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Prepositions

• Overview
• List of commonly used prepositions
• Uses
  • Preposition a
  • Preposition con
  • Preposition de
  • Preposition en
  • Preposition para
  • Preposition por

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.

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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.)

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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.
  
  • Veo a mis amigos. (I see my friends.)
  • Estamos buscando a Enrique. (We're looking for Enrique.)
  • Adoro a Madrid. (I adore Madrid.)
  • ¿Conoces a alguien que sepa hacerlo? (Do you know someone who knows how to do it?)
    
    Exceptions:
    
    1. If the person may not exist, such as in the following case, the personal a is not used. The only exceptions to this rule are in the example immediately preceding this paragraph with the indefinite pronoun alguien and also with the negative nadie.
    
    • Busco una persona que sepa hablar ruso. (I'm looking for someone who knows how to speak Russian.)
      

    2. If the person is the object of the verbs haber or tener, the a is omitted.
    

    • Hay dos muchachos en la piscina. (There are two boys in the pool.)
    • Tengo dos hermanas. (I have two sisters.)
      
• 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

• Although consistent with its usual relational functions, the preposition con alters its form when it contracts with mi, ti and sí to become conmigo, contigo and consigo, respectively. (See Reflexive objects of the preposition.)
• In addition to its usual functions, the preposition also follows certain verbs, sometimes with and sometimes without any apparent logic. Verbs common to this use are casarse con, contar con, dar con, and soñar con.
• Finally, con is often used with a noun to substitute many adverbs of manner.
   

  irónicamente --> con ironía (ironically)
  fuertemente --> con fuerza (strongly)
  abiertamente --> con abertura (openly)
  cuidadosamente --> con cuidado (carefully)

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.
  

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