The preposition de in Spanish. Simple prepositions and their use

Prepositions "a" y "de"
Prepositions "a" and "de"

Since the prepositions a and de are very common in Spanish, their most basic functions should be looked at more closely. Surely, after reading the last few lessons, you have accumulated some misunderstandings related to their use. In this section, we aim to fill potential gaps and avoid common mistakes in the future. Let's look at both prepositions in order.

Preposition "a"

The preposition a has two very important functions. We have already encountered the first one several times and should already be well accustomed to it. This is the direction of action on a person.

Escucho música - I listen to music
But
Escucho a mi papa- I listen to my dad

Pido la cuenta al camarero - I ask the waiter for the bill
Compramos regalos a los niños- We buy gifts for children

Verbs, however, can be very different. But if some other preposition besides a is used after the verb, then a must already be absent.

For the moment:

Hablo con el profesor - I'm talking to the teacher
Compro un regalo para María - I buy a gift for Maria

The second main use of the preposition a is the direction of movement.

Yo voy al colegio - I'm going to school
Mi marido vuelve a casa - My husband returns home

We met similar sentences in lesson 11, but did not explain the presence of the preposition a. Now you can remember this case as a rule: If we are talking about moving somewhere (we walk, run, swim, fly in some direction), then before the destination we must put the preposition a.

Remember and don't confuse:

If we are Somewhere, we put the preposition en.
If we are heading somewhere, we put the preposition a.

Estoy en casa - I'm at home
Voy a casa - I'm going home

José vive en Madrid - José lives in Madrid
José viaja a Madrid - José goes to Madrid

El sábado mis padres vuelan a Tenerife- On Saturday my parents are flying to Tenerife

Don't say: Voy en casa

I'm going to the store
In the summer we are going to Barcelona

To ask the question “Where are you going?”, you also need the preposition a before the question word.

What do you think? -Where are you going?
Voy al museo - I'm going to the museum

Don't confuse the question:

¿Dónde? - Where?
¿A donde? - Where?

By the way, it often happens that the question ¿A dónde? they write together, so if in some text you come across ¿Adónde? , don't take this as a mistake. You can get used to writing the way you like.

Say in Spanish:

Where are you going on Friday?
On Friday I'm going to the village

Where are you going tonight?
We're going to the cinema tonight

A peculiar exception to these rules can be considered the verb entrar - to enter. It must be accompanied by the preposition en.

Entro en la habitación - I enter the room

Another verb that can be a little confusing is poner - to put. While in Russian it answers the question “Put where?”, in Spanish it is customary to say “Put where?”. Accordingly, the preposition a is not used with it.

¿Dónde pones la ropa? -Where do you put your clothes?
Pongo la ropa en el armario - I put my clothes in the closet

Say in Spanish:

Where do you put your books?
I put books on the shelf

Mario enters the office
Where does Mario come in?

Preposition "de"

Our textbook has already covered the main functions of the preposition de, but it’s worth refreshing your memory and adding some more details.

The first case we encountered with the preposition de was associated with indicating the genitive case and belonging.

La clase de español - Spanish lesson (who? what?)
La abuela de Miguel - Miguel's Grandmother
¿De quién es el lápiz? - Whose pencil is this?

Sometimes the preposition de followed by a noun acts as a modifier. That is, they give a definition to an object, like an adjective. In Russian, such combinations are very often translated as adjectives. To understand everything that has just been said, let’s look at examples.

mesa de madera - wooden table (literally: table made of wood)
hoja de papel - sheet of paper (or sheet of paper)
tarea de casa - homework
noche de verano - summer night

Due to the fact that definitions are denoted by words that are not unique in their kind, but convey some general concepts, in these cases the article is not used.

noche de verano - just a summer night
noche del verano - night of a specific summer

moneda de oro - gold coin
moneda del oro - a coin made of that very specific gold

papel de pared - wallpaper (literally: wall paper or wall paper)
papel de la pared - paper or wallpaper of a specific wall

Say it yourself:

Ricardo's house
Spring flowers
Clothing store
Kitchen cabinet
Whose gold coin is this?

Let's move on to the second very important and simple function of the preposition de, when it means “from”. Once again, let's look at examples that are well known to us.

Soy de Rusia - I'm from Russia
El lunes Javier vuelve de Argentina- Javier returns from Argentina on Monday

Accordingly, in the question “where from?” the preposition de must also appear.

¿De donde eres? - Where are you from?
¿De donde vuelve Javier? -Where does Javier come from?

Summarizing all that has been said, we can observe the presence of three interrogative forms with the word dónde.

