Like English, Spanish uses prepositions. This chapter presents the most common prepositions of Spanish and their use cases.
A
- expresses direction or destination
Voy a la escuela.
I’m going to school.
- expresses to whom
Dale esto a María.
Give this to María.
- expresses time of the day
Voy al dentista a las tres.
I go to the dentist at three o’clock.
CON
- with something
Un café con leche, por favor.
A coffee with milk, please.
- with someone
Voy al cine con mis amigos.
I go to the cinema with my friends.
- with/using a tool
Abro la puerta con la llave.
I open the door with the key.
DE
- origin
Soy de Alemania.
I am from Germany.
- possession
Es el bar de mi tío.
It’s my uncle’s bar.
- compounds
Compré un traje de baño para las vacaciones.
I bought a swimsuit for the holidays.
DESDE
- from (a place)
Saludos desde Londres.
Greetings from London.
- since (of time)
Han estudiado alemán desde enero.
They have studied German since January.
DURANTE
- during, for (duration)
Ella trabajó en esa empresa durante cinco años.
She worked in that company for five years.
EN
- place
No estamos en casa.
We are not at home.
- travel method
A menudo viajo en avión.
I often travel by plane.
- after a period of time
Salimos de vacaciones en tres días.
We leave on holiday in three days.
ENTRE
- between
La ciudad está situada entre el río y la montaña.
The city is located between the river and the mountain.
- among
Ese actor es muy famoso entre los jóvenes.
That actor is very famous among young people.
HACIA
- towards
Caminamos hacia la playa.
We walk towards the beach.
- imprecise time
La reunión terminó hacia el mediodía.
The meeting ended around noon.
HASTA
- up to, until
Voy a estudiar hasta aprobar el examen.
I am going to study until I pass the exam.
PARA
- destination
Mañana salgo para Helsinki.
I’m leaving for Helsinki tomorrow.
- intended use:
Este regalo es para ti.
This present is for you.
- deadline
Tiene que estar listo para el lunes.
This has to be ready by Monday.
- purpose
Fui a Irlanda para mejorar mi inglés.
I went to Ireland in order to improve my English.
- contrasting
Para ser extranjera, hablas muy bien el finés.
For a foreigner, you speak Finnish very well.
- opinion
Para mí, mirar la tele es una pérdida de tiempo.
To me, watching TV is a waste of time.
- actions soon to be completed
Está para salir.
He’s about to leave.
POR
- reason
Cerramos la ventana por la lluvia.
We closed the window because of the rain.
- movement through space
Un globo entró por la ventana.
A balloon came in through the window.
- duration of time
Trabajé en Argentina por dos meses.
I have worked in Argentina for two months.
- exchange
Te doy 500 dólares por esta moto.
I’ll give you 500 dollars for this motorcycle.
- on behalf of / in favour of:
Lo hago por ti.
I’m doing this for you.
- agent in passive clauses
Esta zona no fue afectada por la sequía.
This area wasn’t affected by drought.
Note the difference in meaning between para and por in the following examples:
Lo compré por ella.
I bought it because of her (because she wanted me to).
Lo compré para ella.
I bought it for her (in order to give it to her).
SIN
- without
No puedo vivir sin café.
I can’t live without coffee.
SOBRE
- on (top of)
El libro está sobre la mesa.
The book is on the table.
- about
Hablamos sobre el clima.
We talked about the weather.