Learning English - Modern Greek

The prepositions in Modern Greek

The preposition = η προθέση (προ + θέτω = in front of + put) is placed in front of a word, whether in a composite sentence or in a apposition.

Prepositions are indeclinable in MG, as well as in English. They are placed in front of nouns and personal pronouns in the 2nd and 4th case, optionally in combination with an article or adjective.

There are still many prepositions coming from the Katharevousa, where the noun is followed by the 2nd and 4th case. The old prepositions are generally followed by the 2nd case. Their usage tends to be limited to the formal language or the fixed expressions.

Some prepositions, derived from the Ancient Greek, are used as a prefix to verbs. Some old prepositions don't exist anymore in Modern Greek.

Ancient Greek prepositions, still in use

prep.	English.	case	Greek	English
ανά	per, over	4th	ανά δύο	two by two
			ανά τον κόσμο	all over the world
			ανά λεπτό	per minute
ανεύ	without	2nd	άνευ αξίας	worthless
			άνευ αποδοχών	unpaid
			άνευ σημασίας	without opinion
διά	gedeeld door	1ste	δέκα διά δύο	ten divided by two
	door	2nd	διά μαγείας	by magic
	door	2nd	διά ξηράς	over land (by road)
εις	in, on	4th	εις μνήμην	In Memoriam
			εις βάρος του	on account of
			εις μάτην	for nothing, in vain
			εις υγείαν!	here's to your health.
εκ, εξ	on, of, to	2nd	εκ νέου	anew, newly, again
			εξ αριστερών	to the left
			εκ δεξιών	to the right
			εκ μέρους	on behalf of, in respect of
			εξ ολοκλήρου	completely, all, entirely
			εκ των πραγμάτων	in fact
εκτός	outside of, except	2nd	εκτός υπηρεσίας	out of service, off duty
			εκτός εαυτού	except for himself
			εκτός ενέργειας	no energy
			εκτός κινδύνου	out of danger
			εκτός λειτουργίας	inoperative
εν	on, in etc.	3rd*	εν ψυχρώ	in cold blood
			εν ανάγκη	if it is necessary
			εν γένει	generally
			εν γνώσει	knowing, intentional
			εν τη γενέσει	starting, to be born
			εν δράσει	acting
			εν εξάψει	feverishly, hectic
			εν κινήσει	in motion
			εν λόγω	considered, discussed
			εν μέρει	so-called, pretended
			εν τω μεταξύ	meanwhile
			εν ολίγοις	in brief, in a nutshell
			εν όψει	at sight, in the prospect of
			εν πάση περιπτώσει	in any case, at any rate
			εν πρώτοις	at first sight, at first view
			εν πτήσει	in the air
			εν συγκρίσει	in comparison, compared
			εν συνεχεία	then, afterwards, later
			εν τέλει (εντέλει)	at last, finally, after all
			εν τούτοις	nevertheless, nonetheless
εντός	in, into, within	2nd	εντός κτίριου	indoor
εντός	in, into, within	2nd	εντός πλοίο	on board
επί	within (time)	1st	επί δύο εβδομάδες	for two weeks
	within (time)	1st	επί μάκρον	long, in length (duration)
	on, in	2nd	επί του θέματος	to the point, to the purpose
	on, in	2nd	επί τάπητας	on the threshold
	on	3rd*	επί πιστώσει	on credit
	on	3rd*	επί απόδειξει	by prescription
	various meanings	3rd*	επί τη ευκαιρία	in parentheses
			επί τη εμφανίσει	in sight
			επι λέξει	word by word
κατόπιν	after, thence, afterwards	2nd	κατόπιν αιτήσεως	on request, by desire
			κατόπιν αναθεώρησης	following statement (reflection)
			κατόπιν τούτου	thereafter, next, subsequently
λόγω	because, due to, because of	2nd	λόγω κακοκαιρίας	due to bad weather
	because, due to, because of		λόγω της έλλειψης	due to a lack
	because of		λόγω ενός ατύχημας	because of an accident
μείον	minus	1st	είναι μείον δέκα	it's minus ten
μείον	minus	1st	τέσσερα μείον δύο	four minus two
μέσω	via	2nd	μέσω του πλοίου	amidships
μέσω	via	2nd	μέσω Αθήνας	via Athens
περί	approximately, about	4th	περί τα εκατό κομμάτια.	about a hundred pieces
	approximately, about	4th	περί τις πεντακόσιες ευρώ	around five hundred euros
	about	2nd	περί ανέμων και υδάτων	about wind and water
	about	2nd	περί τίνος πρόκειται	what's the point
πλην	without, less	4de	πλην του ότι	that not taken into account
	without, less	4de	πλην τα έξοδα διοικήσεως	without any administration fee
	exceot	2de	όλοι ήταν εδώ πλην ενός	they were all here except one
	minus	1st	πέντε πλην δύο	five minus two
προ	before (time / place)	2nd	προ μεσημβρίας	ante meridiem (before noon)
προ	before (time / place)	2nd	προ πάντων	first of all
συν	to, with, plus	1st/4th	πέντε συν δύο ίσον τρία	five minus two is (equal to) threee
	with, on	3rd*	συν τοις άλλοις	among others
	with, on	3rd*	συν τω χρόνω	in time
υπέρ	for (in favor of)	2nd	ο αγώνας υπέρ της δημοκρατίας	the struggle for democracy
	for (in favor of)	2nd	μάχονταν υπέρ πίστεως και πατρίδος	they fought for faith and native country.
	over, above	4th	υπέρ το δέον	more than (expected)
	over, above	4th	υπέρ to εκατομμύριο	over one million
υπό	under, below, underneath	4th	υπό το ύδωρ	underwater
	under, below, underneath	4th	υπό την εποπτεία του	under his supervision
	with, by	2nd	υπό της βίας	with / by violence
	with, by	2nd	υπό της εξουσίας του	under / by his leadership

*
The old 3rd case (the dative) survived in some adverbial expressions. Although the dative has no function in the spoken language since long, there are still a few vestiges in the form of clichés and fixed phrases.

