Prepositions — Reference
Core prepositions at a glance
| Spanish | English equivalent(s) | Primary use |
|---|
| a | to / at | direction, destination, time, personal object marker |
| de | of / from / about | origin, possession, material, topic |
| en | in / on / at | location, inside, on surface, transport |
| con | with | accompaniment, manner |
| sin | without | absence |
| por | for / by / through / because of | cause, duration, exchange, means, movement through |
| para | for / in order to / by (deadline) | purpose, recipient, destination, deadline, employer |
| desde | from / since | starting point |
| hasta | until / up to | endpoint |
| entre | between / among | position between |
| sobre | on top of / about / over | surface, topic, approximate |
| bajo | under / below | position below |
| ante | before / in front of / faced with | formal/figurative |
| tras | after / behind | sequence, position behind |
| según | according to | source of information |
a — uses & examples
| Use | Example | English |
|---|
| Destination | Voy a la tienda. | I’m going to the store. |
| Time | A las 9. | At 9. |
Personal a | Veo a María. | I see Maria. |
| Start of activity | Empezó a llover. | It started to rain. |
| Frequency | Dos veces a la semana. | Twice a week. |
de — uses & examples
| Use | Example | English |
|---|
| Origin | Soy de España. | I’m from Spain. |
| Possession | El libro de Juan. | Juan’s book. |
| Material | Una mesa de madera. | A wooden table. |
| Topic | Hablamos de trabajo. | We talked about work. |
| Measure | Un vaso de agua. | A glass of water. |
en — uses & examples
| Use | Example | English |
|---|
| Location (inside) | Está en casa. | It’s at home. |
| Transport | Voy en coche. | I go by car. |
| Language | Escrito en español. | Written in Spanish. |
| Month/year | En julio. | In July. |
| Duration | Lo hice en una hora. | I did it in one hour. |
por vs para — quick decision table
| Situation | Use | Example |
|---|
| Purpose / in order to | para | Estudio para aprender. |
| Cause / reason / because of | por | Gracias por tu ayuda. |
| Recipient (intended for) | para | Este regalo es para ti. |
| On behalf of / for sake of | por | Lo hice por ti. |
| Deadline (by a time) | para | Lo necesito para el viernes. |
| Duration (for a period) | por | Estudié por dos horas. |
| Destination (heading to) | para | Salgo para Madrid. |
| Movement through | por | Camina por el parque. |
| Exchange / price | por | Lo compré por 10 euros. |
| Passive agent (by whom) | por | Escrito por García. |
| Employer | para | Trabajo para Google. |
| Opinion / perspective | para | Para mí, es fácil. |
| Means / medium | por | Habla por teléfono. |
desde / hasta — examples
| Spanish | English |
|---|
| Desde las 9 hasta las 5. | From 9 to 5. |
| Vivo aquí desde 2015. | I’ve lived here since 2015. |
| Desde Madrid hasta Barcelona. | From Madrid to Barcelona. |
| Hasta luego. | See you later. |
| No lo sé desde ayer. | I haven’t known since yesterday. |
Contractions: a + el and de + el
| Combination | Contraction | Example |
|---|
| a + el | al | Voy al mercado. (not a el mercado) |
| de + el | del | El precio del libro. (not de el libro) |
Only el (the masculine singular) causes contraction. Not él (he), not la, not los, not las.
Common preposition + verb pairings
| Verb | Preposition | Example | English |
|---|
| ir | a | Voy a la tienda. | I go to the store. |
| pensar | en | Pienso en ti. | I think about you. |
| hablar | de / con | Habla de / con ella. | Talks about / with her. |
| depender | de | Depende de ti. | It depends on you. |
| soñar | con | Sueño con viajar. | I dream of traveling. |
| casarse | con | Se casó con Juan. | She married Juan. |
| preguntar | por | Preguntó por ti. | He asked about you. |
| llegar | a | Llegamos a las 9. | We arrive at 9. |
| empezar | a | Empieza a llover. | It starts to rain. |
| dejar | de | Dejó de fumar. | He stopped smoking. |
See also: Prepositions — full explanation with examples.
See also: Por vs Para — deep dive into the hardest pair.