Prepositions Flashcards
to
* used to connect ir to an infinitive
(I have to call my mom
a
Tengo que llamar a mi mamá.
before, in the face of (used in formal speech)
The defendant appeared before a judge.
ante
El acusado fue presentado ante un juez.
under, underneath
The dog is under the table.
bajo
El perro está bajo la mesa.
under the rule of a political figure
Under Kim Jong-un, North Korea has had many problems
bajo
Bajo Kim Jong-un, Corea del Norte ha tenido muchos problemas.
close to, next to
The house was next to the forest.
cabe
La casa estaba cabe el bosque.
*Rarely used in modern Spanish but can still be found in literature
with (accompaniment)
I’m going to the party with my friends.
con
Voy a la fiesta con mis amigos.
with (to emphasize importance of something)
With everything that’s happened in my life, I remain an optimist
con
Con todo lo que ha pasado en mi vida, me mantengo optimista.
against (opposed to)
I don’t have anything against him.
contra
No tengo nada contra él.
against (physical location)
The table is against the wall.
contra
La mesa está contra la pared.
from (indicating origin)
My grandmother is from Canada.
de
Mi abuela es de Canadá.
from (indicating cause)
She was screaming from sadness.
de
Ella estaba gritando de tristeza.
of (indicating composition)
The plate is made of plastic.
de
El plato está hecho de plástico.
of (indicating ownership)
This book is my sister’s
de
Este libro es de mi hermana.
about
He can talk about many topics.
de
Él puede hablar de muchos temas.
since
desde
from
desde
during
Remember, no talking during the movie.
durante
Recuerde, no hable durante la película.
in (physical location)
The cherries are in the fridge.
en
Las cerezas están en la nevera.
in (indicating manner)
My dad speaks in a loud voice.
en
Mi padre habla en voz alta.
into
He put the letter into the mailbox.
en
Puso la carta en el buzón.
by (indicating means)
I go to the library by car.
en
Voy a la biblioteca en coche.
at (physical location)
I’m at work.
en
Estoy en el trabajo.
between
The door is between the windows.
entre
La puerta está entre las ventanas.
among
I found my sister among the crowd.
entre
Encontré a mi hermana entre la multitud.
towards
They ran towards the building’s exit.
hacia
Ellos corrieron hacia la salida del edificio.
about, around (approximate time)
I’m going to arrive around two in the afternoon.
hacia
Voy a llegar hacia las dos de la tarde.
up to
This elevator has capacity for up to 10 people.
hasta
Este ascensor tiene capacidad para hasta 10 personas.
until
They’re going to stay with us until tomorrow
hasta
Ellos se van a quedar con nosotros hasta mañana.
down to
The temperature went down to 10 degrees.
hasta
La temperatura bajó hasta los 10 grados.
through, by means of
We’ll hold the meeting through a video call.
mediante
Realizaremos la reunión mediante una videollamada.
for
I bought him a very nice gift for Christmas.
para
Le compré un regalo muy bonito para Navidad.
to, in order to
In order to get to my house, you have to go up a big hill.
para
Para llegar a mi casa hay que subir una gran colina.
for
Thank you so much for all your help.
por
Muchas gracias por toda tu ayuda.
by
To go to the gym, you have to pass by the pharmacy.
por
Para ir al gimnasio, tienes que pasar por la farmacia.
because of
I didn’t go to work because of the flu.
por
No fui a trabajar por la gripe.
through
They passed through the hallway.
por
Ellos pasaron por el pasillo.
per
They’re 15 dollars per pound.
por
Son quince dólares por libra
in (time period)
(I study in the morning.
por
Estudio por la mañana.
according to
According to her mother, the store closes at 7:00.
Según
Según su madre, la tienda cierra a las siete.
depending on
Depending on the weather, we can go to the beach.
