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.
