Compound Prepositions in Irish

In Brief

Irish compound prepositions are fixed phrases such as ar feadh “for the duration of,” i rith “during,” de bharr “because of,” os comhair “in front of,” and i ndiaidh “after.” Most are followed by the genitive case (a noun form commonly used for an “of” relationship): i rith an lae “during the day.” Learn in aice le separately: its final le governs the following noun, as in in aice leis an scoil “near the school.”

Overview

A compound preposition is a group of two or more words that works as one preposition. English has comparable expressions such as “in front of,” “because of,” and “in the course of.” Irish uses these phrases constantly to locate something, set a time frame, explain a cause, or show the order of events.

The individual words sometimes remain recognizable. For example, rith can mean a course or run, so i rith is literally something like “in the course of.” More usefully for learners, however, each complete expression has a conventional meaning. Translating its parts independently is less reliable than learning the whole phrase.

This topic is placed at C1 because accurate use requires control of case forms, articles, mutations, pronouns, and idiomatic choice. The phrases themselves are not restricted to advanced writing: i ndiaidh, in aice le, and ar feadh occur in ordinary conversation too. At this level, the aim is not merely to recognize them but to build the noun phrase after them correctly and choose among close alternatives with confidence.

How It Works

The central pattern

Most of the expressions in this group end in a noun. The following noun phrase defines that noun and therefore normally takes the genitive:

compound preposition + genitive noun phrase

• ar feadh na hoíche — for the duration of the night
• i rith an lae — during the day
• de bharr na drochaimsire — because of the bad weather
• os comhair na scoile — in front of the school
• i ndiaidh an chruinnithe — after the meeting

The genitive case does not correspond to one single English word. In these phrases, English usually uses an ordinary noun after “during,” “after,” or “because of,” while Irish marks the relationship grammatically. Sometimes the noun visibly changes, as lá “day” becomes lae. Sometimes only the article or initial mutation reveals the case; sometimes the form looks unchanged.

Core expressions and meanings

Irish expression	Main meaning	Typical function	Example
ar feadh	for, for the duration of	duration viewed as a whole	ar feadh míosa — for a month
i rith	during, in the course of	an event or period within which something happens	i rith na seachtaine — during the week
de bharr	because of, as a result of	usually a cause or consequence	de bharr na stoirme — because of the storm
os comhair	in front of, facing	physical position; also an audience or authority	os comhair na cúirte — before the court
i ndiaidh	after, following	later in time or behind in sequence/position	i ndiaidh an ranga — after the class
in aice le	near, beside	proximity	in aice leis an doras — near the door

Building the genitive noun phrase

Do not try to derive every genitive form from one universal ending. Irish noun classes differ, and common nouns may change by slenderization, an ending, or an irregular form. A practical method is to learn a noun together with its genitive singular.

Basic noun	Meaning	Genitive in a phrase
lá	day	i rith an lae
oíche	night	ar feadh na hoíche
scoil	school	os comhair na scoile
cruinniú	meeting	i ndiaidh an chruinnithe
seachtain	week	ar feadh seachtaine
aimsir	weather	de bharr na haimsire

With a definite singular noun—one referring to “the” particular thing—the genitive article is generally an with a masculine noun and na with a feminine noun. The noun’s spelling and initial mutation depend on gender, initial sound, and declension (its pattern of case forms):

• an lá → i rith an lae
• an cruinniú → i ndiaidh an chruinnithe
• an scoil → os comhair na scoile
• an oíche → ar feadh na hoíche

With an indefinite noun, there is no article, but the noun may still show a genitive form:

• ar feadh seachtaine — for a week
• i rith cruinnithe — during a meeting
• de bharr timpiste — because of an accident

A definite genitive plural begins with na and commonly causes eclipsis (a change that adds a consonant before the original initial), where the spelling permits it:

• i ndiaidh na gcruinnithe — after the meetings
• de bharr na bhfadhbanna — because of the problems

Plural genitives have several patterns, so check the dictionary form rather than assuming that every plural stays unchanged.