¿Dónde? - Where?
¿A donde? - Where?
¿De donde? - Where?

Say it yourself in Spanish:

Pedro works in a pharmacy
Where does Pedro work?

Pedro goes to the pharmacy every day
Where does Pedro go every day?

Pedro leaves the house at six in the morning
Where does Pedro come from at six in the morning?

The preposition de, among other things, can often mean "about".

Película de amor - A film about love
Leo un libro de aventuras - I am reading a book about adventures
Este artículo es de la historia de España- This article is about the history of Spain

Say in Spanish:

What is this book about?
This book is about war

What is this film about?
This film is about a boy who lives in New York

Ejercicios
Exercises

Preposition a

Ejercicio 1
Choose between the prepositions en and a

1. Mañana voy...Málaga;
2. Ahora estoy... Granada;
3. Mi marido vuelve... casa muy tarde;
4. Los señores García no están...casa;
5. ¿Cuándo viajas...Chile?
6. Tengo un billete de avión... Cuba;
7. Cristina vive...Paraguay;
8. ¿...dónde vas?
9. Trabajamos...una empresa pequeña;
10. Mis amigos me invitan...una fiesta.

Ejercicio 2
There are errors in some sentences, please correct them.

1. Voy en el colegio cada día;
2. María estudia a la universidad;
3. ¿Vas a España en verano?
4. ¿Cuándo viajáis en Australia?
5. Estamos a casa;
6. Roberto y Carlos llegan en el trabajo muy tarde;
7. Escuchamos al profesor en la clase de inglés;
8. ¿Estáis en Russia?
9. Mi amiga me invita en un concierto de rock;
10. ¿En donde vas por las tardes?

Ejercicio 3
Translate sentences into Spanish

1. I listen to the teacher carefully;
2. I don't listen to the radio in the morning;
3. Grandmother reads a book to her grandson;
4. Maria looks at Carlos;
5. I don't see your car;
6. I don't see Elisa;
7. We don't understand grammar;
8. We don't understand our parents;
9. The boss explains the task to the secretary;
10. Students ask the teacher.

Ejercicio 4
Correct the mistakes in each sentence

1. No veo Marcos en el dormitorio;
2. Escuchamos a la radio cada día;
3. María llama su padre por las tardes;
4. José comprende su profesor;
5. Invitamos nuestros amigos a la fiesta;
6. No escribo cartas mis padres;
7. El director explica la secretaria el trabajo para el día;
8. La mamá compra a un caramelo el niño;
9. Susana canta Marcos una canción;
10. Ramiro visita los museos en Barcelona;
11. Ramiro visita su amigo en Barcelona.

Preposition de

Ejercicio 5
Translate sentences from Spanish into Russian

1. Dia de fiesta;
2. La novia de Ramón es muy guapa;
3. Estas flores son del bosque;
4. La gente de Cuba es morena;
5. Salgo de casa muy temprano;
6. Roberto vuelve de Portugal el jueves;
7. Este jarrón de porcelana es muy caro;
8. ¿De que es esa camisa? - La camisa es de algodón;
9. ¿De donde viene tu padre? - Mi padre viene de la playa;
10. ¿De que es la película? - La película es de amor.

Ejercicio 6
Answer the questions

1. ¿Es de vidrio el vaso? - Sí, ... ;
2. ¿Son de aventura los libros? - No, ... ;
3. ¿Eres de Córdoba? - No, ... ;
4. ¿Son ricos los abuelos de Susana?- Sí, ... ;
5. ¿Está fría la sopa de tomate?- Sí, ... ;
6. ¿Los bombones de chocolate cuestan diez euros?- Sí, ... ;
7. ¿Sois de Moscú? - Sí, ... ;
8. ¿Es bonita la poesía de Federico García Lorca?- Sí, ... ;
9. Son de cuero los bolsos? - No, ... ;
10. ¿Es grande tu casa de campo? - No, ... .

Ejercicio 7
Translate into Spanish

1. Where is your brother coming from? - My brother is returning from France;
2. What are these pants made of? - These trousers are made of cotton;
3. Do you have a country house? - Yes, I have a country house;
4. Are there car factories in Spain? - Yes, there are car factories in Spain;
5. ¿What time do you leave the office? - I leave the office at six in the evening;
6. Where does David's father work? - David's father works at a chocolate factory;
7. Where are you going on Monday? - On Monday I’m going to Finland;
8. What does the teacher explain to the students? - The teacher explains homework to the students;
9. Who do you call at eight in the morning? - I call my friend at eight in the morning;
10. Whose house is this? - This is the house of the director of our company.

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In Spanish, prepositions express cases. In addition, many verbs are used only in combination with certain prepositions.

