N.B.—With some verbs al is often used with the complement in the nominative, when in English we omit the preposition, as:—Li konsilis al mi fari tion = He advised me to do that. Ordonu al li (or, Ordonu lin), ke li ne faru tion = Order him not to do that.
Al is also sometimes used with personal pronouns in a possessive sense, as:—Li lavis al si la manojn, or, Li lavis siajn manojn = He washed his hands (see par. [134]).
As a prefix, al signifies "to," "towards," as:—Alveni = To come to, arrive. Alpreni = To take to, adopt. Alpaŝi = To step towards, approach.
259 (2). Anstataŭ = Instead of.
One of the prepositions that may be used before the Infinitive (see remarks on Infinitive, pars. [177], [179]).
Substitution = Instead of, for, in place of, as a substitute for, in room of.
Examples.—Anstataŭ li, oni sendis lian fraton = Instead of him, they sent his brother. Anstataŭ kafo li donis al mi teon = Instead of coffee he gave me tea. Anstataŭ eliri, li restis en la domo = Instead of going out, he remained in the house. Anstataŭ unu el la oficistoj = In place of one of the officials.
Although, in the first two examples given in the preceding paragraph, anstataŭ, being a preposition, is followed by the nominative, nevertheless, the accusative is often used in such cases when its use helps to remove ambiguity; the accusative being due to the omission of a verb understood. Compare: Petro batis Paŭlon anstataŭ Vilhelmo = Peter beat Paul instead of William doing so, with Petro batis Paŭlon anstataŭ (bati) Vilhelmon, Peter beat Paul instead of (beating) William.
As a root-word, Anstataŭi = To replace (intrans.). Anstataŭigi = To replace (trans.), to substitute. Anstataŭulo = A proxy (person instead of).
259 (3). Antaŭ = Before, in front of.