Daçek · Place, source and company
Link people and places with li, ji, bi and two-part expressions.
By the end of this lessonChoose common adpositions, keep both halves of circumpositions and use oblique complements.
The idea
Li marks location in the examples here; ji marks a source; bi can mark a means. Two-part expressions surround their complement: bi … re (with someone), di … de (inside), ji … re (to/for someone). Personal pronouns after these forms are oblique: min, te, wî, wê, me, we, wan.
See it in a sentence
Learn an adposition with its context rather than as a single translation. Nouns usually take an oblique form too: mal → malê. This lesson uses simple phrases; ezafe chains and adverb-forming uses of bi require additional rules. De / da and re / ra are variants; these exercises use de and re.
Build it step by step
- Decide which relation you mean: location, source, instrument, company or recipient. Similar translations can hide different constructions.
- Keep the whole expression around its complement: bi + me + re. Re and de are not interchangeable decorations; they help determine the construction’s meaning.
- Use oblique pronouns: bi min re, not bi ez re. In the simple noun phrases here, mal becomes malê. Do not replace that ending with the possessive ezafe -a.
| Expression | Example | Meaning here |
|---|---|---|
| li | li malê | at home |
| ji | ji malê | from home |
| bi | bi qelemê | using a pen |
| bi … re | bi me re | with us |
| di … de | di malê de | inside the house |
| ji … re | ji te re | to / for you |
Take a sentence apart
opens the company expression
oblique pronoun: them
closes bi … re
English generally places a preposition before its complement. Kurmanji can also surround the complement with two parts. Learn bi … re and di … de as complete units.
A common trap
Incorrect: bi ez re
Correct: bi min re
The pronoun inside this circumposition must be oblique. The subject of the sentence can still be direct elsewhere.
Grammar reference: Thackston, §§ 7–8 · Oblique complements and adpositions