89. The relations which prepositions express may be of various kinds.
As in English, a certain number of prepositions primarily expressing
place may also express time-relations. Such prepositions are "antaux",
"cxirkaux", "de", "en", "gxis", "inter", "post", and "je" (whose use in
other than time-relations will be explained later):
Mi foriros cxirkaux junio, I shall depart about June.
De tiu horo mi estis via amiko, from that hour I was your friend.
Li ne parolis al mi de tiu semajno,
he did not speak to me since from) that week.
En la tuta monato ne negxis,
it did not snow in (at any time within) the entire month.
Mi dormis gxis malfrua horo, I slept until (up to) a late hour.
Gxis nun li ne vidis vin, until now he did not see you.
Inter marto kaj junio mi iros tien,
between March and June I shall go there.
Je malfrua horo li foriris, at a late hour he went away.
Mi iros tien je dimancxo, I shall go there on Sunday.
Je tiu horo li vokis min, at that hour he called me.
Sxi ne restis tie post julio, she did not stay there after July.
Post ne longe mi vokos vin,
soon (after not long) I shall call you.
90. When a definite date or point in time is expressed, "antaux" means
"before." When used with an expression of an "amount" of time, it is
to be translated by "ago" following the expression (not by "before"
preceding it):
Antaux dimancxo mi foriros, before Sunday I shall go away.
Mi vidis lin antaux tiu horo, I saw him before that hour.
Li skribos gxin antaux la nova jaro,
he will write it before New Year.
Antaux multaj jaroj mi trovis gxin, many years ago I found it.
Mi rompis gxin antaux longa tempo, I broke it a long time ago.
Antaux tre longe vi legis tiun libron,
you read that book very long ago.
Li venis antaux ne longe, he came recently (not long ago).
Antaux malmultaj jaroj li forkuris, a few years ago he escaped.
[Footnote: As already shown, "kun" expresses accompaniment, "per"
expresses instrumentality, "pro" expresses cause, "kontraux" expresses
opposition, "anstataux" expresses substitution, "sur", "apud", "sub",
etc., express place, "dum" expresses time, etc.]