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Lesson 6. Kim bilan? Kim uchun?: the postpositions bilan, uchun, and haqida
I can say whom I live with, meet, and talk to, whom a ticket is for and what a letter is about — and ask an “or” question: “by bus or by subway?”
Kim bilan? Kim uchun? Three postpositions
Kim bilan? Kim uchun? Three postpositions
A postposition is a word placed after the noun, like keyin and oldin. Here are three new ones, where English uses a preposition before the noun:
• bilan — “with” (with whom) and “by, with” (by what you travel, what you write with): opam bilan, avtobus bilan, qalam bilan
• uchun — “for”: onam uchun, ish uchun
• haqida — “about”: oilam haqida, Toshkent haqida
These three take no case: the word before them has no case ending (but keyin and oldin, remember, need -dan). Pronouns stay in the dictionary form too: u bilan “with him, with her”, biz uchun “for us”, ular haqida “about them”. With haqida, for now only u haqida and ular haqida: “about me”, “about you” are built differently, later.
The word birga means “together”: opam bilan birga.
An “or” question uses yoki (“or”) and the particle -mi on both words: Bugunmi yoki ertagami? — “Today or tomorrow?”
Waiting in line: navbat means “line”. You'll also hear ochered in conversation, but the course uses the literary word navbat.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “bilan doʻstim” → doʻstim bilan
• NOT “unga bilan” → u bilan
• NOT “doʻstimdan bilan” → doʻstim bilan
Three postpositions without a case
The word before them has no case ending.
| Postposition | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| bilan | with whom | Anna bilan, opam bilan |
| bilan | by what, with what | taksi bilan, qalam bilan |
| uchun | for whom, for what | onam uchun, dars uchun |
| haqida | about whom, about what | ustoz haqida, kitob haqida |
| birga | together | oilam bilan birga |
Verbs and their questions
The question shows which form the word next to the verb takes.
| Question | Verbs |
|---|---|
| kim bilan? | uchrashmoq, gaplashmoq, tanishmoq |
| kimga? | qoʻngʻiroq qilmoq, javob bermoq, xat yubormoq |
| kimdan? | soʻramoq |
| nima haqida? | gapirmoq, soʻramoq, yozmoq |
| qaysi tildan? qaysi tilga? | tarjima qilmoq |
Lesson notes
Kim bilan? Kim uchun? Three postpositions
A postposition is a word placed after the noun, like keyin and oldin. Here are three new ones, where English uses a preposition before the noun:
• bilan — “with” (with whom) and “by, with” (by what you travel, what you write with): opam bilan, avtobus bilan, qalam bilan
• uchun — “for”: onam uchun, ish uchun
• haqida — “about”: oilam haqida, Toshkent haqida
These three take no case: the word before them has no case ending (but keyin and oldin, remember, need -dan). Pronouns stay in the dictionary form too: u bilan “with him, with her”, biz uchun “for us”, ular haqida “about them”. With haqida, for now only u haqida and ular haqida: “about me”, “about you” are built differently, later.
The word birga means “together”: opam bilan birga.
An “or” question uses yoki (“or”) and the particle -mi on both words: Bugunmi yoki ertagami? — “Today or tomorrow?”
Waiting in line: navbat means “line”. You'll also hear ochered in conversation, but the course uses the literary word navbat.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “bilan doʻstim” → doʻstim bilan
• NOT “unga bilan” → u bilan
• NOT “doʻstimdan bilan” → doʻstim bilan