Why in aice le behaves differently

Although it belongs semantically with these expressions, in aice le ends in the simple preposition le. The complement therefore follows the ordinary rules for le, not the genitive pattern used after i rith or os comhair.

• in aice le teach — near a house
• in aice leis an teach — near the house
• in aice leis an scoil — near the school
• in aice le Máire — near Máire

Before the definite article, le + an appears as leis an. With a personal pronoun, le becomes a prepositional pronoun—a single word combining the preposition and pronoun:

Person	Form	Meaning
me	in aice liom	near me
you (singular)	in aice leat	near you
him	in aice leis	near him
her	in aice léi	near her
us	in aice linn	near us
you (plural)	in aice libh	near you
them	in aice leo	near them

Personal forms with noun-based expressions

Expressions such as i ndiaidh and os comhair use possessive forms when the complement is a person or pronoun. English says “after me” and “in front of us”; Irish structures these more like “in my wake” and “before our front.”

Base expression	Irish	English
i ndiaidh	i mo dhiaidh	after me
i ndiaidh	i do dhiaidh	after you
i ndiaidh	ina dhiaidh	after him
i ndiaidh	ina diaidh	after her
i ndiaidh	inár ndiaidh	after us
os comhair	os mo chomhair	in front of me
os comhair	os a comhair	in front of her
os comhair	os ár gcomhair	in front of us

These forms are worth learning as complete chunks. The possessive word can trigger lenition, eclipsis, or no mutation, and the contrast between ina dhiaidh “after him” and ina diaidh “after her” is carried by mutation.

Examples in Context

Irish	English	Note
D'fhanamar ann ar feadh na hoíche.	We stayed there for the whole night.	A complete duration
Beidh sí as baile ar feadh seachtaine.	She will be away for a week.	Indefinite genitive
Níor labhair sé i rith an chruinnithe.	He did not speak during the meeting.	Event as a time frame
Tharla roinnt athruithe i rith an lae.	Several changes occurred during the day.	Irregular genitive lae
Cuireadh an cluiche ar ceal de bharr na drochaimsire.	The match was cancelled because of the bad weather.	Cause with de bharr
Bhí moill ann de bharr na bhfadhbanna teicniúla.	There was a delay because of the technical problems.	Definite genitive plural
Tá an rothar os comhair na scoile.	The bicycle is in front of the school.	Physical position
Thug sí fianaise os comhair na cúirte.	She gave evidence before the court.	Institutional setting
Buailfimid le chéile i ndiaidh an ranga.	We will meet after the class.	Later in time
Tháinig Seán isteach i mo dhiaidh.	Seán came in after me.	Possessive personal form
Tá cónaí orthu in aice leis an stáisiún.	They live near the station.	le + an → leis an
Suigh in aice liom.	Sit beside me.	Prepositional pronoun liom
Sheas an múinteoir os ár gcomhair.	The teacher stood in front of us.	Possessive plural form
D'fhan an bóthar dúnta ar feadh dhá lá.	The road remained closed for two days.	A numeral phrase; not the ordinary singular genitive pattern

Common Mistakes

Leaving a definite noun in the ordinary form

• Wrong: i rith an lá
• Right: i rith an lae
• Why: I rith normally governs a genitive noun phrase. The genitive singular of lá is lae.

Using the wrong article with a feminine genitive

• Wrong: os comhair an scoil
• Right: os comhair na scoile
• Why: Scoil is feminine. Its definite genitive singular uses na, and the noun takes the form scoile.

Treating in aice le like the other expressions

• Wrong: in aice na scoile
• Right: in aice leis an scoil
• Why: The final le controls the complement. Before an, it becomes leis an; the noun is not put into the genitive simply because the expression is compound.

Translating “for” automatically as do

• Wrong: D'fhan mé do seachtain.
• Right: D'fhan mé ar feadh seachtaine.
• Why: English “for” has several meanings. For the duration of an activity or state, ar feadh is a reliable choice; do has different functions.

Using an independent pronoun after the expression

• Wrong: i ndiaidh mé / in aice le mé
• Right: i mo dhiaidh / in aice liom
• Why: Irish normally incorporates the personal reference through a possessive form or a prepositional pronoun rather than adding mé directly.

