Preposiciones: a, ante, bajo… Posted by Magda on Nov 18, 2011 in Spanish Grammar
As in any other language, prepositions in Spanish can be a problem when learning the language. They can have the same meaning as in English, or not. A preposition is a linking word used to introduce links to nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence. Let’s review some of them by looking at this chart.
| Of Place | Of Direction | Of Time |
| a | a | |
| hacia | hacia | |
| en | en | |
| de | de | de |
| hasta | hasta | |
| desde | desde | desde |
| sobre | sobre | |
| bajo | ||
| entre | entre | |
| contra | contra |
As we can see, some prepositions can have different equivalents in english, so maybe it would be easier to see some examples in order to clarify their use.
a (to, at, by, on)
Está cerca de mi casa, iré a pie. (It’s near my house, I’ll go on foot.)
Llegaré a las tres en punto. (I will be there at three o’clock.)
hacia (toward)
Caminaban hacia la salida. (They were walking toward the exit.)
en (in, on, at, by)
Él vive en Madrid. (He lives in Madrid.)
El libro está en la mesa. (The book is on the table.)
de (from, of, about)
¿De dónde eres? (Where are you from?)
El postre está hecho de hojaldre. (The dessert is made of puff pastry.)
hasta (until, to, as far as, up to)
Normalmente duermo hasta las 9 de la mañana. ( I usually sleep until 9 in the morning.)
desde (from, since)
No he comido desde ayer. (I haven’t eaten since yesterday)
Mi madre se cayó desde la escalera. (My mum fell from the stairs.)
sobre (on, upon, above, over, about)
Es un artículo sobre medicina. (It is an article about medicine.)
bajo (under)
Me encanta la canción “Te llevo bajo mi piel”. (I love the song “I’ve got you under my skin”.)
entre (between, among)
La gata está entre la mesa y el sofá. (The cat is between the table and the sofa).
¡Estamos entre amigos! (We are among friends!)
con (with)
¿Has dejado a los niños con tu hermano? (Have you left the children with your brother?)
sin (without)
No puedo vivir sin ti. (I can’t live without you.)
contra (against)
¿Estás contra el maltrato animal? (Are you against animal abuse?)
I hope you find this quick review helful for your Spanish exercises. See you very soon!
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About the Author: Magda
Hi all! I’m Magda, a Spanish native speaker writing the culture posts in the Transparent Language Spanish blog. I have a Bachelor’s in English Philology and a Master’s in Linguistics and Literature from the University of Granada, in Spain. I have also completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, and then worked as an English teacher in several schools and academies for several years. Last year was my first at university level. In addition, I work as a private tutor, teaching English and Spanish as a foreign language to students and adults. In my free time, I’m an avid reader and writer, editing and collaborating in several literary blogs. I have published my first poetry book recently. And last but not least, I love photography!
Comments:
Neill:
Dividing them up into 3 categories like this was very useful. Thanks!
Magda:
Good to know Neill, thanks for your words!
andreas:
Hola, Magda
Es siempre bien repasar semejantes temas, porque cuando ya se estudian cosas avanzadas, pueden olvidarse cosas más simples.
Andreas
Magda:
@andreas Cierto Andreas, en ocasiones lo más sencillo es lo que primero olvidamos.