11. Problematic Prepositions IIb Flashcards
‘Salté por la valla’ means:
I jumped over where the fence was situated (not somewhere else)
The storm was moving over England. (sobre)
La tormenta se movía sobre Inglaterra.
The plane flew over the alps. (sobre)
El avión voló sobre los alps.
‘over’ and ‘across’ can be translated by ___ for movements on or above the surface of something. However, ___ doesn’t necesarily mean movement from one side to another.
sobre
Combinations of verbs and movements of ‘up are usually translated as subir. But it is also possible to use a verb of movement + noun + arriba.
‘I went/climbed up the mountain’ (2 ways)
Subí la montaña. (the person reached the top for sure)
Fui montaña arriba. (it is not certain whether the person reached the top; fui indicates direction)
subir/ verb/noun/arriba refers to completed actions?
subir
‘I went up (and reached) the top of the mountain.’ (alternative to subir, use preposition hasta- 2 ways)
Fui hasta lo alto de la montaña.
Fui hasta la parte superior de la montaña.
‘the top of’ (2 ways)
lo alto de
la parte superior de
‘Subir’ doesn’t say how an action takes place. Thus, you need an adverbial expression or gerund.
‘I drove up the street’
Subí la calle en carro.
‘Subir’ doesn’t say how an action takes place. Thus, you need an adverbial expression or gerund.
‘They swam up the river’
Subieron el río nadando.
Alternative to ‘Subí a la calle en carro’
Verb (as in english) + noun + arriba
Maneje/conduje calle arriba.
Alternative to ‘subieron el rio nadando’
Verb (as in english) + noun + arriba
Nadaron río arriba.
When subir acts like a transitive verb (i.e. followed by a direct object, the weird verb+noun+arriba construction can’t be used).
I took the books up to my room.
Subí ‘los libros’ a mi habitación. ‘los libros are the direct object’
abajo (down) can follow nouns:
‘down the street’
calle abajo
abajo (down) can follow nouns:
‘down the river’
río abjao
The combination of verbs of movement (venir/caminar/ir) with abajo can become ‘bajar’
They went down the street.
Bajaron la calle.
They went down the street. (ir)
Fueron calle abajo.
They walked down the street. (caminar)
Caminaron calle abajo.
Which phrase indicates whether the destination was reached?
- Bajaron la calle.
- Fueron calle abajo.
- Bajaron la calle
same issue as ‘subir/arriba’
‘the bottom of’
el fondo de
la parte inferior de
I went down (and reached) the bottom of the street. (without bajar)
Fui hasta/a el fondo de la calle.
Fui hasta/a la parte inferior de la calle.
Bajar doesn’t say ‘how’ an action is down.
‘I drove down the hill’ (two ways: prep+noun, gerund)
Bajé la colina en carro.
Bajé la colina manejando.
Even if a street doesn’t have different levels, english speakers still say ‘down the street’: best translation
por la calle
down (the street)
por (la calle)- por is a more general word for location than bajar.
When bajar is followed by a direct object, it means to take/get/let down.
I took the chairs down from my room.
Bajé las sillas de mi habitación. (las sillas-direct object, bajar is a transitive verb in this case.
a transitive verb is one that needs a ____ to complete its thought.
an intransitive verb is one that does not need a ____ to complete its thought.
direct object
When level is meant, above/over is translated as sobre/por encima de. With figures and words that can be represented by figures (level, height, etc), sobre is preferred.
The water came up above/over our knees.
The water came up over our knees.
El agua nos llegaba sobre/por encima de las rodillas.
They put a plastic bag over the body.
Pusieron una bolsa de plástica por encima del cuerpo. (I think sobre can be used as well)
The temperature is ten degrees above zero.
La temperatura es de diez grados sobre cero. (10 is a figure so sobre is prefered to por encima de)
The town is at 1000 meters above sea level.
El pueblo está a mil metros sobre el nivel del mar. (1000 is a figure so sobre is prefered to por encima de)
The helicóptero is flying over/above the town.
El helicóptero está volando sobre/por encima de la ciudad.
With figures and words that can be represented by figures (level, height, etc), sobre or por encima de is preferred?
sobre
Can por in ‘por encima de’ often be left out?
yes. it is often redundant.
The lamp is over/above our heads.
La lámpara está sobre nuestras cabezas.
La lámpara está encima de nuestras cabezas. (por is not necessary)
There were strange clouds above the city.
Había extrañas nubes sobre la ciudad.
