Compound Prepositional Phrases | Arabic (Modern Standard) Grammar

Arabic often expresses one relation with a phrase rather than a single preposition: بسبب “because of,” بالنسبة إلى “with regard to,” من أجل “for the sake of,” and على الرغم من “despite.” These are not loose word-for-word translations. Each has an internal structure, a conventional meaning, and a particular place where the following noun or clause attaches.

The useful learning unit is the complete construction. Knowing that على can mean “on” will not by itself produce بناء على “on the basis of,” and translating English for will not tell you whether Arabic needs لـ, من أجل, or بسبب. Learn the network of related meanings and the government inside each phrase.

The component prepositions still follow the principles explained for على, إلى, and لـ, but each compound phrase has also become a conventional unit.

A map of the most useful phrases

Construction	Core relation	What follows	Register
بسبب	cause	genitive noun, suffix, or nominalized clause	neutral/formal
من أجل	purpose, beneficiary, motivating goal	genitive noun or suffix	neutral/formal
بالنسبة إلى	reference point, “as for / relative to”	genitive after إلى	formal
بناء على	basis or authority	genitive after على	formal/administrative
من خلال	path, channel, means	genitive iḍāfa complement or suffix	neutral/formal
على الرغم من	concession, “despite”	genitive after من or أنّ-clause	neutral/formal

The final complement is genitive when it is a noun. In بسببِ العاصفةِ, سبب is already governed by attached بـ, and العاصفة is genitive as the second term of the iḍāfa. In بالنسبةِ إلى الخطةِ, إلى directly governs الخطة. Similar surface meanings therefore hide different internal grammars.

بسبب: cause, not purpose

بسبب identifies the circumstance responsible for a result. It is historically بـ + سبب and behaves like an iḍāfa before a following noun: بسبب الازدحام “because of the congestion.” With a pronoun, use a suffix on سبب: بسببه، بسببها، بسببهم.

تأخرت الحافلات بسبب إغلاق الطريق الساحلي.

taʾakhkharati l-ḥāfilātu bisababi ʾighlāqi ṭ-ṭarīqi s-sāḥiliyy.

The buses were delayed because the coastal road was closed.

كان الخطأ بسيطا، لكن المشروع تأخر بسببه أسبوعا كاملا.

kāna l-khaṭaʾu basīṭan, lākinna l-mashrūʿa taʾakhkhara bisababihi ʾusbūʿan kāmilan.

The mistake was minor, but the project was delayed for a full week because of it.

Do not confuse cause with intended purpose. أغلق الطريق بسبب الثلج means the snow caused the closure; أغلق الطريق من أجل أعمال الصيانة means the road was closed so that maintenance could be carried out.

أغلقت البلدية الطريق بسبب الانهيار، لا من أجل أعمال الصيانة.

ʾaghlaqati l-baladiyyatu ṭ-ṭarīqa bisababi l-inhiyāri, lā min ʾajli ʾaʿmāli ṣ-ṣiyāna.

The municipality closed the road because of the collapse, not for maintenance work.

من أجل: purpose and motivating beneficiary

من أجل presents something as the goal, beneficiary, or motive for an action. The noun after أجل is genitive in an iḍāfa: من أجل الأطفالِ. A pronoun attaches to أجل: من أجلك، من أجلها، من أجلهم.

خصصت المؤسسة منحة من أجل تدريب الصحفيين الشباب.

khaṣṣaṣati l-muʾassasatu minḥatan min ʾajli tadrībi ṣ-ṣaḥafiyyīna sh-shabāb.

The organization allocated a grant to train young journalists.

عدلت الخطة من أجلكم، فلا تترددوا في طرح الأسئلة.

ʿaddaltu l-khuṭṭata min ʾajlikum, fa-lā tataraddadū fī ṭarḥi l-ʾasʾila.

I adjusted the plan for your sake, so do not hesitate to ask questions. (Addressing a group.)

Simple attached لـ often expresses purpose or beneficiary more compactly: برنامج للطلاب “a program for students.” من أجل is heavier and can foreground deliberate motivation. Neither phrase mechanically translates every English for.

💡

Ask whether the phrase names a cause or a goal. بسبب looks backward to what produced the situation; من أجل looks forward to what the action is intended to achieve.

بالنسبة إلى: setting a reference point

بالنسبة إلى means “with respect to,” “relative to,” or sometimes “as for.” Its internal structure is بـ + النسبة + إلى. Keep all three pieces in careful MSA, and let إلى govern the final genitive noun.

بالنسبة إلى الموعد، يناسبني صباح الخميس.

bin-nisbati ʾilā l-mawʿidi, yunāsibunī ṣabāḥu l-khamīs.

As for the time, Thursday morning suits me.

انخفضت التكلفة بالنسبة إلى العام الماضي، لكنها ما زالت مرتفعة.

inkhafaḍati t-taklifatu bin-nisbati ʾilā l-ʿāmi l-māḍī, lākinnahā mā zālat murtafiʿa.

The cost fell relative to last year, but it is still high.

هذا التغيير مهم بالنسبة إلي، لكنه لا يؤثر في بقية الفريق.

hādhā t-taghyīru muhimmun bin-nisbati ʾilayya, lākinnahu lā yuʾaththiru fī baqiyyati l-farīq.

This change matters to me, but it does not affect the rest of the team.

In the last example English has to me, but Arabic uses بالنسبة إليّ to establish a viewpoint. For a direct recipient, ordinary لـ may be required instead: أرسلت الرسالة لي “she sent the letter to me.”

بناء على: a stated basis

بناء على introduces the evidence, request, rule, or authority on which an action rests. It is especially frequent in institutional and administrative prose (formal). In fully vocalized syntax, بناءً is an adverbial accusative maṣdar; على then governs the genitive.