Basic prepositions:

The preposition a is translated into Russian as “in, at, to, for, by” depending on the sentence and is used:

1. After verbs of motion:

Hoy vamos al cine. – Today we are going to the cinema.
Cada año viajo a Spain. – Every year I travel to Spain.
Vengo a Casa a las 11 de la mañana. – I come home at 11 am.

1. When indicating time: when, what time:

Cada jueves cenamos a las 22 de la noche. – Every Thursday we have dinner at 10 pm.
Tengo clase a las 15 de la tarde. – I have classes at 3 pm.

1. Placed before animate nouns when answering the question “Who?”, “To whom?”:

¿Invito a los chicos? – Should I invite the guys?
Veo a Pili todos los días. – I meet Pili every day.

¿Le doy el libro a Maria? – I give the book to Maria.
Debo contestar a Todos los usuarios. – I must respond to all users.

1. When answering the questions “For what?”, “For what purpose?”:

Vengo a hablar de tu comportamiento. - I come (for what?) to talk about your behavior.

1. In stable combinations that answer the question “How?”:

No soporto las citas a ciegas. – I can’t stand blind dates.
¿Vamos a casa a pie? - Shall we walk home?
Este chisme está hecho al tuntun. – This thing was made at random (at random).

The preposition de is translated into Russian as “from, with, in, from, about, by, because of” depending on the sentence and is used:

1. When answering the questions “Who?”, “What?”, “Whose?”:

Tengo la guitarra de Pedro. – I have a guitar (who?) Pedro.
Son las cosas de Juan. – These are the things of (who?) Juan.

1. When you want to indicate that a thing is made of something:

He comprado una nueva mesa de madera. – I bought a new wooden table (a table made of wood).
¿Me puedes dar aquella caja de plastic? -Can you give me that plastic box over there?

1. Designation of the starting point of movement ("from", "where from?"):

Venimos de casa. - We come from home.
Salgo de Moscú manana. – I’m leaving Moscow tomorrow.

And with other verbs meaning “from”:

Soy de Madrid. - I'm from Madrid.

1. The preposition de is often translated into Russian as “o”, i.e. talk about something, etc.:

Hablamos de nuestras aventuras. – We are talking about our adventures.
Estoy leyendo un libro de filosofía. – I’m reading a book about philosophy.

The preposition con is usually translated into Russian as “with”:

Vivo con mis amigos. – I live with my friends.
Hablamos con el director. - We are talking with the director.
Traigame, por favor, un café con helado. - Bring me some coffee and ice cream, please.

In phrases answering the question “How?”, “In what way?”, “With what?”:

Te ayudaré con placer. - I will help you with pleasure.
¿Siempre comes con apetito? – Do you always eat with appetite?

The preposition en is translated as “in, on, by, at” and is used:

1. When designating a place:

Mi amigo trabaja en la oficina. – My friend works in an office.
Quedamos en la cafetería de al lado. – We’ll meet at a cafe nearby.

2. When indicating time:

En dos horas estamos en casa. - We'll be home in two hours.
En agosto me voy a Italia a ver a mi novio. – In August I will go to Italy to visit my boyfriend.

3. When designating a vehicle:

Siempre viajo en avión porque los trenes me dan miedo. – I always travel by plane because I am afraid of trains.
¿Vamos en coche? - Shall we go by car?

The preposition hacia is translated as “to, around” and indicates approaching some place or time:

Siempre sale y va hacia el centro. “He always comes out and walks towards the center.
¿Nos vemos hacia las tres? – Meet around three?

The preposition sin is translated into Russian as “without”:

¿Esperamos un poco o vamos sin tus amigos? – Shall we wait a little or go without your friends?
Parece que viene sin ganas. “It seems like he came reluctantly.”

In phrases with an infinitive it is translated into Russian as a negative participial phrase:

Trabajo todo el día sin comer. – I work all day without eating.
Se ha ido sin mirarme siquiera. “He left without even looking at me.”

The preposition sobre is translated as “on, above, about, about.”

1. Indicates the location - on or above any surface:

Las llaves están sobre la mesa. - The keys are on the table.
Estamos volando sobre Spain. – We are flying over Spain.

2. Indicates an approximate number, amount, measure of something:

Tellamo sobre las 7 de la tarde, ¿vale? – I’ll call you around 7 pm, okay?
Ghana sobre dos mil euros al mes. – He receives about 2 thousand euros a month.

3. Indicates what or regarding what we are talking about and is equal to the Russian “o”:

¿Me compras algún libro sobre economy? – Will you buy me some book about economics?
Cuentame algo sobre tu vida. – Tell me something about your life.

