Preposiciones/ prepositions

In Spanish there are 19 prepositions and several prepositional phrases. And they are used to express a relationship between two words. As it is in English, the use of prepositions is fairly arbitrary.

Prep.	Translations	Prep.	Translations
A	at, by, on, to	Hacia	toward, towards, to
Ante	before	Hasta	until
Bajo	under, below	Para	for, to
Cabe	beside, next to	Por	for
Con	with	Según	according to
Contra	against	Sin	without
De	of, about, from, to	So	on, under
Desde	from	Sobre	over, on
En	in , at, into, on, inside, over	Tras	after
Entre	between, among

USE OF PREPOSITION

Certain verbs in English require a preposition to follow the verb; however, in Spanish the preposition is NOT always required.

NOTE that the preposition a goes before an indirect object.

1. Buscar/ to look for

• Busquemos un lugar fresco./ Let's look for a cool place.

• Ella busca trabajo en Bariloche./ She looks for a job in Bariloche.

• Busquemos a Ana./ Let's look for Ana.

2. Escuchar/ to listen to

• La audiencia escucha la música./ The audience listens to the music.

• Los alumnos escuchan a la maestra./ The students listen to the teacher.

3. Esperar/ to wait for

• Estoy esperando el tren de las cinco./ I am waiting for the 5 o'clock train.

• Espero a Susana que viene en el tren./ I am waiting for Susana who is coming by the train.

• Te espero hasta las seis./ I'll wait for you until six.

4. Mirar/ to look at

• Miran las pinturas de Picasso./ They look at Picasso's paintings.

• Miran al futuro./ They look at the future.

5. Pagar/ to pay for

• Los subsidiarios de las compañías estadounidenses pagan los beneficios médicos./ American subsidiaries pay for medical benefits.

• Los subsidiarios de las compañías estadounidenses pagan por los beneficios médicos./ American subsidiaries pay for medical benefits.

6. Pedir/ to ask for

• Le pedí el número de teléfono./ I asked for her phone number.

USE OF PREPOSITION: General Rules.

A

Ante

Bajo

Cabe

Con

Contra

De

Desde

En

Entre

Hacia

Hasta

Para

Por

Según

Sin

So

Sobre

Tras

I. A / at, by, on, to

a. A is used with verbs that express direction or movement:

EXAMPLES

• El camión va a la estación./ The truck goes to the station.

• El camión llegó al destino./ The truck arrived at its destination.

b. A is used to indicate a specific time in which an action occurs; a is equivalent to at:

EXAMPLES

• El concierto empieza a las ocho./ The concert starts at eight o'clock.

• Los artistas llegaron a las seis./ The artists arrived at six o'clock.

c. A is used with the direct and indirect object:

EXAMPLES

• Visitamos al presidente de nuestra compañía./ We visited the president of our company.

• Le regalo a mi hermano las entradas del concierto./ I give away the concert tickets to my brother.

d. A is used in idiomatic expressions that indicate how something is made:

EXAMPLES

• El pulóver está hecho a mano./ The sweater is hand made.

• El pulóver fue tejido a máquina./ The sweater was machine woven.

e. A + quien is equivalent to whom:

EXAMPLES

• ¿A quién viste en el concierto?/ Whom did you see at the concert?

• Paula, a quien le vendí mi auto, se fue a París./ Paula, whom I sold my car to, left to Paris.

f. Estar + a indicates a distance between a point in reference to another one:

EXAMPLES

• Mar del Plata está a 400 kilómetros de Buenos Aires./ Mar del Plata is 400 kilometers away from Buenos Aires.

• Estoy a dos cuadradas del colegio./ I am two blocks away from school.

g. A is used after the verbs enseñar/ to teach, aprender/ to learn, comenzar, empezar/ to start; these verbs are followed by an infinitive:

EXAMPLES

• Quiero que me enseñes a hablar el español./ I want you to teach me how to speak Spanish.

• Victoria está aprendiendo a manejar./ Victoria is learning how to drive.

• Este año empezaremos a publicar más libros./ This year we'll start to publish more books.