Prepositions are the little words that are placed in front of a noun, for example: in a tree, about a tree, of a tree, etc. Prepositions indicate a relationship between that noun and a verb (talking about a tree), an adjective (dirty because of a tree), or another noun (a cat in a tree). Every Lithuanian preposition makes the noun change its case. For example: dėl medžio (because of a tree), į medį (to a tree), po medžiu (under a tree). We're going to group prepositions by what case they change nouns to.

Prepositions of genitive case

There are quite a lot of prepositions in Lithuanian, but we're going to overview only the ones that you're most likely to encounter.

anot, pasak according to
ant on
arti, greta, netoli, prie, šalia near, nearby, by, close to
be without
dėka thanks to (this preposition goes after the noun)
dėl because of
iki to, till (used both for expressing time and space)
iš from, out of (There are some important expressions with iš: 'iš baimės' (for fear), 'iš anksto' (beforehand) 'iš arti' (at close range), etc.)
lig(i) to, till (used both for expressing time and space)
link towards (this preposition often goes after the noun)
nuo from, off
po under
tarp between, among
už behind
viduj in, inside, within (this preposition goes after the noun)
vidury in the middle of (this preposition goes after the noun)
vietoj instead of
virš above, over

Anot prezidento, mūsų šalis klesti. According to the president, our country flourishes.
Tai, pasak jo, padarė šunys. That, according to him, was done by the dogs.
Savo mėgstamiausią knygą padėjau ant stalo. I put my favourite book on the table.
Rusija yra arti Lietuvos. Russia is near Lithuania.
Mūsų kaimas stovi greta Kauno. Our village stands nearby Kaunas.
Kino teatras yra netoli mano namų. The cinema theatre is not far from our home.
Aš sėdžiu prie kompiuterio. I am sitting by the computer.
Jis sėdi šalia manęs. He sits beside me.
Ką tu be manęs darytum? What would you do without me?
Mes pamatėme tą filmą tiktai Mariaus dėka. We saw that film only thanks to Marius.
Negaliu tau to pasakyti dėl kelių priežasčių. I can't say that to you because of several reasons.
Šventėme iki ryto. We celebrated till morning.
Iš Latvijos grįšim rytoj ryte. We will return from Latvia tomorrow morning.
Nuvežkite mane ligi to namo. Drive me to that house.
Ar šis lėktuvas skrenda Afrikos link? Does this plane fly towards Africa?
Linkėjimai nuo Mildos. Best wishes from Milda.
Turime įvairių ginklų nuo peilių iki šautuvų. We have various weapons (ranging) from knives to shotguns.
Ar grįšime po savaitės? Are we going to be back after a week?
Elektrėnai yra tarp Vilniaus ir Kauno. Elektrėnai is between Vilnius and Kaunas.
Jūsų berniukas slepiasi už garažo. Your boy is hiding behind the garage.
Šios dėžutės viduj rasite katinėlį. You will find a little kitty inside this little box.
Ar tu taip pat girdėjai šūksnius miško vidury? Have you also heard the shouts in the middle of the forest?
Vietoj manęs jie pasirinko tave. They chose you instead of me.
Vietoj jūsų aš ten neičiau. If I were you, I wouldn't go there.
Virš Lietuvos skraidydavo rusų bei vokiečių lėktuvai. Russian and German planes used to fly above Lithuania.

Prepositions of accusative case

apie about, around, approximately
aplink around
į to, into
pagal by, agreeably to, according to, depending on
palei by, along
pas at, to (Pas is used when indicating the place that the subject is at or is heading towards.)
paskui (to follow) after, behind
per through, during, over, because of (Note that this preposition is one of the main ways to express time in Lithuanian (during). What is more, it is used to express blame. See examples below.)
po each
prieš before, ago, in front of, against
priešais in front of
pro past, through
už for

Mes mėgstame kalbėtis apie maistą. We like talking about food.
Kažkokie įtartini vyrai vaikšto apie mano namą. Some suspicious men are walking around my house.
Tu man skolingas apie keturis litus. You owe me approximately four litas.
Aplink mano namą vis dar vaikšto tie įtartini vyrai. Those suspicious men are still walking around my house.
Viskas čia padaryta pagal įstatymą. Everything here is done by law.
Temperatūra kinta pagal sezonus. The temperature varies depending on the season.
Šis takas eina palei upę. This path goes by the river.
Atvažiuokite pas mane į Kauną. Come to me to Kaunas.
Einu pas Eimantą. I'm going at Eimantas' place.
Justės nėra - išėjo pas gydytoją. Justė is not here - she went to the doctor.
Visi kiemo šunys seka paskui mane. All the dogs of the yard are following after me.
Per mišką bėga daug šunų. Lots of dogs are running through the forest.
Šis rašytojas savo romaną parašė per šešis mėnesius. This writer wrote his novel during six months.
Šis tiltas eina per upę. This bridge goes over the river.
Avarija įvyko per tave! The accident happened because of you! (blame)
Gavome po du obuolius. We got two apples each.
Prieš tris savaites Lietuvoje vyko olimpinės žaidynės. Three weeks ago the Olympics took place in Lithuania.
Prieš jus stovi Kauno pilis. In front of you stands the castle of Kaunas.
Kaip balsuosi: už ar prieš prezidentą Adamkų? How will you vote: for or against president Adamkus?
Ar žinote, kokia priešais jus pilis? Do you know what castle is in front of you?
Pro mano namą važiuoja begalės automobilių. Lots of cars go past my house.
Į nykštuką žiūriu pro mikroskopą. I'm looking through a microscope to an elf.
Aš tave užmušiu už tai, ką man padarei! I am going to kill you for what you have done to me!

Prepositions of instrumental case

po under
su with
ties along(side), by

Po stalu guli katė. Under the table lies a cat.
Einame į kiną su Laimiu. We're going to the cinema with Laimis.
Autobusas sustojo ties vartais. The bus stopped alongside the gate.

As you can see, prepositions modify nouns into only these three cases.

These were the basics of Lithuanian prepositions. Go back for some more grammar.