Spanish Prepositions - A, DE, EN, HACIA, and CON
In the section on Prepositional Pronouns, you learned that prepositions are connecting words that indicate location as well as placement in time. They include words like “about, above, across, after, against, along, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond...” and so on.
You have already become used to using many prepositions in Spanish. The direction words that you learned in the section on The Spanish Verb ESTAR (such as en, entre, detrás, adelante) were prepositions. Other Spanish prepositions that you have been using without realizing it are a and de.
It is useful to go back to these prepositions and take a second look, as they can have multiple meanings depending on the context. In this lesson, we’ll look at a, de, en, hacia, and con. You will hear these words all the time in a variety of contexts. Unfortunately, there is no single meaning in English for any of them.
Preposition
Translation
a
to, at, from, by, on, for, upon
con
with, to
de
of, about, on, with, because of, by, at
en
in, on, at
hacia
towards, to, at about or around
Carlos iba a Lima.
Carlos was going to Lima.
Él subió al tren.
He got on the train.
Llegó a la ciudad.
He arrived in the city.
Su hotel estaba a la derecha de la estación del tren.
His hotel was to the right of the train station.
A la una almorzó.
At one o’clock he had lunch.
Al terminar de comer, recorrió la ciudad a pie.
Upon finishing eating, he went round the city on foot.
Compró un recuerdo a una señora en el mercado.
He bought a souvenir from a lady in the market.
Mandó un postal a su novia.
He sent a postcard to his girlfriend.
Fue a dormir.
He went to sleep.
Por ejemplo:
Por ejemplo:
Examples of ‘de’
The preposition de is also widely used in Spanish for a variety of purposes. In general, it means “of” or “from,” although it can be used to indicate possession, origin, type, composition, and more. Let’s look at some uses.
Possession Los padres de Sara - Sarah’s parents El negocio del Señor Goodwin - Mr. Goodwin’s business
Origin Él es de argentina. - He is from Argentina. El queso es de Gales. - The cheese is from Wales.
Subject Un libro de español - a Spanish book Una compañía de computadoras - a computer company Ella sabe todo de las matemáticas. - She knows everything about math.
Position Phrases encima de - on top of al lado de - beside
From Here to There de aquí a Miami - from here to Miami de una cosa a otra - from one thing to another
Parts un pedazo de manzana - a piece of apple un poco de crema - a little cream
Time de día - by day de sábado a domingo - from Saturday to Sunday
Cause morir de risas - to die of laughter gritar de frustración - to shout from frustration
Composition Está hecho de lana. - It’s made of wool. una camisa de seda - a silk shirt carne de res - beef
Looking at ‘en’
En is another useful, all-purpose word that can be used to express “in,” “on,” “by.”
Time en el verano - in the summer en un minuto - in a minute en la mañana - in the morning
Place Estamos en casa. - We are at home. Entramos en la casa. - We enter the house. Hablamos en el bus. - We talk on the bus. Caminamos en el bosque. - We walk in the forest.
Method of Travel Voy en tren. - I go by train. Viajo en avión. - I travel by plane. Cruzo el océano en barco. - I cross the ocean by boat.
Mode Hablas en español. - You speak in Spanish. Estás en serio. - You are serious.
Subject Eres bueno en las lenguas. - You are good at languages. Eres experto en los negocios. - You are expert in business.
Understanding ‘hacia’
First of all, don’t make the mistake of confusing hacía with hacia! Hacia is one of those words that will change its meaning completely depending on whether it has an accent mark or not.
hacia is a preposition that means “towards” or “to” hacía is the third person singular form of the verb hacer in the imperfect.
The preposition hacia is used:
to express the direction of movement (in which it means towards or to)
to express the roughness of a time estimate (where it can mean around or about) Te llamo hacia las tres. - I’ll call you about three. or in the following phrases:
hacia abajo*down, downwards*hacia adelante forwards*hacia arriba up, upwards**hacia atrás** *back, backwards
Por ejemplo:
Tenemos que caminar hacia el parque para llegar a la casa de Juan.
We have to walk towards the park to go to John's house.
More with ‘con’
Most of the time, con will mean “with.” As a result, you’ll find it quite easy to use.
Por ejemplo:
But con has several other uses as well. You can also use “con” to express surprise at a known statement or simply to emphasize the importance of something or someone.
Por ejemplo:
¡Con todo lo que he hecho por ti, igual no me quieres!
With all that I've done for you, you still don't love me!
The following usages of con are a bit more specialized. You’ll recognize them from their context.
Don’t forget that when con is followed by either mí or ti, the words merge together to form a contraction.
con + mí = conmigo con + ti = contigo
If you want more lessons on Spanish Prepositions then I recommend that you check out the following: