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Prepositions are a
vital part of a language and it's hard to build a sentence without them. In
Spanish prepositions are easy to understand, since they are used the same way
as in English, the only tricky part is how to use them, especially because one
preposition in Spanish can mean many prepositions in English. Like the
preposition "en" which means not only (in, on) but also (at, about,
by, on top of, upon, inside of...) let’s first understand what a preposition
is.
A preposition is a type of little word that is placed in
front of an object usually a noun in order to indicate a relationship between
that noun and the verb, adjective, or noun that follows and used to form a
clause; the clause in turn functions as an adjective or adverb. The object also
can be a pronoun or verb that functions as a noun. You will understand
prepositions better when you go through the types and examples.
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List of Spanish Prepositions
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a (to,
at)
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en vez de (instead of)
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al
(upon)
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en (in,
at)
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al
lado de (beside)
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encima
de (above, on top)
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ante
(before)
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enfrente
de (in front of)
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antes
de (before)
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entre
(between, among)
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bajo
(under)
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fuera
de (outside)
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cerca
de (near)
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hacia
(towards)
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como (like)
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hasta
(until)
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con (with)
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lejos
de (far from)
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contra
(against)
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menos
(except)
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de
(from, of, about)
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para
(for)
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debajo
de (under, beneath)
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por
(for, on account of)
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delante
de (in front of)
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salvo
(except)
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dentro
de (inside)
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según (according to)
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desde
(since)
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sin
(without)
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después
de (after)
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sobre
(about, above/on)
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detrás
de (behind)
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tras
(after)
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These are some common
prepositions used in a sentence to understand their meaning and the position
they take better:
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Examples of Spanish Prepositions
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a (to,
at) : voy a Marruecos y las Islas canarias (I’m going to
Morocco & Canaries Islands)
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a
personal: espero a mi hermano (I’m waiting for my
brother) busca a alguien (I’m looking for
someone)
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al
(upon) : Al llegar a mi casa, voy a dormir (Upon
arriving home, I'll go to sleep)
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al lado de (beside, by): Vivo al lado del
río (I live by the lake)
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antes
de (before): bebo agua antes de dormir (I drink water before
sleeping)
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bajo
(under): juega bajo la lluvia(he plays under the
rain), busque bajo la mesa!(look under the table)
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cerca de (near) : trabajo cerca del banco
(I work near the bank)
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como (like, as): dormir como un tronco (to
sleep like a log), como postre
tomo...( as a dessert I will take...)
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con (with)
: salgo con Maria (I’m going out with Maria),
huevos con queso (eggs with cheese)
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contra
(against): estoy contra la Guerra (I’m against
war)
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de
(from, of, about): compré una mesa de mármol (I bought
table made of marble)
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debajo de (under, beneath): los hombres por debajo
de los 30 años (men under 30 years old)
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delante
de (in front of): Delante de Dios (in front of God).
Creo que Atlantis está delante
de Gibraltar.
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dentro de (inside): tengo sentimientos dentro
de mí (I have feelings inside me)
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desde
(since): trabajo en la biblioteca desde 1998 (I work in the
library since 1998)
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después de (after): la vida después de la
muerte (the life after death)
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detrás de (behind): el campo de fútbol está detrás
de la escuela (the football field is located behind the school)
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en
vez de (instead of): en vez de enfadarte, deberías perdonarlos
(instead of getting mad, you should forgive them)
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en (in, at) : estoy en cama ahora(I´m
in bed now). Vivo en argentina (I live en argentina).
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encima
de (above, on top): las cartas están encima de la mesa (the
letters are on the top of the table)
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enfrente
de (in front of): el hombre enfrente de mí es un héroe (the man
in front of me is a hero)
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entre
(between, among): vive en la frontera entre los EE.UU y mexico (he lives at the border between the U.S & Mexico)
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fuera
de (outside): comes fuera de casa mucho( you eat outside
the house a lot)
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hacia
(towards): busco la carretera hacia Madrid (I'm looking
for the road towards Madrid)
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hasta
(until): ayer trabajé hasta
las diez (I worked until 10 o’clock yesterday)
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lejos de (far from): ¿está muy lejos de aquí?
(is it far from here?)
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para*(for): trabajo para Global7 (I work for
Global7). para prendir un idioma es necesario praticar (to
learn a language...)
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por
* (for, on account of): por eso no quiero hablar con él ( for
this reason I don't want to talk to him)
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según (according to): según la previsión del
tiempo, brillará el sol todo el día (according to the
forecast,...)
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sin (without): ¡eh! ¡cuánto tiempo sin
verte! (hey, it´s be a while, literally:
long time without seeing you)
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sobre
(about, on):colecciono todo sobre las monedas (I collect
everything about coins),sobre la mesa(on the table)
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Some
prepositions rules:
Preposition + noun: Sin corazón
(without heart). Sobre la mesa (on the table).
Preposition +
pronoun: cómo yo (like me). para mí (for me).
Preposition +
infinitive: para variar (just for a change). para empezar (first...)
Verb +
preposition: trabajé hasta las ocho (I worked until 10). trabajo para la
embajada (I work for the embassy)
Sometimes it's hard to pick
which preposition to use in certain cases, that's why we're going to go through
examples of prepositions that you may have hard time to chose, like (por and
para), they both mean the same thing in English, but still in Spanish each one
of them is used in a certain situation.
A: -connects a
verb of motion + infinitive: voy a bailar (I'm gonig to dance)
-joins any verb (except tener) + a person: busco a mi hijo (I'm
looking for my son).
De: descriptively
links two nouns: el héroe de la historia (the hero of
the story) expresses possession: el perro de perdo (Pedro’s
dog).
En (in,
on): Estoy
en Madrid. (I'm in Madrid). empeczo en 30 minutos. (I'll
start in 30 minutes). la tarjeta en la mesa (the letter on
the table).
