Today we are going a bit back to the basics, and talk about Spanish Prepositions. Prepositions are words that relate a noun or pronouns to some other word in the sentence.

Prepositions are an essential building block of a proper sentence, and are used in every Spanish conversation. While they are relatively easy to learn, I think it is good practice to once in a while review to make sure that your understanding and memory of them are clear

For example:

Yo voy a la tienda. – I’m going to the store.

– I’m going the store. Ella estudia con George. – She studies with George.

– She studies George. Trabajo en la biblioteca. – I work in the library.

Now let’s look at one by one these prepositions:

USES OF THE PREPOSITIONS “a”

1) The preposition a is used to indicate destination or direction.

For example:

Vamos a la fiesta. – We’re going to the party.

– We’re going the party. Llegaremos temprano a la escuela . – We will arrive at school early.

. – We will arrive school early. El café está a la derecha. – The cafe is to the right.

Note:

a) The preposition “a” (to) combines with el (the) to form the contraction al (to the).

For example:

María va al mercado. – María goes to the market.

– María goes the market. El profesor habla al alumno. – The teacher speaks to the student.

b) The preposition “a” never combines with the other articles (la, los, las) to form a single word.

For example:

Rosa va a la tienda. – Rosa goes to the store.

– Rosa goes the store. El profesor habla a los estudiantes. – The teacher speaks to the students.

c) In some expressions, “a” plus the definite article is used where there’s no equivalent in English.

For example:

Juegan al béisbol. – They play baseball.

2) The preposition “a” is required before the direct object of a verb if the direct object is a person, a personalized group, a pet, or something personified.

For example:

Ana visit a a Peter. – Ana visits Peter.

– Ana visits Peter. El niño ve al hombre. – The boy sees the man.

– The boy sees the man. Pablo invita a sus amigos. – Pablo invites his friends.

– Pablo invites his friends. Lola saca al perro. – Lola takes out the dog.

BUT

Ana visita la escuela. – Ana visits the school.

– Ana visits the school. El niño ve la pelota.- The boy sees the ball.

3) The preposition “a” is required before the pronouns ¿quién?, ¿quiénes?, nadie and alguien, when they refer to a person.

For example:

No conoce a nadie. – He doesn’t know anyone.

– He doesn’t know anyone. Vio a alguien en la calle. – He saw someone in the street.

– He saw someone in the street. ¿ A quién defendemos? – Whom do we defend?

NOTE:

a. When used before a direct object, the preposition “a” (personal a) has no equivalent in English. When used before an indirect object, it is translate as “to”.

For example:

Veo a mi prima. – I see my cousin.

– I see my cousin. Hablo a mi prima. – I speak to my cousin.

b. The personal “a” is not ised after the verb tener (to have) .

For example:

Tiene una hermana bonita. – He has a pretty sister.

– He has a pretty sister. Tengo muchos amigos. – I have many friends.

USES OF THE PREPOSITIONS “de”

1) The preposition “de” corresponds to of, from, or about in English.

For example:

¿ De qué hablas? – What are you speaking about ?

– What are you speaking ? Hablo de la fiesta. – I’m speaking about the party.

– I’m speaking the party. Recibo cartas de Juan todo los días . – I receive letters from Juan every day.

. – I receive letters Juan every day. Sacan fotos de los niños. – They take photos of the children.

NOTE:

a. The preposition “de” (of, from) combines with el (the) to form “del” (of the, from the, about).

For example:

El Sr. Juárez es el presidente del país. – Mr. Juárez is the president of the country.

– Mr. Juárez is the president country. Ángela recibe dinero del jefe. – Ángela receives money from the boss.

b. The preposition “de” never combines with the other articles (la, los, las) to form a single word.

For example:

¿Recibes tú cartas de las muchachas? – Do you receive letters from the girls?

2) In Spanish, possession is expressed as follows: noun (thing possessed) followed by “de” plus noun (possessor). This is equivalent to the English possessive expressed with “of”. In Spanish, there is no apostrophe to show possession.

For example:

El libro de José. – The book of José. / José’s book.

– The book of José. / José’s book. La cámara de la chica. – The camera of the girl. / The girl’s camera.

– The camera of the girl. / The girl’s camera. Los lápices de los estudiantes. – The pencils of the students. / The student’s pencils.

3) ¿De quién?, ¿De quiénes? (Whose?) Are used to ask to whom something belongs.

For example:

¿ De quién son los lapiceros? – Whose (sing.) pens are they?

– (sing.) pens are they? ¿ De quiénes son las fotos? – To whom (pl.) do the photos belong?

4) A “de” phrase may also function as an adjective.

For example:

La clase de biología. – The biology class.

– The biology class. Un reloj de oro. – A gold watch.

5) “De” is also used together with other prepositions to indicate location.

For example:

El jardín está detrás de la casa. – The garden is behind the house.

– The garden is behind the house. Las flores están dentro del florero. – The flowers are in the vase.

USES OF THE PREPOSITION “en”

1) The preposition “en” corresponds to in, at, on or into in English.

For example:

Estoy en mi casa. – I am in my house.

– I am my house. Está en la escuela. – He’s at school.

2) The preposition “en” is used to express location (place).

For example:

La comida está en la bolsa. – The food is in the bag.

– The food is the bag. Mi libro está en la mesa. – My book is on the table.

3) Express general idea in time.

For example:

Ella vendrá en enero a visitarme. – She’s coming to visit in January.

– She’s coming to visit January. Estaré en casa en treinta minutos. – I’ll be home in thirty minutes.

4) Express way or method of doing something.

For example:

Mi mama hizo el pollo en el horno. – My mom did/cooked the chicken in the oven.

– My mom did/cooked the chicken the oven. La maestra escribió en ingles la tarea. – The teacher wrote the homework in English.

OTHER PREPOSITIONS

Sin – without

Con – with

Contra – against, facing, difficulty

Según – according to, depending on, (all) it depends

Trás – after, behind, in pursuit of, in search of, besides, in addition to

Desde – from

Hacia – towards

Entre – between

Que – that

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