بناء على طلبكم، مددنا مهلة تقديم العروض.

bināʾan ʿalā ṭalabikum, maddadnā muhlata taqdīmi l-ʿurūḍ.

At your request, we extended the deadline for submitting bids. (Formal.)

اتخذت اللجنة قرارها بناء على الأدلة المتاحة.

ittakhadhati l-lajnatu qarārahā bināʾan ʿalā l-ʾadillati l-mutāḥa.

The committee made its decision on the basis of the available evidence.

Ordinary unvocalized spelling is بناء على. When the tanwīn is written, use بناءً, not بناءا or بناءاً: final hamza preceded by alif takes no extra support alif.

من خلال: path, channel, and means

The spatial prototype of من خلال is movement or perception “through” an opening or intervening space. Contemporary formal Arabic extends it to channels and means. The extension is productive, but overusing it for every English through produces bureaucratic prose; sometimes بـ, a direct object, or a finite clause is clearer.

دخل ضوء الصباح من خلال النافذة الشرقية.

dakhala ḍawʾu ṣ-ṣabāḥi min khilāli n-nāfidhati sh-sharqiyya.

Morning light came in through the eastern window. (Spatial prototype.)

تابع الجمهور الجلسة من خلال البث المباشر.

tābaʿa l-jumhūru l-jalsata min khilāli l-baththi l-mubāshir.

The public followed the session via the live broadcast. (Channel.)

قرأنا التقرير وحددنا من خلاله ثلاث مشكلات متكررة.

qaraʾnā t-taqrīra wa-ḥaddadnā min khilālihi thalātha mushkilātin mutakarrira.

We read the report and identified three recurring problems through it.

Here خلال is the head of an iḍāfa, so its complement is genitive: خلالِ النافذةِ. With a suffix, خلاله remains one written word.

على الرغم من: concession

على الرغم من joins a fact to an outcome that runs against the expectation created by that fact. After من, use a genitive noun. Before a finite proposition, use أنّ; its noun is accusative according to the normal rules of أنّ.

على الرغم من الأمطار الغزيرة، وصلت الرحلة في موعدها.

ʿalā r-raghmi mina l-ʾamṭāri l-ghazīrati, waṣalati r-riḥlatu fī mawʿidihā.

Despite the heavy rain, the flight arrived on time.

على الرغم من أن النتائج أولية، فإنها تستحق المناقشة.

ʿalā r-raghmi min ʾanna n-natāʾija ʾawwaliyyatun, fa-ʾinnahā tastaḥiqqu l-munāqasha.

Although the results are preliminary, they deserve discussion. (Formal argumentative prose.)

كانت الميزانية محدودة، وعلى الرغم من ذلك اكتمل المشروع.

kānati l-mīzāniyyatu maḥdūdatan, wa-ʿalā r-raghmi min dhālika ktamala l-mashrūʿ.

The budget was limited; nevertheless, the project was completed.

💡

Keep the internal preposition even when English hides it. على الرغم من ذلك literally retains من, while natural English often uses the single adverb “nevertheless.”

Common Mistakes

Using cause where purpose is intended

❌ أنشئت المكتبة بسبب خدمة الحي.

Incorrect for intended purpose—بسبب presents خدمة الحي as a cause, not a goal.

✅ أنشئت المكتبة من أجل خدمة الحي.

ʾunshiʾati l-maktabatu min ʾajli khidmati l-ḥayy.

The library was established to serve the neighborhood.

Omitting an internal preposition

❌ بالنسبة الخطة، نحتاج إلى تمويل إضافي.

Incorrect in standard MSA—the construction is بالنسبة إلى.

✅ بالنسبة إلى الخطة، نحتاج إلى تمويل إضافي.

bin-nisbati ʾilā l-khuṭṭati, naḥtāju ʾilā tamwīlin ʾiḍāfiyy.

As for the plan, we need additional funding.

Giving the complement the wrong case

❌ بناء على الطلب، مع نطق الطلب بالضمة، أرسلت نسخة جديدة.

Incorrect in fully inflected Arabic—على governs genitive الطلبِ.

✅ بناء على الطلب، أرسلت نسخة جديدة.

bināʾan ʿalā ṭ-ṭalabi, ʾarsaltu nuskhatan jadīda.

On the basis of the request, I sent a new copy.

Misspelling or detaching clitics

❌ ب النسبة إلى رأيه، وبناءا على طلبه، غيرنا النص.

Incorrect—بـ attaches to النسبة, and vocalized بناءً does not take an extra support alif.

✅ بالنسبة إلى رأيه، وبناء على طلبه، غيرنا النص.

bin-nisbati ʾilā raʾyihi, wa-bināʾan ʿalā ṭalabihi, ghayyarnā n-naṣṣ.

With respect to his opinion, and at his request, we changed the text.

Stranding the final preposition

❌ هذه هي البيانات التي اتخذ القرار بناء على.

Incorrect in formal MSA—على needs a resumptive suffix.

✅ هذه هي البيانات التي اتخذ القرار بناء عليها.

hādhihi hiya l-bayānātu llatī ttukhidha l-qarāru bināʾan ʿalayhā.

These are the data on which the decision was based.

Key Takeaways

Learn each compound preposition as a whole construction with an exact complement slot.
بسبب marks cause; من أجل marks purpose or motivating beneficiary.
Preserve every internal element in بالنسبة إلى، بناء على، من خلال، على الرغم من.
A following noun is genitive at the point where the construction governs it; a following أنّ-clause has its own internal case pattern.
Attached pronouns replace the final nominal complement: بسببه، من أجلها، بالنسبة إليّ، من خلاله، بناء عليها.

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