Para vs Por:
por is more common than para, so to make it easy, try to learn the rules of
para and for the rest you can just use por. In most cases para refers to
a goal or destination.
Para: (in order to
+ infinitivo): Para aprender, hay que practicar (in order to
learn, we must practice). (For: for the benefit of, to be given to): eso es para
tí (this is for you). (For: by (deadline): Hay que hacerlo para
el jueves (it must be done by thursday). (for: towards, in the direction of): voy para la escuela (I'm going to school).
(For: to be used for): una taza para café. (For: in one's
opinion, compared to others): Para mí, no me gusta el jamón
(I don´t like pork) (for: like to work for): Trabajo para
Lingualogy Inc.
Por: (by, via, by
means of):Viajé por tren.(I traveled by train) (through, along): Voy a NY por Washington DC ( I go to NY
through DC). (Because of, due to): no lo hice por
dinero (I didn´t do it for money). (During, in (time of day). estudio
por la mañana. (For: in exchange for): Pagué 40 dólares por
el libro. (For: for a period of time: estudié por 6 horas.
(For: for the sake of, on behalf of) Lo hizo solo por ella (I
only did it for her).
Por is also used in
idiomatic expressions; here are the most common ones:
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Spanish Idioms
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¡por
supuesto!
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Of
course!
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¿por
qué?
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Why?
For what reason?
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día
por día
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Day
by day
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estar
por
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To
be in the mood to
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palabra
por palabra
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Word
for word
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por
adelantado
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In
advance
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por
ahora
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For
now
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por
allí
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Around
there, that way
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por
amor de Dios
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For
the love of God
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por
aquí
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Around
here, this way
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por
casualidad
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By
chance
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por
ciento
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Percent
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por
cierto
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Certainly
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por
completo
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Completely
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por
correo
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By
mail/post
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por
dentro
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Inside
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por
desgracia
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Unfortunately
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por
Dios
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For
heaven's sake
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por
ejemplo
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For
example
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por
eso
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Therefore,
that's why
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por
favor
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Please
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por
fin
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Finally
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por
la mañana, tarde
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In
the morning, afternoon
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por
la noche
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At
night
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por las buenas o por las malas
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Whether
you like it or not
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por
lo común
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Usually
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por
lo demás
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Furthermore
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por
lo general
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Generally,
in general
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por
lo menos
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At
least
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por
lo mismo
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For
that very reason
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por lo que a mí me toca
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As
far as I'm concerned
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por
lo tanto
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Therefore
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por
lo visto
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Apparently
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por
medio de
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By
means of
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por
mi parte
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For
my part
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por
motivo de
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On
account of
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por
ningún lado
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Nowhere
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por
orden
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In
order
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por
otra parte
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On
the other hand
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por
poco
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Almost
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por
primera/última vez
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For
the first/last time
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por
separado
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Separately
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por
si acaso
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Just
in case
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por
su propio mano
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By
one's own hand
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por
suerte
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Fortunately
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por
supuesto
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Of
course
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por
teléfono
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On
the phone, by phone
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por
todas partes
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Everywhere
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por
todos lados
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On
all sides
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por
último
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Finally
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por un lado, por otro
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On
one hand, on the other hand
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una
vez por todas
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Once
and for all
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Preposition para:
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estar
para
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To be about to
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para
entonces
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By that time
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¿para
qué?
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Why? For what purpose? What
for?
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para
siempre
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Forever
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para
variar
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Just for a change
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Some Compound prepositions:
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a
causa de (because of, due to)
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después
de (alter)
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a
excepción de (with exception of)
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detrás
de (behind, in back of)
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a
fuerza de (by dint of)
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en
frente de (in front of)
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a
menos de (without (with infinitive)
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en vez de (instead of)
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a
pesar de (in spite of)
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en
virtud de (by virtue of)
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acerca
de (concerning)
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frente
a (before, in front of)
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además
de (moreover)
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fuera
de (outside of)
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adversamente
a (adverse to)
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junto
a (next to, beside)
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al través de (across from)
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lejos
de (far from)
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alrededor
de (around)
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por
causa de (by cause of, because)
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antes
de (before)
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por
parte de (on account of)
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cerca
de (close to)
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por
razón de (by reason of)
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contrario
a (contrary to)
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relativamente
a (relative to)
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correspondiente
a (corresponding to)
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respeto
a (with respect to)
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debajo
de (under, beneath)
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sin
embargo de (however)
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delante
de (in front of)
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tocante
a (about, concerning)
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dentro
de (in, inside of)
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Summery:
A preposition is a type of little word that is placed in
front of an object usually a noun in order to indicate a relationship
between that noun and the verb, adjective, or noun that follows and used to
form a clause; the clause in turn functions as an adjective or adverb. The
object also can be a pronoun or verb that functions as a noun, this is a table
showing the most common prepositions with their translation into English.
|
a (to,
at)
|
en vez de (instead of)
|
|
al
(upon)
|
en (in,
at)
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|
al
lado de (beside)
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encima
de (above, on top)
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|
ante
(before)
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enfrente
de (in front of)
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antes
de (before)
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entre
(between, among)
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bajo
(under)
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fuera
de (outside)
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cerca
de (near)
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hacia
(towards)
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como (like)
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hasta
(until)
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con (with)
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lejos
de (far from)
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contra
(against)
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menos
(except)
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de
(from, of, about)
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para
(for)
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debajo
de (under, beneath)
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por
(for, on account of)
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delante
de (in front of)
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salvo
(except)
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dentro
de (inside)
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según (according to)
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desde
(since)
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sin
(without)
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después
de (after)
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sobre
(about, above/on)
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detrás
de (behind)
|
tras
(after)
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