2.1: Prepositions of Place

Learning Objectives

In this section, you will be able to:

• Use prepositions of place like خلف، إلى الأمام، بين، مقابل، جانب، وسط، بعد، وراء، يمين، يسار
• Describe the location of objects, people, and landmarks in sentences.

Prepositional Phrases ظرف المكان

Introduction:

Prepositions of place in Arabic, known as ظرف المكان, describe where something is located in relation to something else. These words are crucial for giving directions or describing positions in space. In this section, you will learn some of the most common preposition words used to construct meaningful descriptions in both spoken and written Arabic like يمين، يسار، خلف، وراء، بين، بعد، أمام، جانب، مقابل، بين، وسط، هنا، هناك

Common Prepositions of Place:

Prepositional phrases in Arabic often precede by definite nouns

خلف (Behind):
Used when something or someone is behind another object or someone.

• Example: The car is behind the house → السيارة خلف البيت.

بين (Between):
Indicates something located between two objects.

• Example: The book is between the table and the chair → الكتاب بين الطاولة والكرسي.

أمام (In front of):
Describes something in front of another.

• Example: The school is in front of the market → المدرسة أمام من السوق.

جانب/بجانب (Next to/Beside):
Both words show that something is beside or next to something else.

• Example: The library is next to the university → المكتبة بجانب الجامعة.

وسط (In the middle of):
Refers to something located in the center of a space.

• Example: The Libray is in the middle of the town → المَكتَبَة في وسط المَدينَة.

وراء (Behind):
Similar to "خلف," used to indicate something behind another object.

• Example: The garden is behind the school → الحديقة وراء المدرسة.

بعد (After):
Indicates something comes after something else. It is often used to show proximity or sequence in space or time.

• Example: The house is after the shop → البيت بعد المتجر.

قبل (Before):

Describes something that comes first when talking about location or sequence. It is often used to show proximity or sequence in space or time.

• Example: المكتبة قبل المتجر (The library is before the store).

مقابل (Across from):
Refers to something located directly opposite or across from something else.

• Example: The hospital is opposite the mosque → المستشفى مقابل المُنتَزه.

Right (يمين) and Left (يسار)

These two words يسار و يمين help in giving directions of describing the relative position of objects.

يمين (Right):

• يمين is used to indicate something located on the right side of a reference point.
• Example: The restaurant is on the right of the street → المطعم على يمين الشارع.
• Use يمين when giving directions or describing an object to the right.

يسار (Left):

• يسار is used to describe something on the left side.
• Example: The bank is on the left of the road → البنك على يسار الطريق.
• Use يسار when referring to something located on the left-hand side.

Here (هُنا) and There (هُناكَ)

These two words هنا and هناك help describe distance and location in a conversation. Understanding هنا and هناك is important for describing places and positions in Arabic accuratly.

• هنا means "here" and is used when something is close to the speaker. It refers to objects, people, or places nearby within immediate space.
  • Example: الكتاب هنا على الطاولة (The book is here on the table). In this case, the book is near the speaker.
  • Example: الكنيسة هُنا (The church is here.)
• هناك means "there" and is used when something is far from the speaker. It refers to objects, people, or places that are not close, often out of reach.
  • Example: الشجرة هناك في المنتزه (The tree is there in the garden). The tree is far from the speaker.
  • Example: المُتحَف هُناك (The musem is there.)

In the table below, you will find the preposition of place ظرف المكان. In each line, you can find the word, the meaning in English, the word in a sentence, and the audio.

ظرف المكان

Audio	The Sentence	English	ظرف المكان
	الصّيدليَّةُ خلفَ المُستَشفى	Behind	خَلْفَ
	المُستَشفى أمامَ الصيدليَّة	In front of	أَمامَ
	المَقْهى بيْنَ المَطْعَم وَالمَتْجَر	Between	بَيْنَ
	الجامِعُ وَسَطَ المدينَة	In the middle of	وَسَط
	الكَنيسَةُ بِجانِبِ الجامِعِ	Next to/ Beside	جانِب
	الفُنْدُقُ مُقابِلَ المَطار	Across from	مُقابِل
	المَبْنى وراءَ السّوقِ	Behind	وَراءَ
	المَدْرَسَةُ بعدَ المَكْتَبَةِ	After	بَعْـدَ
	المَكْتَبَةُ قَبلَ المدْرَسَةِ	Before	قَبْلَ
	الجِسر على يَمين البُحيرَة	Right	يَمين
	البُحيرَة على يَسارِ الجِسرِ	Left	يَسار
	المَعْبَدُ هُنا	Here	هُنا
	وَسَطُ المدينَةِ هُناكَ	There	هُناكَ

Activities

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Watch the video to help you learn ظرف المكان in Arabic, and try to repeat the sentences.

Check Your Understanding

• Create a map of your neighborhood and write sentences describing locations using the place propositions.
• Choose a place (your house, your neighborhood, your school). With a partner, describe the location of five items using ظرف المكان. The other student listens and draws or writes a quick layout based on the description. Then switch roles.
• Take a picture of a real place (room, street, park, etc.) and write a short paragraph (5-7 sentences) describing where things are using prepositions. Example: في الصورة، الكرسي بجانب المكتب. الحقيبة تحت الطاولة. اللوحة على الحائط وراء الكرسي
• Identify the prepositions, and translate the sentences:
• . السَّيارَة خَلْفَ الْبَيت
• . البَنك مُقابِل المَدْرَسَة
• . الكُتُب على يَسارِ الحاسوب
• . الطَّالِب يَجْلِسُ بَين أصْدقائِه
• . الشّباك أمامَ السَّرير