Confusing cause with neutral description

• Awkward: Bhí sé sásta de bharr na saoire when only “during the holiday” is meant.
• Better: Bhí sé sásta i rith na saoire. — He was happy during the holiday.
• Why: De bharr presents the following phrase as a cause or result. Use i rith when it is merely the period in which something happens.

Usage Notes

Ar feadh and i rith are not interchangeable

Both can refer to time, but they organize it differently. Ar feadh answers “for how long?” and focuses on duration: D'fhan sé ar feadh uair an chloig “He stayed for an hour.” I rith answers “when, within what period?”: Ghlaoigh sé orm i rith na hoíche “He called me during the night.”

English sometimes allows either “for” or “during,” but this distinction still offers a useful test. If you can naturally ask “how long?”, start by considering ar feadh. If the phrase is the time frame surrounding another event, consider i rith.

De bharr and tone

De bharr is common in explanatory prose, reports, news, and careful speech. It often introduces an unwanted cause—bad weather, an error, a delay—but the grammar itself does not make the cause negative. Context determines the evaluation. Other Irish cause expressions exist, so avoid forcing de bharr into every translation of English “because of.”

Literal and institutional uses of os comhair

Os comhair can describe literal position: a car is parked in front of a house. It also extends naturally to appearing before an audience, committee, court, or other authority. In those uses, English may choose “before” rather than “in front of”: os comhair na cúirte “before the court.”

Standard forms and natural variation

You may encounter other compound prepositions and regional preferences in speech. Their complements do not all behave identically. The safest advanced habit is to consult a reliable dictionary entry for the complete expression and observe its examples, rather than infer government from the English translation.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Compound prepositions reveal how older noun phrases become grammatical units. That history helps explain why the genitive survives after many expressions, but modern usage should still be learned expression by expression. A transparent-looking sequence is not automatically productive: you cannot freely combine a simple preposition and any noun to coin a new compound preposition.

They also interact with coordination. When one compound preposition applies to two noun phrases, each complement must fit the construction: i rith an lae agus na hoíche “during the day and the night.” In formal writing, repeating the preposition can remove ambiguity, especially when complements are long: de bharr na moille agus de bharr na gcostas breise “because of the delay and because of the additional costs.”

Numerals and quantity phrases need special care. After ar feadh, a phrase such as dhá lá follows the rules associated with the numeral dhá, not the ordinary definite-genitive model illustrated by an lae. This is why memorizing “compound preposition = visibly genitive ending” is too crude. The compound preposition governs its complement, but the internal grammar of that complement—article, number, numeral, adjective, or possessive—determines what is visible.

At an advanced level, pay attention to information structure as well as correctness. De bharr na stoirme, cuireadh an cluiche ar ceal places the cause first and frames the whole statement: “Because of the storm, the match was cancelled.” Cuireadh an cluiche ar ceal de bharr na stoirme presents the cancellation first and supplies its cause afterward. Both are grammatical; the choice changes emphasis.

Finally, do not assume a one-to-one match with English multiword prepositions. English “after” may refer to time, pursuit, resemblance, naming, or rank. I ndiaidh covers central temporal and sequential meanings, but a different Irish construction may be idiomatic in another sense. Translate the relationship in the sentence, not the isolated English word.

Practice Tips

1. Build phrase-and-genitive pairs. Keep a two-column list: lá → i rith an lae, scoil → os comhair na scoile, cruinniú → i ndiaidh an chruinnithe. This trains the whole structure rather than an isolated dictionary form.
2. Sort examples by question. Ask “for how long?”, “during what period?”, “because of what?”, “where?”, or “after what?” Then choose ar feadh, i rith, de bharr, os comhair/in aice le, or i ndiaidh before checking the noun form.
3. Transform nouns into personal forms. Practise pairs aloud: i ndiaidh Sheáin → i mo dhiaidh and in aice le Máire → in aice léi. Short transformations make the mutations and combined pronoun forms automatic.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Simple Prepositions — provides the basic prepositions, mutations, and prepositional patterns on which these longer expressions build.