Many languages combine verbs with prepositions to convey various meanings. For example, in English you can walk to town, walk on the road, or walk below the bridge.

Often, they combine in logical ways: if you know the meanings of ‘walk’ and ‘on’, you also know the meaning of ‘to walk on something’.

Sometimes, though, it’s not as easy. For example, even if you know the meanings of ‘work’ and ‘out’, you still won’t know what ‘working out’ is. You’ll simply have to memorize the phrase.

Qaqet has many such phrases. See if you can work out which Qaqet verbs combine with which prepositions to form which meanings: Click on a combination in the left-hand column and then guess its meaning by selecting from the right hand-column.

Conclusion

Qaqet, like English, has some combinations of verbs and prepositions whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of its parts. In the past, the resulting meanings usually made sense, but now they have to be memorized: they have become like words in their own right and, like words, they have to be put into the dictionary. This highlights the fact that Qaqet, like English or any other language, is constantly changing and evolving.