Según
Según el tiempo, podemos ir a la playa.
without
Now, Elena can do her homework without her parents’ help.
sin
Ahora, Elena puede hacer su tarea sin la ayuda de sus padres.
under
*You’ll likely only see so in literary contexts, or in expressions like so pretexto de (under the pretext/guise of) and so pena de (under the threat of).
Under the pretext of working late, she planned a surprise party for her boyfriend.
so
So pretexto de trabajar hasta tarde, planeó una fiesta sorpresa para su novio.
on
Please don’t put your dirty clothes on the table.
sobre
Por favor, no pongas tu ropa sucia sobre la mesa.
about
I’m looking for a book about wild animals.
sobre
Busco un libro sobre animales salvajes.
over
The plane flew over the ocean.
sobre
El avión voló sobre el océano.
after
Month after month, she feels increasingly calmer.
tras
Mes tras mes, ella se siente cada vez más tranquila.
versus, against
This game is my sister’s team versus my best friend’s team… I don’t know who to root for!
Este juego es el equipo de mi hermana versus el equipo de mi mejor amiga… ¡No sé a quién apoyar!
through, by way of
I traveled to Costa Rica by way of the United States.
vía
Viajé a Costa Rica vía los Estados Unidos.
by, via
The boss will send you the schedule by email.
vía
La jefa le enviará el horario vía correo electrónico.
despite
My brother wants to go skydiving despite his fear of heights.
a pesar de
Mi hermano quiere hacer paracaidismo a pesar de su miedo a las alturas.
through
We communicated through text messages while he was on a trip.
a través de
Nos comunicamos a través de mensajes de texto mientras él estaba de viaj
beside, next to
I really like the restaurant that’s next to the beach.
al lado de
Me gusta mucho el restaurante que está al lado de la playa.
besides, in addition to
Besides playing piano, what do you like to do?
Además de
Además de tocar el piano, ¿qué te gusta hacer?
around (physical location)
There are flowers around the church.
alrededor de
Hay flores alrededor de la iglesia.
around (giving an approximation)
In the school, there are around 1500 students
alrededor de
En la escuela, hay alrededor de 1500 estudiantes.
under, underneath
The cat was sitting underneath the chair.
debajo de
El gato estaba sentando debajo de la silla
close to, near
The hotel is close to many restaurants and shops.
cerca de
El hotel está cerca de muchos restaurantes y tiendas.
in front of
Just stay in front of the other runners and you’ll be fine.
delante de
Solo mantente por delante de los otros corredores y estarás bien.
within
The company will get back to us within a week.
dentro de
La empresa se comunicará con nosotros dentro de una semana.
inside
There are many buses inside the city limits.
dentro de
Hay muchos autobuses dentro de los límites de la ciudad..
behind
She walked behind her aunt.
detrás de
Ella caminó detrás de su tía.
as for, regarding
Regarding your questions I’ll answer them at the end of the presentation
En cuanto a tus preguntas, las responderé al final de la presentación.
instead of
Could you make it with honey instead of sugar?
en lugar de
¿Podrías hacerlo con miel en lugar de azúcar?
instead of
I prefer tea instead of coffee in the afternoon.
en vez de
Prefiero té en vez de café por la tarde.
on top of
Your hat is on top of the bed.
encima de
Tu sombrero está encima de la cama.
in front of
There is a McDonald’s in front of my school.
frente a
Hay un McDonald’s frente a mi escuela.
outside of
The dog waited outside of the hospital.
fuera de
El perro esperó fuera del hospital.
next to, by
Is their house next to the bus stop?
junto a
¿Está su casa junto a la parada de autobús?
alongside
Durante la formación, trabajará junto a profesionales cualificados.
junto a
During the training, you will work alongside qualified professionals.
far from
The supermarket is far from my house.
