Prepositions
Overview
Prepositions are relational words such as to, at, from,
above, around, toward, for, after, before, etc. They combine
with nouns or pronouns to make a phrase that refers to or modifies
another word in the sentence. The prepositional phrase itself
functions either as an adjective or an adverb.
List of
commonly used prepositions
- a — to, at
- acerca de — about
- antes de — before
- bajo — beneath
- cerca de — near
- con — with
- contra — against
- de — of, from
- debajo de — under, beneath
- delante de — in front of
- dentro de — within
- después de — after
- desde — from, since
- durante — during
- en — in, on
- en cima de — on top of
- en frente de — in front of
- entre — among, between
- fuera de — outside of
- hacia — toward
- lejos de — far from
- menos — except
- para — for, toward
- por — for, by, through
- sin — without
- sobre –about, above
Examples:
- Vamos a la playa. (Let's go to the
beach.)
- Estamos en Barcelona. (We are in
Barcelona.)
- Éste es para ti. (This one is for
you.)
- Lo hice fuera de la casa. (I did it outside of
the house.)
Uses
In additional to their usual relational uses, certain
prepositions demand special treatment and study of their less
common uses. These include the prepositions a, con, de, en, para, and por.
The preposition
a
- The preposition a contracts with the definite article
el.
- Anduvimos al centro. (We walked
downtown.)
- Volamos al Perú. (We flew to
Peru.)
- The "personal
a"
The preposition a has number of important uses, perhaps the
most unexpected one being what is called the "personal a."
This use, which is common in Spanish, occurs when the direct object
of a verb is a person or some other personified entity. In this
case the preposition has no translated value in English.
- With verbs of motion
The most frequent use of this preposition is with verbs of motion.
In this construction its usual English translation is either "to"
or "at."
- Vamos a la playa todos los días. (We go
to the beach every day.)
- La fiesta es a las dos. (The party is at two
o'clock.)
- Llegamos a la estación a tiempo. (We
arrived at the station on time.)
- Corrieron a
nosotros.* (They ran to us.)
*Note the use of the object of
the preposition, not the indirect object pronoun, with a verb of
motion.
- With indirect objects
The preposition a also translates the word "to" when it
modifies an indirect object pronoun.
- Le dimos a Alberto las respuestas. (We gave
Alberto the answers.)
- Les dije a mis padres la verdad. (I told my
parents the truth.)
- The preposition a follows certain verbs such as ir,
venir, aprender, comenzar, empezar, aprender, and
invitar when they precede infinitives. Under these
circumstances this preposition has no translated value in
English.
- Iba a cortar la hierba. (I was going to cut
the grass.)
- Vine a estudiar. (I came to study.)
- Aprendieron a volar en seis meses. (They
learned to fly in six months.)
- Comencé a votar quando cumplí dieciocho
años. (I began voting when I turned
eighteen.)
- With the infinitive, to express "upon (doing something)"
- Al arrancar el motor oí algo raro.
(Upon starting the engine I heard something odd.)
- Me puse nervioso al comenzar a hablar. [I
became nervous as I began (upon beginning to) talk.]
The preposition
con
The preposition
de
- Although consistent with its usual relational functions, the
preposition de alters its form when it contracts with the
masculine singular definite article el, but not the
subject pronoun él. That is de + el =
del, but de + él = de él,
revealing no contraction.
- The preposition de is frequently used to reflect
possession, materials, and origins.
- El reloj es de Pepe (It's Pepe's
watch).
- El coche es de plástico. (The car is
made of plastic.)
- Ellas son de Venezuela. (They are from
Venezuela.)
- Finally, the preposition de forms the second component
of a number of...
- prepositions such as antes de, después de,
and acerca de,
- verbs such as acabar de (to have just),
acordarse de (to remember), constar de (to
comprise), tratar de (to try to), and darse
cuenta de (to realize),
- and other expressions such as al cabo de, a cambio
de, a fines de, etc.
The preposition
en
In addition to its usual uses to translate the English words
"in" and "at," the preposition en is often used in
conjunction with verbs such as confiar en, consistir en, entrar
en,*insistir en, interesarse en, and pensar
en.**
* In Latin America entrar + an object is
entrar a.
** Note that pensar en
means "to think about," while pensar de means "to
have an opinion of."
The preposition
para
In a very simplified way, the preposition para, often
meaning "for" or "in order to" in English, is used to signify
something that is projected toward the future, whether that is a
goal, destination, or purpose. It is also used for comparative
purposes.
- Respiramos para vivir. (We breathe in order to
live.)
- Salimos para México. (We left for
Mexico.)
- Tienen que volver para las siete. (You have to
return by seven o'clock.)
- Hablas bien el ruso para un español.
(For a Spaniard, you speak Russian well.)
- Trae una taza para café.* [Bring a
coffee cup (a cup for coffee).]
*Una taza para café
means "a coffee cup," while una taza de café
means "a cup of coffee."
It is sometimes difficult to distinguish whether to use
por or para in a sentence. Often the contexts are
quite similar. In those cases it is helpful to remember a pair of
simple contrasting uses such as the following:
- Lo hice para ti. (I made it for you.) In
this case the recipient is the goal or purpose of the item. Perhaps
the speaker crafted a birthday present for the recipient.
- Lo hice por ti. (I did it for you.) In
this case the speaker did something on behalf of the recipient.
Perhaps the speaker worked a shift for the recipient.
The preposition
por
Por has many translations in English and is used in many
different contexts, the most frequent of which are to express the
following:
- "By" or "by means of"
- Mandé la carta por correo aéreo.
(I sent the letter by air mail.)
- "Through" or "along"
- Condujimos por la carretera. (We drove along
the road.)
- "Per"
- Pagué cien pesos por kilo. (I paid one
hundred pesos per kilo.)
- "In exchange for" or "on behalf of"
- No me dieron nada por mi trabajo. (They gave
me nothing for my work.)
- Trabajo por mi amigo.* [(I'm working for (on
behalf of) my friend.]
* Compare this with Trabajo
para mi amigo, which means "I am working for my friend,"
in the sense that "my friend" is the speaker's boss. In this case,
destination, purpose, and goal become the focus of the
sentence.
- Duration or during
- Estudié allí por dos años.
(I studied there for two years.)
- Siempre almuerzo por la tarde. (I always have
lunch in the afternoon.)
- Motive
- Fuimos por pan y vino. (We went for bread and
wine.)
- Los ayudó por compasión. (He
helped them out of compassion.)
- Set expressions
- ¡Por Dios! (For Heaven's sake!)
- por favor (please)
- por ejemplo (for example)
- por fin (finally)
- por lo menos (at least)
- por si acaso (just in case)
- ¡por supuesto! (of
course!)
It is sometimes difficult to distinguish whether to use
por or para in a sentence. Often the contexts are
quite similar. In those cases it is helpful to remember a pair of
simple contrasting uses such as the following:
- Lo hice para ti. (I made it for you.) In
this case the recipient is the goal or purpose of the item. Perhaps
the speaker crafted a birthday present for the recipient.
- Lo hice por ti. (I did it for you.) In
this case the speaker did something on behalf of the recipient.
Perhaps the speaker worked a shift for the recipient.