Sindarin Prepositions

Sindarin prepositions govern specific consonant mutations on the following noun. Learning which preposition triggers which mutation is essential for composing grammatically correct Sindarin.

Prepositions Causing Soft Mutation (Lenition)

Preposition	Meaning	Example
ab	after	ab vaur (after the great one) — baur → vaur
adel	behind	adel dhûn (behind the west) — dûn → dhûn
am	up, upon	am vereth (up to the feast) — mereth → vereth
dad	down	dad dalath (down to the flatland)
di	under, beneath	di vunn (under the peak) — munn → vunn
na	to, toward	na valinor (toward Valinor)
ned	in, during	ned govannas (in the fellowship)
nu	under	nu 'aladh (under the tree) — galadh → 'aladh
trî	through	trî 'ondram (through the stone)
ú- (prefix)	without, not	ú-veleg (not great) — beleg → veleg

Prepositions Causing Nasal Mutation

Preposition	Meaning	Example
an	to, for, intended for	an bengolodh (for/to a teacher) — pengolodh → bengolodh
in (definite article plural)	the (pl.)	i Nedain (the Men) — Edain → Nedain

An is the most important preposition in Sindarin — it marks the indirect object (dative):

Annon 'ylf an benn — "I give a goblet to a man" (ylf direct obj. lenited; benn after an)
An + nasal mutation = the dative construction

Definite Prepositions (Preposition + Article Fused)

When a preposition precedes a noun with the article i (the), the preposition and article often fuse:

Preposition	+ Article	Definite Form	Mutation Triggered
o (from)	+ i	o'n or on	Mixed
na (to)	+ i	nan (?)	Mixed
trî (through)	+ i	tren	Mixed
am (upon)	+ i	amin (?)	Mixed

Definite prepositions (fused preposition + article) trigger mixed mutation on the following singular noun. Before plural nouns, the forms may differ and trigger nasal mutation.

Common Prepositions with No Mutation (or Vowel-Initial Words)

Before vowel-initial nouns, most mutations are invisible (the mutation would be on the vowel, which doesn't mutate). The preposition is used as-is:

o Edhil (from the Elves) — no consonant to mutate
an Edain (for/to the Men) — an before vowel; nasal mutation invisible

Key Prepositions Reference Table

Preposition	Meaning	Mutation
ab	after	Soft
adel	behind, beyond	Soft
am	up, upon	Soft
an	to, for (dative)	Nasal
ar	and, beside	None typically
athan	beyond, across	Soft (?)
bo	on (surface)	Soft
dad	down	Soft
dan	against, back	Soft
di	under, beneath	Soft
egor	or (disjunction)	None
hain	them (see pronouns)	—
mi	in, within	Soft
na	to, toward, at	Soft
ned	in, during	Soft
nef	on this side of	None
nu	under	Soft
o / od	from, of	Mixed (with article)
or	above, over	Soft
ped	—	(verb, not prep)
perin	half	None
trî	through	Soft
ú-	without, not (prefix)	Soft

The Dative Construction in Detail

The dative (indirect object = "to someone") uses preposition an + nasal mutation:

Annon a phengolodh degil

annon = I give (1st sg. of ann-)
an = to/for (dative preposition)
phengolodh = pengolodh (teacher) after an nasal mutation: p→b → but written as ph? — this is disputed; some analyses give bengolodh
degil = tegil (pen) as direct object after soft mutation: t→d

The full sentence: "I give a pen to a teacher."

Genitive: The en Particle

The genitive ("of") uses the particle en (sometimes just e) triggering mixed mutation:

Caras Galadhon en-Galadhrim — "The city of trees of the Galadhrim"
Annon en Gondor — "Gate of Gondor"
Minas en Tithen Erain — "Tower of the Little Kings"

In proper names, the genitive particle is often omitted (compound formation instead):

Barad-dûr (Tower Dark = Tower of Darkness)
Minas Tirith (Tower of Watching)
Osgiliath (Citadel of the Stars)