Translated as “until some place or time”:

La tienda está abierta hasta las 21 de la tarde. – The store is open until 9 pm.
¿Caminemos hasta la plaza? - Let's walk to the square?

Takes on the role of an intensifying particle and is translated into Russian by the word “even”:

Hasta Yo no aguanto tanta presión. “Even I can’t stand that kind of pressure.”
Hasta El Corte Inglés está cerrado hoy. – Even el Corte Inglés is closed today.

The preposition desde is translated as “from, from, with.”

1. Indicates the circumstance of the place:

Me saluda desde el train. – He greets me from the train.
Desde la ventana se ve el arcoiris. - You can see a rainbow from the window.

2. Used in combination with the preposition hasta and indicates a time period or distance:

Desde las 8 de la mañana hasta las 3 de la tarde estoy en la oficina. – From 8 am to 3 pm I am in the office.
Desde El mar hasta las montañas no hay nada. – There is nothing from the sea to the mountains.

3. In combination, desde hace indicates the duration of an action:

Vivo aquí desde hace un año. - I've been living here for a year.
Trabajo en esta empresa desde hace dos años. – I have been working in this company for 2 years.

The preposition ante is translated as “before, opposite” and indicates the location of something in front of something or someone:

Debes comparer ante tu jefe. “You must appear before your superior.”
Estamos ante la puerta. - We are in front of the door (opposite the door).

At first glance, it may seem that there is nothing complicated about prepositions. Why then devote an entire article to them? There may not be any difficulties, but, like all Spanish grammar, it has its own peculiarities. It should be noted that prepositions play a very important role because there are no cases in the Spanish language. In addition, the use of one or another preposition may change the meaning of the phrase.

First, a little background information so you have an idea of ​​what these important little words are.

A preposition (Preposición) is an unchangeable auxiliary part of speech that expresses various relationships and connections between words in phrases and sentences. Prepositions are not used independently, but only in conjunction with any independent words, therefore they cannot be members of a sentence.

According to their origin and structure, all prepositions can be divided into non-derivative and derivative. Non-derivatives are already established prepositions that arose independently; they are not formed from any other parts of speech. These include: a, de, en, por, para, con, sobre.

Derivative prepositions formed much later by transition from independent parts of speech, such as a noun, adverb or gerund:

noun → preposition: en vista de (due to the fact that), a causa de (due to), etc.

adverb → preposition: cerca de (near, next to), después de (after), etc.

gerund → preposition: comenzando por (starting with), etc.

It is important to distinguish prepositions formed from adverbs from these independent parts of speech themselves. You can test yourself by asking a question. A preposition will always appear in a question.

El amigo verdadero está siempre cerca. – A true friend is always there.

(located Where?– nearby (adverb))

El hotel está cerca de la playa. – The hotel is located next to the beach.

(located next to what?– next to the beach (preposition))

By structure, prepositions can be simple or compound. There are eighteen in Spanish simple prepositions: a, de, con, por, para, en, ante, bajo, contra, desde, entre, hasta, según, sin, so, sobre, tras, hacia.

Compound prepositions consist of more than one word. Usually it is a simple preposition and an adverb or noun: a través de (through), antes de (in front of), por debajo de (below), lejos de (far from), al lado de (next to), a pesar de (in spite of) , dentro de (inside), a consecuencia de (due to), a favor de (in favor of (someone)), al cabo de (through), enfrente de (opposite), en nombre de (in the name of), frente a (in front), junto a (next to), por medio de (with the help), etc.

According to the semantic relationships that prepositions express in a sentence, these auxiliary parts of speech are also divided into:

• spatial: de (from), en (in), cerca de (about), etc.

  salir de casa – leave the house;

  entrar en el cuarto - enter a room;

• temporary: durante (during), a lo largo de (to continue), etc.

  venir a casa al anochecer – come home in the evening;

  durante todo el día – throughout the day;

• object: de, sobre (about), etc.

  hablar sobre la película – talk about the film;

• mode of action: con (c), etc.

  ponerse a trabajar con entusiasmo - take to work with enthusiasm;

• causal: en vista de (due to), gracias a (thanks to), a causa de (as a result of), con motivo de (in connection with), por (because of), de (from), etc.

  marry for money - casarse por dinero;

  dormirse de aburrimiento - to fall asleep out of boredom;

• target: para (for), etc.

  hacer todo para la Victoria - do everything to win.

Meanings of prepositions

Now let's take a closer look at the most commonly used Spanish prepositions in speech.

