A preposition that is composed of more than one word is called a compound preposition. The last word of a compound preposition is always one of the simple prepositions, so compound prepositions are easy to recognize. You will notice that many of the following compound prepositions are formed with a directional word and the simple preposition
de. Remember that if a directional word is used without
de, it is no longer considered a preposition.
a partir de
from (time or date) on, starting (time or date)
al lado de
next to
a lo largo de
along
a través de
through
a espaldas de
behind
a fines de
at the end
abajo de
underneath
adentro de
inside (of)
afuera de
outside (of)
alrededor de
around
antes de
before
arriba de
above
cerca de
near
debajo de
under
delante de
before (space), in front of
dentro de
in, within, inside of
después de
after (time or order)
detrás de
behind, after
en vez de
instead of
en lugar de
in place of
encima de
on top of, above
enfrente de
in front of
frente a
opposite, facing
fuera de
outside of
junto a
close to, next to
lejos de
far from
Idiomatic usage
One of the most frustrating aspects of learning a foreign language is that often you can look up every word individually, but when you put them together they make no sense. When a group of words has a meaning separate from the individual words of which it is composed, it is called an
idiomatic expression. Most idiomatic expressions include at least one preposition. It is important to learn to use the correct preposition in an idiomatic expression because a different preposition can completely change the meaning of the expression.
A lot of idiomatic expressions include the preposition
por. You must memorize each expression because none logically follows any of the rules for using
por. The following is a list of important idiomatic expressions that include the preposition
por.
por supuesto
of course, naturally
por lo visto
apparently
por un lado
on one hand
por otro (lado)
on the other (hand)
por ejemplo
for example
por lo demás
furthermore
por lo menos
at least
por lo mismo
for that very reason
por lo que a mí me toca
as far as I am concerned
poner en ridículo
to make someone look ridiculous
por desgracia
unfortunately
por mi parte
as far as I am concerned
por último
finally
por poco
almost
por completo
completely
por lo contrario
on the contrary
por otra parte
on the other hand
por consecuencia
consequently
por consiguiente
accordingly
por lo tanto
consequently
por culpa de
by fault of
por motivo de
on account of
por allá
around there, that way
por aquí
around here, this way
por todos lados
all over, everywhere
por todas partes
on all sides, all over, everywhere
por dentro y por fuera
inside and outside
por ahora
for now
por aquel entonces
at that time
por esa epoca
at that time
por lo pronto
for the time being
por separado
separately
por la mañana
in the morning
por la tarde
in the afternoon
por la noche
at night
Here are some idiomatic expressions using the preposition
para:
para siempre
forever
para nada
no way (not for anything)
para que
so that
Here are some idiomatic expressions using the preposition
a:
a caballo
on horseback
a fines de
at the end of
a la antigua
in the old fashioned way
a lo (adjective)
in the (adjective) style
a la orilla de
at the edge of
a lo sumo
at the most
Any verb can be used after the preposition
a +
el (
al) in its infinitive form to mean “upon (verb)-ing.”
al entrar
upon entering
al terminar
upon finishing
The following list contains idiomatic expressions using the preposition
con:
con cariño
affectionately, caringly
con énfasis
emphatically
con cuidado
cautiously
con gusto
with pleasure
con permiso
excuse me (when passing)
con razón
with reason (correct)
Here are some idiomatic expressions using the preposition
de:
de corazón
sincerely
de acuerdo
in agreement
de hoy en adelante
from today on
de mal en peor
from bad to worse
de modo que
so that
de pie
upright, standing
The following list presents idiomatic expressions using the preposition
en:
en avión
by plane
en cambio
in exchange
en efecto
in fact
en voz alta
in a loud voice (out loud)
en voz baja
in a soft voice
en la actualidad
nowadays
en realidad
in reality
Here are some idiomatic expressions using the preposition
sin:
sin embargo
nevertheless
sin ton ni son
without rhyme or reason
sin más ni más
without further ado
Verbs with prepositions
Another idiomatic usage of prepositions is with verbs. Certain Spanish verbs require that a specific preposition always follow any form of the verb. After the preposition, there may be a noun or another verb. If a verb follows the preposition, it must be in the infinitive form, regardless of how the English equivalent is stated. In English, the second verb will often be in its infinitive form, as in Spanish; sometimes, however, the second verb is in its gerund form, with the
-ing ending (for example, “He limits himself to
watching the games because of his injury” or “She risks
losing everything”).
