Spanish Lessons

Preposition / Preposición

What is a preposition?

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Prepositions – Prepositions are small words that connect two elements in a sentence or phrase. Usually they are invariable words. See below the prepositions in Spanish.

Used to indicate motion.

Examples:

• Llegamos a la fiesta - We arrived at the party.
• Él fue al cine - He went to the movie.

Observe that instead of using ‘a el cine’ the contraction ‘al’ was used.

Note:

Al     = preposition ‘a’ + masculine definite article ‘el’

Del     = preposition ‘de’ + masculine definite article ‘el’

The preposition ‘a’ also connects a verb to the following infinitive.

•  Voy a estudiar. - I’m going to study.
• Él fue a vivir en otra ciudad. - He went living in another city.

Antes de means before.

Examples:

• Necesitamos lavar las manos antes de comer. - We need to wash the hands before eating.
• Antes de viajar voy a cortar el pelo. - Before traveling I’m going to have a hair cut.

Examples:

• La casa está ante tus ojos.  – The house is before your eyes

Note: The preposition ‘ante’ doesn’t come before verbs (Although the preposition ‘antes de’ may come before verbs).  

 Examples:

·         No hay nada que puedo hacer bajo las circunstancias. – There is nothing I can do under the circumstances.

·         Mañana hará 5 grados bajo cero. - Tomorrow it will be 5 degrees below zero.

Examples:

• Fui a la fiesta con mi hermano. - I went to the party with my brother

 Examples:

• No lo hice nada contra ti. –  I didn’t do anything  against  you.

Examples:

• Soy de Argentina. - I’m from Argentina.
• La casa de Pedro es azul. - Pedro’s house is blue.

Examples:

• No encuentro mis amigos desde 2000. - I haven’t met my friends since 2000.

Trabajo desde mi casa. -  I work from home.

Examples:

• Después del juego iremos cenar. -  After the game we’re going to have dinner.
• Después de comer voy a leer un libro. -  After eating I’m going to read a book.

Examples:

• Era lo mejor estudiante entre sus amigos. - He was the best student among his friends.
• La casa azul está entre la casa roja y la casa amarillha. – The blue house is between the red house and the yellow house.

Examples:

·         Voy a completar la tarea hasta el fin del día. - I’m going to complete the homework until the end of the day.

See below some expression with ‘Hasta”

Examples:

• Mi prima estudia cada día para obtener buenas notas. - My cousin studies each day in order to obtain good grades.
• Este regalo es para ti.  – This gift is for you.

Examples:

• El libro “Don Quijote” fue escrito por Miguel De Cervantes. - The book “Don Quijote” was written by Miguel De Cervantes.
• Él hace todo por mí. - He does everything for me.
• Ella salió por la ventana. - She came out through the window.

As you can see in Spanish the prepositions "por" and "para" have a variety of meanings, but sometimes it can be hard to learn how to properly use those prepositions because both of them can be translated to “for”. Because of that we prepared a separate lesson where you can learn more about those preposition in a case by case basis.

For more information, click here

Examples:

• Prefiero té sin azúcar -  I prefer tea without sugar.

Examples:

• Ella habló mucho sobre ti. - She talked a lot about you.

Note:  ‘Sobre’ also means ‘on’. See the examples below:

• El libro está sobre la mesa. – The book is on the tabe.
• El gato está sobre el sofá – The cat is on the coach.

Examples: 

·          Según el médico, la enfermidad no es grave. – According to the doctor, the disease is not serious.