UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Postposition

Postpositions are words used to describe the relationship in time, space, or direction between one or more objects. For example:

Lıbò ladà k’e wheɂǫ.

The cup is on the table.

In the above sentence, k’e is a postposition, being used to describe the spatial relationship between the table and the cup. To change this relationship, one can use a different postposition:

Lıbò ladà tł’à wheɂǫ.

The cup is under the table.

Lıbò ladà gà wheɂǫ.

The cup is next to the table.

Unlike in English, postpositions in Tłı̨chǫ are placed after the object(s) which they modify, not before (hence the name postposition). Thus:

Behchı̨ı̨̀ yı̀ı dǫ geèhkw’e.

There are people in the car.

kǫ̀ yı̀ı

in the house

Postpositions can also be conjugated, using the same set of prefixes used for noun possession. For example:

Segà whęęda.

Sit next to me.

Nets’ǫ̀ gohde.

I am talking to you.

Like inalienable nouns, postpositions are listed in the dictionary in their first person plural form, with the prefix go- (), with other conjugated forms listed in a table underneath the entry. However, unlike inalienable nouns, postpositions do not *need* to be conjugated, and often occur in speech without any prefixes.

Jımı ts’ǫ̀ goı̨de.

Talk to Jimmy.