Prepositions
Prepositions are important parts of most languages.
Basically, they establish relationships between things. Sometimes
these relationships are spatial:
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The
bookstore is next to
the cafeteria.
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The
microfilm is hidden inside (of)
the cookie.
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The
flag is on top of
the mountain. |
Other times prepositions are more abstract:
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He
said it with
a happy voice.
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Think
about something
happy.
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It
is made of plastic. |
They are also used to mark time:
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The
meeting is at 7:00
in the morning, for
two hours. |
Another common usage is to express direction
of movement in relation to another thing.
Move toward
the camera.
Some people are moving away
from the suburbs to
the city.
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I
am leaving for Caracas tomorrow. |
Another important aspect of prepositions is
their usage in combination with verbs:
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get
off, get on, get by, get over, get with, get out, etc. |
Spanish has similar verb/preposition combinations,
but generally, there is a very specific verb and a specific preposition,
rather than what we see in English with "get" and "put"
(get off, get by, get over, get down, put off, put out, put over,
put on, put in, put up).
In other words, each of these is a different
verb. Spanish does not typically use a verb with different
prepositions to change the meaning of the verb.
It is extremely important to keep in mind that
the correspondence between prepositions in English and Spanish,
especially in combination with verbs, is not a one-to-one
correspondence.
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Depends
on = depende de
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Consists
of = consiste en
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Dreams
about = sueña con |
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Think about =
pensar en |
There is no way around simply collecting and
memorizing such examples. Notice that the Spanish use the
preposition "a" for saying at what time something happens,
but the word "a" is best translated as "to",
not "at." This causes one of the most common errors
I see: Yo bailo a la fiesta. Means that you use dancing
as a means of transportation to get to the dance. Bailo
EN la fiesta. Means you dance AT the party.
Here is a pretty thorough list of Spanish prepositions
and their English equivalents. Note: these do not include many idiomatic
usages of these prepositions, nor do they account for all of the
meanings that occur in combination with verbs.
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a
= to (movement toward, destination, recipient, purpose) Some
verbs require "a" when followed by another verb or
noun: ir a + inf. or noun, aprender a + inf., comenzar a + inf.,
enseñar a + inf. There is a personal A used to indicate a human
or anthropomorphosized object in a sentence. Le di el dinero
a Gustavo. Important: With indirect
objects, it is possible that the "a" means "from":
Le quité el dulce al niño. It is also used with clock
time to say "at" such and such a time, but don't make
the mistake of thinking "a" means "at" in
other situations. In other words, the preposition "a"
is definitely the most tricky one to deal with for English speakers.
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de
= of, from, about. Origin, material, possession, about a topic.
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en
= in, at, on
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con
= with (conmigo, contigo, consigo are irregular)
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sin
= without (no irregular forms)
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sobre
= over, about (higher speech register, less common than "de"
for "about". English speakers tend to overuse
"sobre" as "about")
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hacia
= toward
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entre
= between, among
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contra
= against
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por
= for, by, in favor of, because of, through, during.
When it means FOR, the implication is exchange for, instead
of (trade), or for a time period. Also, it is used as for in
the sense of supporting, or in favor of.
Estar + por + infinitive -- yet to be done |
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para
= "for", "in order to" (para + infinitive)
When it means FOR, the implication is a goal, destination, purpose,
use, recipient or deadline. It is also used to express surprise.
Es muy alto para un niño. Estar + para +
infinitive -- to be about to be done |
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hasta
= until
(also can function as the adverb "even"--En España,
hasta los ateos son católicos. (In Spain, even the atheists
are Catholic.) |
Spatial prepositions (which are the important
ones to learn in chapter 2 of Vistas):
Some of the prepositional phrases above have alternate forms when
they are used as adverbs--not followed by a noun to which they are
related. There are generally patterns to this.
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Dentro
de -- adentro |
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arriba
de -- arriba |
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debajo
de -- abajo |
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fuera
de -- afuera |
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al
lado de -- a lado, a mano |
Examples:
La familia está dentro de la casa. La familia está adentro.
El
perro está fuera de la casa. l perro está afuera.
Some command forms of
verbs that are used for giving directions:
Vaya todo derecho.
Doble (doblar).
Siga. Seguir
Vaya al este en autopista 94 doble (tome la salida de Hiawatha)
al sur (a la derecha) en Hiawatha. Siga todo derecho en Hiawatha
hasta calle xx y doble a la izquierda. Vaya dos cuadras y
ya estás allí.
Tome el ascensor al segundo piso, camine todo derecho, vaya al
edificio HC. Tome el ascensor al cuarto piso. Mi
oficina está allí.
| Prepositional
Pronouns (for me, to
you, with him, by her, etc. click
here for more info.) |
| mí
(conmigo) |
ti
(contigo) |
Ud,
sí (consigo) |
él,
ella, sí, ello (neuter)
(consigo) |
| nosotros |
vosotros |
Uds.
sí (consigo) |
ellos,
ellas, sí, ellos (neuter) |
| Notice
the following English sentences: He and I are friends.
The argument is between
him and me. Examples: Es para ti. El libro
es de Ud. Se lo llevó consigo. Quiero
bailar contigo. |
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