lejos de
El supermercado está lejos de mi casa
to indicate being in a place
I’m at home
Use en to indicate being in a place:
Estoy en casa
to indicate movement towards a place
(I’m going to the store
Use a to indicate movement towards a place
Voy a la tienda
for a more specific direction
He walks towards the park
Use hacia for a more specific direction
Camina hacia el parque
for time periods, months, and years
I study a lot in the afternoon
Use en for time periods, months, and years
Estudio mucho en la tarde.
for specific times
See you at 5
Use a for specific times
Nos vemos a las 5
Use con to express accompaniment
Salgo con mis amigos
to express lack or absence
I traveled without luggage
Use sin to express lack or absence
Viajé sin equipaje
to indicate possession
Juan’s book
Use de to indicate possession:
El libro de Juan
Use por to indicate cause or reason
Lloró por la película
Use para to express purpose or goal
to express purpose or goal
I study in order to learn
Use para to express purpose or goal
Estudio para aprender
contigo
Porque me encantaría ir contigo.
To Talk About Likes and Dislikes
I like art.
But in Spanish, you must use definite articles (el, la, los, las) when talking about these general likes and dislikes.
Me gusta el arte.
To Tell Time
It’s 8:00 in the morning
Times in Spanish are all feminine, and you must always include the feminine definite article (la or las) when telling time.
Son las ocho de la mañana.
in Spanish, when you want to talk about something happening on a specific day of the week, you must use a definite pronoun before the day.
The days of the week are always masculine, so you’ll use either el or los.
When talking about one specific day of the week, use el:
- Iré a Bogotá el lunes que viene. (I will go to Bogota next Monday.)
When talking about something habitual or that happens every week, use los:
- Voy al gimnasio todos los martes. (I go to the gym every Tuesday.)
- Visito a mi abuela todos los miércoles. (I visit my grandmother every Wednesday.)
In English, we’re used to dropping the definite article (“the”) when talking about nouns in general. For example, if you think all dogs are cute (generally), you’d say “Dogs are cute.”
But in Spanish, we keep the definite article.
Take a look at these sentences as examples:
- Los perros son lindos. (Dogs are cute.)
- La comida india es picante. (Indian food is spicy.)
You’ll see this all the time with reflexive verbs—actions that you do to yourself.
For example, in English we say “I wash my hands,” but in Spanish, we say “I wash the hands”:
- Me lavo las manos. (I wash my hands.)
- Me lavo el pelo. (I wash my hair.)
- Me duele la cabeza. (My head hurts.)
To Say the Names of Languages
When a language is the subject of a sentence—the thing being talked about—it needs a definite article. For example:
- El ruso es el más dificil idioma que he estudiado. (Russian is the most difficult language I have studied.)
- El español y el japonés son mis idiomas favoritos. (Spanish and Japanese are my favorite languages.)
However, when a language is the object, you don’t need to use the article. For example:
- Yo hablo inglés. (I speak English.)
To Express Approximate Amounts
As we saw before, the Spanish indefinite article has two plural forms (unos, unas). With the meaning of “some/a few,” we are obviously going to use them when talking about approximate amounts of things or people!
Here you have some examples:
- Necesito unas monedas. (I need some coins.)
- Compra unas manzanas. (Buy a few apples.)
- Hay unos gatos en el tejado. (There are some cats on the roof.)
In English, we use the indefinite articles a or an when talking about our professions, nationalities, religions and the other labels that make up our identities.
(For example, “I’m an anthropologist” or “She’s a Catholic.”)
In Spanish, you must leave those articles out:
- Soy abogado. (I’m a lawyer.)
- Soy brasileña. (I’m a Brazilian.)
However, if you wish to qualify that abstract concept with more information, you usually need to insert an indefinite article (un, una):
- Soy un buen doctor. (I’m a good doctor.)
- Soy un católico con mucha fe. (I’m a Catholic with a lot of faith.)
Present tense + desde hace + period of time
Llueve desde hace tres horas
Present tense + desde hace + period of time
Llueve desde hace tres horas
Use of en
Use of a
Use of de
Use of para
Use of por
*