Había extrañas nubes encima de la ciudad.
The plates are on the table.
Los plateros están sobre/encima de la mesa. (encima de can be replaced by en lo alto de)
The blankets are on top of the table.
Las mantas están sobre/encima del armario. (encima de can be replaced by en lo alto de)
I have put them on top of the wardrobe. (3 options)
Los he puesto en lo alto del armario.
Los he puesto sobre el armario.
Los he puesto encima del armario.
When no place of reference is mentioned, the preposition de is left out (i.e. the prepositional function is changed to an adverbial funcion)
I put them on top (of it)
Los puse encima.
Los puse en lo alto.
I left it on top (of it).
Lo dejé encima.
Lo dejé en lo alto.
Prepositions: ‘over’ and ‘above’ translate as ____ and ____ when they mean ‘at the other side of’.
al otro lado de
en la otro parte de
There is a town over the hills.
‘over’ the hills means ‘at the other side’ in this case.
Hay un pueblo al otro lado de las colinas.
Hay un pueblo en la otra parte de las colinas.
‘all over’
por todo
‘all over the world’
por todo el mundo
The preposition over can be used in english for food/meals/drink.
We had a nice chat over lunch.
Tuvimos un agradable charla durante/en almuerzo.
‘Over’ is translated as en + infinitive in sentences of this type:
He doesn’t take long over lunch.
Él no tarda mucho en almorzar.
Over can mean higher than: use (por) encima de for situations using situation/location.
It came up over our knees.
Nos llegaba por encima de las rodillas. (sobre also works)
It came up over our knees. (más arriba de)
Nos llegaba más arriba de las rodillas.
Arriba (adverb) is used to refer to location on a higher floor or to refer to a place situated somewhere else at a higher level.
‘They live above us.’
Viven arriba. (arriba isn’t used with ‘de+noun/pronoun’ except with más arriba de)
They live above us. (with preposition)
Viven encima de nosotros.
is ‘sobre de’ as a preposition ever allowed?
no, but encima de is
She is over him. (i.e. she has a higher rank)
Ella está por encima de él.
To say ‘over’ as in a ‘bridge over a river’, the prepositions ___ and __ are used.
‘a bridge over the Thames’
en; sobre
un puente sobre/en el Támesis.
‘upstream’
corriente arriba
‘up the river’
río arriba
‘below’ translates as ___ when it refers to level and figures/numbers connected to level.
‘The temperature now is 10 degrees below zero’
La temperatura ahora es de diez grados bajo cero.
Partes of Holland are below sea level.
Partes de Holandesa están bajo el nivel del mar.
Although in other contexts speakers prefer ‘debajo de’ for below, although bajo is equally correct, except with pronouns (i.e. bajo él is bad).
They live below us.
Viven debajo de nosotros. (remember bajo nosotros can’t be used)
Also, Viven abajo (without mentioning nosotros)
They live below us (farther down on a steep street).
Viven más abajo de nosotros.
When position/location is meant, ‘up’ translates as ____, ____, or ____.
‘They were up the hill.’
en lo alto de, en la parte superior de, en la parte de arriba de
Estaban en lo alto de la colina.
Estaban en la parte superior de la colina.
Estaban en la parte de arriba de la colina.
When position/location is meant, ‘down’ translates to ‘en fondo de’, ‘al fondo de,’ ‘en lo hondo de’, ‘en la parte de abajo de’, ‘en la parte inferior de’
‘They are down the hill’ (al fondo de)
Están al fondo de la colina.
The cat is under the table.
El gato está debajo de la mesa. (bajo can also be used)
She put the letter under the pillow.
Ella puso la carta debajo de la almohada. (bajo can also be used)
Very often ‘por debajo de’ is used, especially when verbs of movement are used.
‘They were swimming underwater’
Estaban nadando por debajo del agua. (por can usually be omitted) (once again, bajo can also be used)
When ‘below’ and ‘under’ refer to seniority, speakers usually prefer ‘por debajo de’.
‘They are under me.’
Ellos están por debajo de mí.
The noun responsabilidad is used with bajo.
‘I’ll do it and take the responsibility’
Lo haré bajo mi responsabilidad.
‘Beneath’ usually translates as ‘(por) debajo de’, very often with a possessive adjective + nivel/clase (or simillar noun)
‘She married beneath her station.’
Ella se casó por debajo de su nivel/clase.
The thing about your old man, …
Lo de tu viejo …