Many of those expressions are to be found in phrases, preceded by one of the old prepositions

The other prepositions

ελληνικά	αγγλικά
αντί	instead, lieu in
από	from, since, of
για	about, for, about to, to, unto
εναντίον	versus
εξαιτίας	because of, owing to
έως	until
ίσαμε	until, up to
κατά	at, versus, on, perr
με	with
μετά	with, past
μεταξύ	amid, betwixt, twixt, between
μέχρι	to, until, unto
παρά	from, despite, notwithstanding, in spite of
πριν	preparatory to
προς	concerning, to, on, unto, toward, towards
σαν	like
σε	in, into
χωρίς / δίχως	without
ως	concerning, as

The simple prepositions of one word, originated in the MG from the traditional vernacular language are «από», «για», «με», «σαν», «σε», «χωρίς» or «δίχως» and «ως». They are all used with the 4th case (accusative) and are primary prepositions. The most frequently used prepositions are «από», «για» and «με», but the most used of all prepositions together is «σε».

The prepositions «αντί», «κατά», «μετά», «μέχρι», «παρά» and «πρός», derived from the katharevousa, also belong to the primary prepositions because they are used with the 4th case too.

The most important prepositions are «από» and «σε»:

the usage of «από»:

in expressions of time or place with the meaning of: of, from or since
in expressions with the meaning of: along, past and beyond
in expressions with the meaning of: by means of (made by)

the usage of «σε»:

in expressions of a location with the meaning of: on, in or to, at
in expressions of a movement with the meaning of: on, in or to

These prepositions are often used, and although their meaning may depend on a situation or is prescribed by linguistics, the basic relationship nevertheless is expressed by the distance.

We see that both prepositions don't designate the relationship between the connected point and the location indicated with the preposition by the sentence. Instead, they denote the proximity with «σε» and the distance with «από».

They are used in sentences with a noun including a strong personal pronoun in the 4th case (not a weak personal pronoun) and after numerous adverbs of place.

Apart from the old prepositions, where the usage of the case system differs, the new prepositions, with a few exceptions, are followed by the accusative. These prepositions can be used in sentences with nouns and strong personal pronouns, just as «από» and «σε».

More prepositions

Some of the abovementioned prepositions as «αντί», «για», «μέχρι», «παρά», «πριν». «σαν» and «χωρίς/δίχως» can also be used in the aorist of the subjunctive with the particle «να».

Numerous prepositions, including «από», «για», «με» and «σε» can be followed by a number or by most of the types of non-personal pronouns.

Behind some prepositions like «από», «για», «μέχρι» and «ως» adverbs of time and place can be placed.

N.B.

«παρά» can appear in comparisons:

«Μέχρι», «μετά» and «ως» occur with a «που»-clause. «Μέχρι» in expressions of events that have already taken place, whilst «μετά» can be followed by a «που»-clause, as an alternative for the use of the conjunction «αφού» - after, because or since. «Ως» is regularly followed by a «που»-clause, but as a combination in one word: «ώσπου» - until, at the time when

Prepositions, used in another case than the accusative.

When a part of a sentence with the noun is a complement to the subject, that phrase appears in the nominative (1st case):

He is studying to become a doctor.
He applies for president of the association.
The weather changes from sunny to rainy.

Σπουδάζει για γιατρός
Πάει για πρόεδρος του συλλόγου.
Ο καιρός θα είναι από βροχερός έως ευήλιος.

Some prepositions or words used for that matter can appear in sentences with a noun including the strong personal pronoun or in sentences with the weak personal pronoun in the genitive (2nd case). These are in particular «εναντίον» - versus, «εξαιτίας» - because of, on account of, «μεταξύ» - between and «λόγω» - owing to.

Generally prepositions can not be separated from the noun phrase. The words «εξαιτίας» and «λόγω» are original noun forms which use the genetive case, although they can be used as prepositions for many purposes. However, they differ from most of the prepositions as they can be separated from the nouns phrase that is dependent on them.

Είναι λόγω κυρίως του καιρόυ οτί δεν το θέλω.	It is mainly because of the weather that I do not want it.
Εξαιτίας και της βροχής και του άνεμου.	Due to both the rain and the wind.

N.B.

The conjunction «μεν» - nevertheless, regardless, nonetheless is derived from the Ancient Greek. It is still used in combination with the particle «δε» - anyway, however, in any case, though, not to be confused with the negative particle «δε(ν)». This expression can separate a preposition from noun phrase.

Για μεν τους γνωστούς είναι καθαρά, για δε τους ξένους όχι.

For acquaintances it is on one hand clear, however not for foreigners.

A detailed explanation of the combination «μεν»...«δε»... can be found here