ORDINARY USES OF THE PREPOSITIONS
[*] 1675.
Use of the Prepositions in Attic Prose.—
With the accusative only:
ἀνά, εἰς.
With the dative only:
ἐν, σύν.
With the genitive only:
ἀντί, ἀπό, ἐξ, πρό.
With the accusative and genitive:
ἀμφί, διά, κατά, μετά, ὑπέρ.
With accusative, genitive, and dative:
ἐπί, παρά, περί, πρός, ὑπό.
a. With the dative are also used in poetry:
ἀνά, ἀμφί (also in Hdt.),
μετά. ἀπό (
ἀπύ),
ἐξ (
ἐς) take the dative in Arcadian and Cyprian.
b. The genitive is either the genitive proper (of the goal, 1349, 1350, etc.) or the ablatival genitive.
c. The dative is usually the locative or the instrumental, rarely the dative proper (as with
ἐπί and
πρός of the goal).
[*] 1676.
Ordinary Differences in Meaning.—
| GENITIVE | ACCUSATIVE |
ἀμφί, περί | concerning | round about, near |
διά | through | owing to |
κατά | against | along, over, according to |
μετά | with | after |
ὑπέρ | above, in behalf of | over, beyond |
| GENITIVE | DATIVE | ACCUSATIVE |
ἐπί | on | on | to, toward, for |
παρά | from | with, near | to, contrary to |
πρός | on the side of | at, besides | to, toward |
ὑπό | by, under | under | under |
[*] 1677. Certain prepositions are parallel in many uses; e.g.
ἀνά and
κατά, ἀντί and
πρό, ἀπό and
ἐκ, ἀμφί and
περί, ὑπέρ and
περί, ἐπί and
πρός, σύν and
μετά.
[*] 1678. The
agent is expressed by different prepositions with the genitive:
ὑπό of persons and things personified (
1698. 1. N. 1): the normal usage in Attic prose.
παρά: here the agent is viewed as the source. The action is viewed as starting near a person, or
on the part of a person.
διά through: the intermediate agent.
ἀπό: indirect agent and source (rare) to mark the point of departure of the action. Chiefly in Thuc.
ἐξ: chiefly in poetry and Hdt. In Attic prose of emanation from a source.
πρός: to mark the result as due to the
presence (
before) of a person; chiefly in poetry and Hdt.
[*] 1679.
Means is expressed by
διά with the genitive (the normal usage in Attic prose),
ἀπό, ἐξ, ἐν, σύν.
Motive is expressed by
ὑπό (gen.),
διά (accus.),
ἕνεκα.
[*] 1680. Prepositions in composition (chiefly
ἀπό, διά, κατά, σύν) may give an idea of completion to the action denoted by the verb (
1648).
a. For the usage after compound verbs see
1382 ff., 1545 ff., 1559.