Prepositions are grammaticalized words that relate or connect other words in a sentence. (What in the world is a "grammaticalized word", I hear you ask? A grammaticalized word, unlike a "lexical word", is an invariable word that does not change according to gender or number). Note the function of "a" and "en" in the following sentence:
- Juan llegó a recoger a María en coche.
(Juan arrived to pick up María by car.)
Prepositions can form part of a verb phrase or a noun phrase:
- Marcos vive en Madrid. (Marcos lives in Madrid.)
- Hoy no es un buen día para nadar. (Today is not a good day for swimming.)
Prepositions can also provide a complement to an adjective or an adverb:
- Daniel tiene muchos libros de historia. (Daniel has many books about history.)
- Marcos vive lejos de Madrid. (Marcos lives far away from Madrid.)
A few prepositions depend on verbs:
- Me muero de hambre. (I am dying of hunger.)
- No conozco a Javier. (I don´t know Javier.)
- María no confía en ti. (María does not trust you.)
There are many prepositions in Spanish (as in any other language), but we divide them into two main groups: simple prepositions (short words derived from Latin), and prepositional phrases (a combination of two or three words, or words that have been incorporated fairly recently into the language.)
A few simple prepositions
a (to)
con (with)
hacia (towards)
desde (since)
por (for)
de (of)
ante (before)
entre (between)
en (in/on)
sin (without)
A few prepositional phrases
cerca de (near)
antes de (before)
acerca de (about)
en cuanto a (as regards)
junto a (near)
alrededor de (around, about)
lejos de (far from)
a pesar de (in spite of)
delante de (in front of)
encima de (on top of, above)
Prepositions are easy to learn but difficult to master. This is because, even thought their use is simple and straightforward, many Spanish prepositions do not have a single meaning. Their actual meaning depends on the context of the conversation, and can vary considerably. Because of this, it is important that you learn prepositions gradually. In the following examples you can see how the use of a different preposition can completely change the meaning of a sentence:
- Ellos viajan para España. (They are travelling to Spain.)
- Ellos viajan por España. (They are travelling through Spain.)
- Juan hace eso por mí. (Juan is doing that because of me.)
- Juan hace eso para mí. (Juan is doing that for me.)
Click here to practice prepositions and many other
aspects of Spanish grammar.
