47 Prepositional Phrases Compound Flashcards
Prepositions are handy words for showing the relationship among the various words in a sentence. But with something like only two dozen prepositions available, you’re limited if you stick to simple prepositions to indicate the connection that a noun or pronoun might have with another word.
Fortunately, both Spanish and English have a wide range of prepositional phrases that function in much the same way as simple prepositions.
(Although the term “prepositional phrase” is used here, some grammarians prefer the term “compound preposition.”) An example can be seen in a sentence such as Roberto fue al mercado en lugar de Pablo (“Robert went to the market instead of Paul”). Although en lugar de is made up of three words, it functions much the same as one word and has a distinct prepositional meaning as a phrase.
In other words, like single-word prepositions, prepositional phrases show the connection between the noun (or pronoun) that follows and other words in the sentence. (Although you could probably figure out what en lugar de means by translating the individual words, that isn’t true of all prepositional phrases.)
underneath
abajo de
aboard
a bordo de
in exchange or trade for
a cambio de
in charge of
a cargo de
because of
a causa de
about, concerning
acerca de
besides,
in addition to,
as well as
además de
inside
adentro de
at the disposal of
a disposición de
with the exception of, except for
a excepción de
due to the lack of,
in the absence of
a falta de
with the goal or intent of,
in order to
a fin de
outside
afuera de
by means of
a fuerza de
contrary to
al contrario de
in the style of, in the manner of
al estilo de
at the forefront of
al frente de
next to
al lado de
around
alrededor de
before (in time, not location)
antes de
in spite of
a pesar de
roughly equivalent to the English suffix “-proof”
a prueba de
