Key points about prepositions of place and time in Spanish
Prepositions connect the people, objects, time and locations of a sentence.
In Spanish prepositions come directly before a The name of a thing such as an object, a place or a person. Nouns are often described as naming words..
Prepositions in English include: under, over, on, in, inside, between, before, after.
What are prepositions?
Prepositions are words used to link nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words within a sentence. They connect the people, objects, time and locations of a sentence.
Prepositions are usually short words and they are normally placed directly in front of nouns.
Prepositions of place in Spanish
Here are some common prepositions of place in Spanish:
| Spanish | English | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | at/to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | opposite |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | next to | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | inside |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | behind | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | at the back of |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | in front of | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | towards |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | between | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | against |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again./ Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | below/under | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | to the right of |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | on | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | to the left of |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | upon | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | behind |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | above/on top of | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | through |
For example:
Mi casa est谩 al lado de la piscina. - My house is next to the swimming pool.
Contraction of 'de' and 'el' to form 'del'
Several prepositions are followed by de and then the definite article (el/la/los/las) and the noun.
If the preposition followed by de is then followed by a masculine singular noun, the deand the el contract to become Check your connection, refresh the page and try again..
For example:
El campo de f煤tbol est谩 detr谩s del colegio. - The football pitch is behind the school.
El banco est谩 enfrente del supermercado. - The bank is opposite the supermarket.
Contraction of 'a' and 'el' to form 'al'
The preposition a contracts with el before a masculine singular noun to become Check your connection, refresh the page and try again..
For example:
Estoy al banco. - I am at the bank.
The difference between 'en' (in) and 'dentro de' (inside)
En means 'in' and dentro de means 'inside'.
For example:
en Leeds - in Leeds
dentro de la caja - inside the box
The verb entrar (to go in) is normally followed by en.
For example:
Entro en la tienda. - I go in to the shop.
The difference between 'sobre' (on top of) and 'en' (on)
Use sobre to mean 鈥榦n top of鈥 or en to mean 'on'.
For example:
Est谩 sobre la mesa. - It鈥檚 on (top of) the table.
Lo vi en la tele. - I saw it on the TV.
Prepositions of time
Preposition of time in Spanish relate to when something happens.
Here are some common prepositions of time:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | to/at |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | from |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | from/since |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | ago |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | from |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | up to/as far as/until |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | during |
For example:
Como a la una. - I eat at one o鈥檆lock.
La clase dura desde las nueve hasta las diez. - The class lasts from nine until ten.
Tengo clases durante la ma帽ana. - I have classes during the morning.
A partir de septiembre ir茅 al instituto. - From September I will go to college.
Prepositions of time - 'desde' and 'hace'
Desde means since in sentences such as:
Me gusta el chocolate desde ni帽a. - I鈥檝e loved chocolate since I was a little girl.
No he viajado desde 2019. - I haven鈥檛 travelled since 2019.
Hace means ago and is used to talk about actions that happened in the past.
For example:
Fui a Espa帽a hace dos a帽os. - I went to Spain two years ago.
Viajamos a Francia hace tres meses. - We travelled to France three months ago.
Quiz - Prepositions of place and time in Spanish
Higher Tier - Prepositions of time - 'desde hace'
Desde hace is used with the present tense to say how long you have been doing something or how long something has been happening.
For example:
Estudio ingl茅s desde hace dos a帽os. - I've been studying English for two years.
Llueve desde hace tres horas. - It's been raining for three hours.
When used in a question, desde hace often comes at the start:
驴Desde hace cu谩nto tiempo vives en Espa帽a? - How long have you been living in Spain?
Higher Tier - 'Desde' and 'hace' - Mini quiz
Translate the following question into English:
驴Desde hace cu谩nto tiempo vives en Espa帽a?
How long have you been living in Spain?
Desde hace is used with the present tense to say how long you have been doing something or how long something has been happening.
Now you have learned about prepositions of time and place in Spanish, why not explore talking about the time in Spanish?
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