Spanish 1.7. Prepositions

Here are some of the most used prepositions in Spanish that will help you construct basic sentences.

Prep.	Meaning	Examples
a	to	Voy a la escuela por la mañana.	I go to school in the morning.
	at	Nos juntamos a las dos.	We meet at 2 o’clock.
	by	Hecho a mano.	Made by hand (handmade).
	on	Volveré a casa a pie.	I will come back home on foot.
al lado de	beside	Hay un gato al lado de la silla.	There is a cat beside the chair.
a lo largo de	along	Hay casas a lo largo del lago.	There are houses along the lake.
antes de	before	Te voy a llamar antes de irme.	I will call you before leaving.
a través de	across through	Viajamos a través del país.	We travel across the country.
bajo debajo de	under	El gato está bajo la silla.	The cat is under the chair.
cerca de	near	Vivo cerca de la ciudad.	I live near the city.
con	with	Él habla con su amigo.	He speaks with his friend.
contra en contra de	against	Estoy en contra de la injusticia.	I am against injustice.
de	of	El color de mi auto es azul.	The color of my car is blue.
	from	Ella es de España.	She is from Spain.
	about	Hablan de él.	They talk about him.
delante de	in front of	Estoy delante de la escuela.	I am in front of the school.
dentro de	inside	La bola está dentro de la caja.	The ball is inside the box.
desde	since	No he fumado desde abril.	I haven’t smoked since April.
	from	Viajé desde Egipto a Corea.	I traveled from Egypt to Korea.
después de	after	Hoy dormí después del almuerzo.	I slept after lunch today.
detrás de	behind	El árbol está detrás de la casa.	The tree is behind the house.
durante	during	Podemos salir durante el día.	We can go out during the day.
en	in	El gato está en la caja.	The cat is in the box.
	on	La comida está en la mesa.	The food is on the table.
encima de	on top of	Las llaves están encima del armario.	The keys are on top of the cupboard.
en frente de frente a	in front of	Esperaré en frente de la puerta.	I will wait in front of the door.
entre	between	El pájaro está atrapado entre las ramas.	The bird is stuck between the branches.
	among	Soy el más alto entre mis amigos.	I am the tallest among my friends.
fuera de	outside	El garaje está fuera de la casa.	The garage is outside the house.
hacia	toward	Ella corrió hacia la salida.	She ran toward the exit.
hasta	until	Trabajé hasta las 9 de la noche.	I worked until 9 at night.
	as far as	La luz alcanza hasta el parque.	The light reaches as far as the park.
para	for	Salgo para Barcelona mañana.	I will leave for Barcelona tomorrow.
	in order to	Estudiamos para aprender.	We study in order to learn.
por	for	Ayer dormí por 10 horas.	I slept for 10 hours yesterday.
	by	Te contacté por teléfono.	I contacted you by phone.
	per	Cuesta 20 dólares por día.	It costs 20 dollars per day.
	because of	Sufrieron por falta de agua.	They suffered because of the lack of water.
según	according to	Según la ley, está prohibido.	According to the law, it is prohibited.
sin	without	Un pez no puede vivir sin agua.	A fish can’t live without water.
sobre	over	La mosca está sobre la mesa.	The fly is over the table.
	about	Hablan sobre el origen de la vida.	They talk about the origin of life.
tras	behind	La escoba está tras la puerta.	The broom is behind the door.
	after	Tras mucho tiempo, quiero jubilarme.	After a long time, I want to retire.

“hasta” as an adverb meaning “even”

The preposition “hasta” can also be an adverb, meaning “even,” e.g., “Hace calor hasta con el ventilador” (It’s hot even with the fan).

“por” vs. “para” meaning “for”

Note that both “para” and “por” can be used to mean “for.” Differences between the two with examples will be explained in Level III, Lesson 2 on the uses of “por” vs. “para.”

“tras” vs. “detrás” meaning “behind”

Both “tras” and “detrás” mean “behind.” However, “detrás” is more widely used in daily conversations, whereas “tras” is found mostly in formal writing.

Also, “detrás” can be used as an adverb, e.g., “Mira detrás” (Look behind), whereas “tras” cannot be used as an adverb.

For instance, we can say “Mira tras la silla” (Look behind the chair), but we cannot say “Mira tras” without it being followed by a noun.

Expressing the meaning of “about”

To express the meaning of “about” (e.g., to talk about someone or watch a documentary about something), we often use “sobre” or “acerca de.”

For example:

Vi un documental sobre la guerra.	I watched a documentary about the war.
Leí un libro acerca de la vida en Japón.	I read a book about life in Japan.

In some contexts, we could use “de” to mean “about,” for example:

Ellos hablan de él.	They talk about him.
Quiero leer un libro de ciencia.	I want to read a book about science.

Next: Interrogative Pronouns & Adjectives

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