Spanish Prepositions

Do you know what a preposition is or how to use them in Spanish? These words will help you improve your command of Spanish and sound more natural when communicating with native speakers.

What is a preposition?

A preposition links nouns, pronouns, and phrases to other words in a sentence. They usually indicate the relationship of objects in time or space in comparison to the rest of the sentence.

These words sneak into sentences and help establish relationships between things, places, times, and people. In Spanish, there are simple prepositions and compound prepositions, which we will differentiate below.

Common simple prepositions in Spanish

Simple prepositions are single words, such as "a", "en","de", "con", "por", "para" or "sin", among others.

A
Ante
Bajo
Con
Contra
De
Desde
Durante
En
Entre
Hacia
Hasta
Mediante
Para
Por
Según
Sin
Sobre
Tras
Vía
Versus

To/At
Before/In the presence of
Under/Below
With
Against
Of/From
From/Since
During
In/On/Into/Upon/At/To
Among/Between
Towards
As far as/Until/Up to
Through/By means of
For/In order to
For/Through/By
Accoring to
Without
On/Upon/About
After
Via/By way of
Versus/Against

Compound prepositions in Spanish

While, compound prepositions are combinations of simple prepositions, such as "encima de", "dentro de", "al lado de", "cerca de", and many more.

A causa de
A fin de
A pesar de
Al lado de
Acerca de
Además de
Alrededor de
Antes de
Cerca de
Conforme a
Contrario a
Debajo de
Delante de
Dentro de
Después de
Detrás de
Encima de
Enfrente de
En cuanto a
En lugar de/En vez de
Frente a
Fuera de
Junto a
Respecto a

On account of
In order to
In spite of
Next to/By the side of
About/Regarding
Besides
Around
Before (in time)
Near
According to
Contrary to
Under
Before/In front of (place)
Within/Inside of
After (in time)
After/Behind (place)
Over/On/Above
In front of
As to/With respect to
Instead of
Facing/Opposite to
Outside of
Close to
In regard to

Examples of the use of prepositions in Spanish

By understanding and using Spanish prepositions properly, you will be able to communicate more easily in everyday situations. In addition, you will be able to express your thoughts, ideas and the relationships between objects and people with precision.

It is important to remember that prepositions in Spanish can have several meanings and uses, so it is essential to practice their application in different contexts to fully master them. Furthermore, prepositions in Spanish do not have gender and number, unlike colours or adjectives.

For example, "El libro está debajo de la mesa" ("The book is under the table"). The preposition is "debajo" ("under"), which indicates the book's spatial relationship with the table.

Another example is: "Ella lee una revista durante la clase" ("She reads a magazine during classtime"). Here, the preposition is "durante" ("during"), which indicates the temporal relationship between reading the magazine and classtime.

Here are other examples of the use of prepositions in Spanish:

"Voy a la tienda a comprar pan" ("I'm going to the shop to buy bread")
"El libro está debajo de la mesa" ("The book is under the table")
"Estoy en casa con mi primo pequeño" ("I'm at home with my little cousin")
"El libro de Juan está sobre la mesa" ("Juan's book is on the table")
"Viajo de Madrid a Londres en avión" ("I am travelling from Madrid to London by plane")
"Compré esa camiseta para ti" ("I bought that T-shirt for you")
"La casa de mi abuela está entre dos árboles" ("My grandmother's house is between two trees")
"Lograron el resultado mediante negociaciones tensas" ("They achieved the result through tense negotiations")
"El lápiz está al lado del libro" ("The pencil is next to the book")
"Caminamos por la plaza hasta el restaurante" ("We walked across the square to the restaurant")
"Según el pronóstico, mañana va a llover" ("According to the forecast, it is going to rain tomorrow")

In conclusion, Spanish prepositions are an essential part of grammar and play a crucial role in effective communication. If you want to improve your Spanish, Enforex has immersive and intensive courses for all ages. Find yours and learn Spanish in Spain with us.