Preposition de

The preposition de has big list meanings and can be translated into Russian as “from, because of, with, in, from, about, by, about.” First of all, it performs the functions of the genitive case. May indicate:

• affiliation:Miguel es el vivo retrato de su padre. – Miguel – living portrait ( whom?) his father.
• quality, material of manufacture (in this case the preposition plays the role of a relative adjective. In this case, an article is not placed before the noun; the noun is used in the singular): hecho de madera - made of wood;
• origin: soy de Rusia – I’m from Russia;
• occupation: está de médico – he is a doctor;
• starting point of movement: Vamos del hotel al aeropuerto - We are going from the hotel to the airport;
• part of something: a la mitad del camino - in the middle of the way;
• used in some verb combinations indicating a place or purpose: ir de compras (to go shopping), ir de vacaciones (to go on vacation), ir de campo (to go out of town), etc.
• used to clarify the name or type of an object: la cuidad de Londres (city of London).

Preposition a

The preposition a, depending on its meaning, can be translated into Russian as “in, at, to, for, by, before.” It is responsible for the functions of the dative case and the accusative case for animate nouns. Indicates the direction of movement. Can be used:

• before the direct object: encontrar al padre de Maria (meet the father (VP) of Maria);
• when indicating direction after verbs of motion, as well as location and spatial relationships: ir al café (go to a cafe), llegar a casa (come home), venir al mar (come to the sea), a la derecha (to the right), a la izquierda (left);
• when indicating the time: llegar a tiempo (arrive on time), venir a las dos (arrive at two);
• to express a mode of action: ir a pie (to walk), montar a caballo (to ride on horseback)
• to express the purpose: venir a cazar (to come to hunt);
• to give the infinitive an imperative meaning or as a call to action:¡A trabajar! (Work! Let's work!), !A ver! (Look! Let's see!);

The masculine singular article el and the prepositions de and a merge and represent the following forms:

de + el = del (el diario del alumno - student’s diary)

a + el = al (decir al profesor - tell the teacher)

Preposition con

The preposition con can be translated as “with, with.” In the sentence it is responsible for the instrumental case and is used:

• in the meaning of connection, compatibility:

  café con leche (coffee with milk), pasear con hijos (walk with children);

• before an indirect object to denote a tool, method, form of performing an action:

  comer con apetito (eat with appetite), escribir con bolígrafo (write with a pen);

• in the meaning of joining, indicating the contents:

  la casa con un jardín (house with a garden);

• to convey relationships, connections:

  casarse con Francisco (marry Francisco).

Analogues of the preposition en in Russian will be the prepositions in, on, by, at. Used to indicate:

• length of time (month, year, century, season): en enero (in January), en verano (in summer), en 2014 (in 2014);
• mode of action:

  decir en broma (to say in jest), preguntar en vano (to ask in vain);

• locations:

  entrar en el parque (enter the park), estar en la universidad (be at the university);

• means of transportation:

  en avión (by plane), en coche (by car), en bicicleta (by bicycle).

To make it convenient for you, we suggest organizing a list of all prepositions in tables.

Using Spanish Prepositions

Please don't be intimidated by such a large table. Try reading it twice every day, after a week all the information will settle in your head. Understanding which preposition is used when comes with time, only practice and self-test will help here: feel free to post answers to the exercises in the comments below: this will help others correct your mistakes.

Prepositions in Spanish. Exercises

Exercise 1. Translate the following sentences into Spanish

Elena enters the classroom. We do the work. They greet the teacher. There are chairs and tables in the classroom. Daria writes words on the board. The book lies (is) on the table. The hat and coat are in the closet. I don't want to go with you. On Sunday I go to my parents. Elena's teeth hurt (Elena has bad teeth). I am near Sevastopol. You don't go to school due to illness.

Exercise 2. Write a short (5-10 sentences) story about yourself

You will spend 30 minutes on this lesson. To listen to the word, please click on the Audio icon . If you have any questions regarding this course, please contact me by email: Learn Spanish.

Below is a list of the most commonly used words, the scope of which is: Prepositions. The table below has 3 columns (Russian, Spanish and pronunciation). Try to repeat the words after listening. This will help you improve your pronunciation and also remember the word better.

List of adjectives

Here is a list of sentences containing several of the vocabulary items shown above on the topic: Prepositions. Sentences are added to help you understand how the structure of an entire sentence can affect the function and meaning of individual words.

Prepositions with examples

This is a list of vocabulary directions. If you learn the following words by heart, it will make your conversations with the natives much easier and more enjoyable.

Vocabulary Directions

Daily Talk

Finally, check out the list of phrases used in everyday communication. Full list popular expressions, please see.