Irish/Compound Prepositions

Compound Prepositions

 * opposite : ar aghaidh, os coinne, os comhair
 * behind : ar chúl, taobh thiar de
 * during : ar feadh, i gcaitheamh, i rith, in imeacht, le linn
 * throughout : ar fud
 * looking for : ar lorg
 * like, in the manner of : ar nós
 * for the sake of : ar son, thar ceann, de cheann
 * about to : ar tí
 * as a result of, because of : de bharr, dá bhrí, de thairbhe
 * according to : de réir
 * on account of : de thairbhe
 * for the purpose of : faoi choinne, le haghaidh, i gcomhair
 * to meet : faoi dhéin
 * to the end of, to the top of : go ceann
 * in charge of, minding : i bhfeighil, i gcionn
 * along with : i dteannta
 * against : i gcoinne, in aghaidh, in éadan
 * in the middle of : i lár
 * present at, in the presence of : i láthair
 * among : i measc
 * after : i ndiaidh, tar éis
 * in place of : in áit
 * along with : le cois, i dteannta, in éineacht le
 * beside : le hais, in aice (le), taobh le
 * above : os cionn
 * in front of : os coinne, os comhair
 * near : in aice (le)
 * therefore : dá bhrí sin
 * under the care of : faoi chúram
 * at the head of : ar ceann
 * at the end of : i gceann, faoi cheann
 * in reference to : um cheann (very rare)

Remember:
 * A compound preposition usually governs a genitive. But if it ends in a simple preposition, then not: in éineacht le behaves essentially as the simple preposition le.


 * "ar" doesn't lenite a naked noun (i.e. a noun not preceded by an article) when it's part of a compound preposition or when it signifies an abstract state rather than a concrete position, or when it signifies a relative position. Cf. ar muin capaill "on horseback", but ar mhuin an chapaill áirithe seo "on the back of this particular horse". Note, though, the phrase ar fheabhas "excellent", which violates this rule (originally ar a fheabhas).

Essentially the same rule applies to thar, cf. the expressions thar barr "excellent", thar fóir "beyond (reasonable) limits, beyond measure", thar cailc "beyond the chalked mark, overstepping the limit"