposition?

  1. Precision: Bare local cases can be ambiguous. A noun in Locative I (-да) simply means "at/on". Adding тӀад explicitly means "on top of", while adding аскӀоб means "next to".
  2. Structural Stability: Postpositional phrases function as strong indirect objects or adverbial modifiers. In sentences with complex valence (like "I wrote a book about Dagestan"), the postpositional phrase (Дагъистаналъул хӀакъалъулъ) ensures the relation remains clear even if the direct object (тӀехь "book") is omitted or moved.
  3. Verbal Constructions: Postpositions are heavily used to subordinate entire clauses.
    • Кваналалде цебе (Before eating → Masdar + Allative + before).
    • Ваккаралдаса нахъе (Since he appeared → Participle + Ablative + since).