Acertar a (in the third list, below) is a good example because there are two ways to translate it.
Él acierta a terminar su tarea can be translated as “He manages
to finish his homework” or as “He succeeds in
finishing his homework”; in both English phrases, when translated back into Spanish, the verb that follows a form of
acertar a will be in its infinitive form.
The verbs below are always followed by the preposition that follows in the list, even though English might use a different preposition.
Here is a list of verbs followed by the preposition
por:
comenzar por
to begin by
preocuparse por
to be worried about
interesarse por
to be interested in
estar por
to be inclined to
Below is an example of a verb followed by the preposition
para:
estar para
to be about to
This list contains verbs followed by the preposition
a:
acercarse a
to get close to
acertar (
e>
ie)
a + infinitive
to manage to, to succeed in
acudir a
to turn to
animar a + infinitive
to encourage to
aprender a + infinitive
to learn + infinitive
asistir a
to attend (a function)
atreverse a
to dare to
ayudar a + infinitive
to help + infinitive
comenzar (
e>
ie)
a + infinitive
to begin + infinitive
cuidar a
to care for, take care of (someone)
decidirse a + infinitive
to decide + infinitive
dedicarse a
to dedicate oneself to
echarse a
to begin
empezar (
e>
ie)
a + infinitive
to begin + infinitive
enseñara + infinitive
to teach + infinitive
forzar (
o>
ue)
a + infinitive
to force + infinitive
inspirar a + infinitive
to inspire + infinitive
invitar a
to invite to
negarse (
e>
ie)
a + infinitive
to refuse + infinitive
ponerse a
to begin to
probar (
o>
ue)
a + infinitive
to try + infinitive
resignarse a
to resign oneself to
sonar (
o>
ue)
a
to sound like (something)
subir a
to climb, to go up, or to get on (something)
volver a
to do (something) again
This list contains verbs followed by the preposition
de:
acabar de + infinitive
to have just (past tense)
acordarse de
to agree about
alegrarse de
to be happy about
avergonzarse (
o>
ue)
de
to be ashamed of
cansarse de
to get tired of
cuidar de
to care for (something)
deber de
to feel obliged to
dejar de + infinitive
to stop (gerund)
depender de
to depend on
disfrutar de
to enjoy
enamorarse de
to be in love with
encargarse de
to take charge of
gozar de
to enjoy
informarse de
to become aware of
marcharse de
to leave
morir (
o>
ue)
de
to die of (literally)
morirse (
o>
ue)
de
to die of (figuratively)
olvidarse de
to forget about
parar de + infinitive
to stop (gerund)
pensar (
e>
ie)
de
to think of, to have an opinion of
probar (
o>
ue)
de
to sample, to try out
quejarse de
to complain about
reírse de
to laugh about
salir de
to go away from (somewhere)
servir de
to be useful as
sufrir de
to suffer from
tratar de + infinitive
to try + infinitive
The following list contains verbs followed by the preposition
en:
caber en
to fit in (something)
consentir (
e>
ie)
en + infinitive
to consent to + infinitive
consistir en
to consist of
convertir (se) (
e>
ie)
en
to become, to change into
empeñarse en
to insist on
equivocarse en
to make a mistake about
fijarse en
to pay attention to
insistir en
to insist on
molestarse en + infinitive
to take the trouble + infinitive
montar(se) en
to ride
parar(se) en
to stop at, to stay in
pensar en
to think about (a topic not an opinion)
quedar en
to agree on
tardar en
to delay in
trabajar en
to work on, to work at
This list contains verbs followed by the preposition
con:
casarse con
to marry
conformarse con
to conform to, to make do with
contar (
o>
ue)
con
to count on
dar con
to happen upon
encontrarse (
o>
ue)
con
to meet up with, to run into
enfadarse con
to get angry at
enojarse con
to get angry at
equivocarse con
to be mistaken about
preocuparse con
to worry about
salir con
to go out with, to date
soñar con
to dream of
tropezar con
to bump into
To help you learn which preposition follows each of the verbs in the lists above, put all the verbs that must be followed by a specific pronoun on one color of flashcard and those followed by another preposition on a different color; in this way, your brain will subliminally register the color and help you remember the appropriate preposition. When you quiz yourself, rewrite both sets of verbs on all white cards to see if you can remember which preposition goes with each verb, as well as to see whether you understand what the verb expression means.
Antonyms and Synonyms
Prepositions
