Chapter 2.3 of our Intermediate Spanish course e-book is dedicated to one of the most fundamental aspects of Spanish grammar: prepositions. Prepositions are words that connect and establish relationships between the different elements of a sentence. In Spanish, as in any other language, the correct use of prepositions is essential to communicate effectively and accurately.
The prepositions in Spanish can indicate origin, destination, direction, place, medium, reason, posesión, description, time, among other relationships. Algunas de las preposiciones más comunes en español son: a, ante, bajo, con, contra, de,from, en, entre, hacia, hasta, para, por, según, sin, sobre, tras.
We start with the preposition 'a'. It is mainly used to indicate direction, objective, place, time, among others. For example, 'Voy a Madrid' (direction), 'Esto es a ti' (objective), 'I live five minutes from here' (place), 'I work for five minutes' (time).
The preposition 'ante' is used to indicate presence or situation in front of someone or something, it also indicates a comparison. For example, 'Faced with such a situation, there is no other remedy than resigning'.
'Low' is used to indicate lower position or less quantity. For example, 'The cat is under the table' (bottom position), 'We are trabajando bajo presión' (less capacity).
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The preposition 'con' indicates company or medium. For example, 'Voy al cine con mis amigos' (company), 'I write with a penman' (medium).
'Contra' indicates opposition, resistance or direction. For example, 'We fight against injustice' (opposition), 'The wind blows against us' (direction).
The preposition 'de' is one of the most used in Spanish. Indicates origin, material, posesión, cause, among others. For example, 'I am from Mexico' (origin), 'The table is made of wood' (material), 'El coche de Juan' (posesión), 'he Murió de felicidad' (cause).
'Since' indicates origin in space and time. For example, 'I come from Madrid' (space), 'I work here since 2010' (time).
The preposition 'en' indicates place, time, situation, state, among others. For example, 'I'm at home' (place), 'We see you in the summer' (time), 'I'm at a reunion' (situación), 'The book is on the shelf' (state).
The prepositions 'entre' and 'hacia' indicate intermediate position and direction respectively. For example, 'La casa está entre dos ríos' (intermediate position), 'Voy hacia la estación' (direction).
'Hasta' indicates a limit on space and time. For example, 'Run until the goal' (space), 'I work until five' (time).
The preposition 'para' indicates purpose, recipient, direction, among others. For example, 'Study to learn' (purpose), 'This gift is for you' (recipient), 'Salgo to Madrid' (direction).
'By' indicates cause, mean, approximate place, among others. For example, 'Lloró por la emoción' (cause), 'Hablamos por telefono' (medium), 'I walk around the center' (approximate place).
The prepositions 'según', 'sin', 'sobre', 'tras' indicate conformity, absence, above or about, después respectively. For example, 'Monday the teacher, the exam was easy' (conformity), 'I live without worries' (absence), 'The book is on the table' (above), 'About this topic, I have much to say' (about de), 'After the scene, we went to the cinema' (afterwards).
In summary, prepositions in Spanish are essential to understand and construct sentences correctly. Although its use may seem complex at first, with practice and patience, it becomes a valuable tool for expressing yourself in Spanish. We hope that this chapter will help you better understand the use of prepositions in Spanish and encourage you to continue studying and practicing this beautiful language.
