Movement: "To" and "From"
In Arabic, prepositions connect words to show location or direction. Separate prepositions are written as independent words, rather than attaching directly to the nouns that follow them.
To express going "to" a destination, use the preposition إلى with a verb of motion like ذهب (to go).
| The student went to the school. | ذهب الطالب إلى المدرسة.dhahaba at-tâlibu ilâ al-madrasati. |
| The sick person went to the hospital. | ذهب المريض إلى المستشفى.dhahaba al-marîdu ilâ al-mustashfâ. |
To express returning "from" a place, use the preposition من alongside the verb رجع (to return).
| The nurse returned from the hospital. | رجع الممرض من المستشفى.raja'a al-mumarridu mina al-mustashfâ. |
Location: "In" and "On"
When describing where things are located, use the prepositions في (in) and على (on). Because Arabic does not use words for "is" or "are" in the present tense, simply placing a subject and a prepositional phrase next to each other creates a complete sentence.
| The car is on the street. | السيارة على الشارع.as-sayyâratu 'alâ ash-shâri'i. |
| Is the new restaurant in the city? | هل المطعم الجديد في المدينة؟hal al-mat'amu al-jadîdu fî al-madînah? |
These prepositions are exactly what you need to answer questions using أين (where).
| Where is the dog? The dog is on the street. | أين الكلب؟ الكلب على الشارع.ayna al-kalbu? al-kalbu 'alâ ash-shâri'i. |
Combining Prepositions
You can easily use multiple prepositions in the same sentence to describe a journey from one place to another, or to give more specific details about where an object is.
| He went from the house to the market. | هو ذهب من البيت إلى السوق.huwa dhahaba mina al-bayti ilâ as-sûq. |
| The employee returned from the market to the restaurant. | رجع الموظف من السوق إلى المطعم.rajaʿa al-muwazzafu mina as-sûqi ilâ al-matʿami |
| The book is on the table in the school. | الكتاب على الطاولة في المدرسة.al-kitâbu 'alâ at-tâwilati fî al-madrasati |