Surya bin baken badal. — The sun was behind the clouds.
urba resti baken — the city stayed behind
My kloka es pet minuta baken. — My watch is 5 minutes slow.
Bay
1) introduces a means or tool, "by", "with", "by means of":
ta he darbi ta bay stik — he/she hit her/him with a stick
Treba replasi lao bataria bay nove-la. — One should replace the old battery with new one.
bay forsa — by force
Ela lai-te bay avion. — She came by airplane.
bay tren — by train
sendi leta bay aviameil — to send a letter by air mail
bay to ke — in that, by the fact that:
Ais farki fon akwa bay to ke it es twerde. — Ice differs from water in that it is solid.
2) refers to doer or author:
Se es zwo-ney bay me. — This is done by me.
kitaba bay Gogol — book by Gogol
Bifoo
Before (in temporal as well as spatial meaning):
Woshi handas bifoo chifan! — Wash your hands before eating!
Lu zai stan-te bifoo me. — He was standing before me.
bifoo ke lu en-somni — before he fell asleep
bifoo-ney — former
Bikos
Because (= por ke).
Bli
(preposition and adverb) near, nearby, beside, close by:
bli may dom — near my house
bli klok char — around 4 o'clock (one may say also "sirke klok char")
Ela zai sidi bli. — She is sitting beside.
Dabe
In order to, in order that:
dabe oli samaji problema... — in order that everyone understands the problem...
dabe zwo olo kom gai... — in order to do everything as needed...
Dank a
Thanks to:
dank a lu — thanks to him
dank a fakta ke... — thanks to the fact that...
De
The preposition of genitive case, "of":
lingwa de planeta — the language of planet
deskovra de Amerika bay Kolombo — the discovery of America by Columbus
The preposition may also denote an amount or portion of something:
tasa de chay — a cup of tea (but 'tasa chay' is also acceptable)
Depos
Since, starting from, for (in temporal meaning):
Me es hir depos klok shi. — I have been here since ten o'clock.
depos ke me lai hir — since I came here
depos longtaim — long since
Do
Preposition introducing a specific characteristic, distinctive feature, or purpose of object:
gela do grin okos — green-eyed girl
okula do surya — sun spectacles
jen do lignagamba — a man with wooden leg
es kosa do ridi — this is ridiculous
mashina do skribi — typewriter
Duran
During:
duran gwer — during the war
duran laste dwa yar — in the course of the last two years
duran ke — while
duran to — meanwhile
E
And:
me e yu — me and you
me sal go a kino, e yu? — I am going to go to the cinema, and you?
See i
Ewalaa
(coordinating conjunction introducing new, often little expected circumstances):
Ta en-chi ewalaa ye tro mucho pepa. — As he began to eat, he felt that there is too much pepper added.
Me zin shop ewalaa may amiga zai kupi pan. — When I entered the shop, I saw that my friend was buying bread.
Pa un dey saja zai prei, ewalaa orla pasi, mah-lwo maus inu saja-ney handas. Saja ofni okos, ewalaa ye maus in handas. — One day when the sage was praying, an eagle happened to pass by and the eagle dropped a mouse in the hands of the sage. The sage opened his eyes, and there was a mouse in his hands.
Exepte
Except:
oli exepte me — everyone except me
Fo
For:
1) indicates the object, aim, or purpose of an action or activity:
es fo yu — this is for you
me lai-te fo vidi yu — I came to see you
fo ke — in order to (=dabe)
2) indicates duration or a specific time:
fo kelke taim — for some time
mita aranji-ney fo klok dwa — the meeting arranged for two o'clock
Fon
From:
Me zai go fon teatra — I am going from the theatre.
fon kapa til peda — from head to foot
fon sabah til aksham — from morning till evening
I
"i… i..." — "both... and...":
i lu i ela — both he and she
i sey-las i toy-las — these as well as those
(adverb)
too, also (relates to the following word)
I me koni lu. — I too know him.
Me jan i ela. — I know also her.
In
In:
1) refers to place:
Nu jivi in Rusia. — We live in Russia.
2) refers to time:
in petdi — on Friday
in lai-she yar — in the next year
3) expresses other meanings:
in nove palto — in a new overcoat
kreda in Boh — belief in God
in tal kasu — in such case
Inen
(preposition and adverb) inside, within:
inen dom — within the house
Dwar es klosi-ney fon inen. — The door is closed from inside.
inen me — within me
Lu es inen. — He is inside, he is in.
inen-temperatura — the inside temperature
lo inen — the inside
Inplas
instead (of), in place (of):
Go dar inplas me! — Go there instead of me!
Inplas resti lu go-te for. — Instead of remaining here he went on.
Lu plei inplas gun. — He plays instead of working.
Inter
between:
inter dwar e winda — between the door and the window.
Lu lai-te inter klok ot e shi de sabah. — He came between 8 and 10 in the morning.
mutuale samaja inter jenmin — mutual understanding between the peoples
Inu
(preposition and adverb) into:
Ela go-te inu shamba. — She went into the room.
Kan inu! — Look inside!
Nulwan mog transformi fer inu golda. — Nobody can change iron into gold.
Kontra
(preposition and adverb):
1) against, contrary to:
kontra may vola — against my will
2) opposite, in front of (in space):
Dom es kontra. — The house is on the opposite side.
3) against (contact from an opposite direction):
apogi kontra mur — lean against the wall
(prefix):
kontratoxin — antidote
kontrakosa — opposite (noun)
Krome
Besides:
Krome ke nu es fatigi-ney, nu bu hev pyu taim. — We are tired, and besides we don't have any more time.
krome to — besides that, moreover
Kun
With, along with:
ela shwo kun smaila — she said with a smile
filma kun Jeki Chan — a film with Jackie Chan
kompari kun koysa — to compare with something
Lu klosi-te dwar kun shum. — He closed the door with a noise.
kun forsa — with force (cf.: bay forsa — by force)