Spanish prepositions: The complete list
Alicia Fernández
• Nov 16, 2023
• 7 minutes
Updated Jan 31, 2024
In this volume, we discuss the alphabet, definite and indefinite articles, and verbs ser and estar, among other topics.
What are prepositions? As the name indicates, prepositions are words that precede or appear before a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase. Prepositions indicate relationships between other words in a sentence. They tell us where things are or when something happened. They also indicate direction, spatial relationships, or introduce an object. Those of us who went to school in a Spanish-speaking country, still remember the list of prepositions that we had to memorize!
Let’s take a look at some examples:
Margarita está trabajando en casa hoy. (Margarita is working at home today.)
In this example, the preposition en indicates location.
Astronomical ceiling of Senenmut's Tomb, found in Thebes, Egypt
Take a look at the following preposition in bold, what do you think it indicates in the following example?
Eduardo está saliendo con Irene. (Eduardo is going out with Irene.)
In this example, the preposition con indicates relation.
In this article, you will learn the Spanish prepositions and you will see examples of how they are used. The good thing about these words is that they do not have conjugations, gender, or number!
Let’s start!
According to the ASALE (Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española or Association of Spanish Language Academies) which is the institution charged with safeguarding the correct use of the Spanish language, there are 23 prepositions in the Spanish language:
A: at, to
When the preposition a is followed by el (not él) we combine them to: al
Vamos a la playa este verano. (We are going to the beach next summer.)
Nos encanta ir al museo de arte los sábados. (We love going to the art museum on Saturdays.)
Ante: before, in the face of, in the presence of
(Don’t confuse ante with antes which is a time adverb).
Nos quedamos sin palabras ante su presencia. (We were speechless in his presence.)
Bajo: under, below
No te preocupes, todo está bajo control. (Don’t worry, everything is under control.)
*Cabe: near, next to. This preposition is no longer used in modern Spanish.
Con: with
With the first and second person singular, we use conmigo (with me), contigo (with you).
Voy a cenar con Pablo. (I am going to eat dinner with Pablo.)
¿Quieres venir conmigo? (Do you want to come with me?)
Mi hija siempre quiere estar contigo. (My daughter always wants to be with you.)
Contra: against
Me apoyé contra la pared porque me mareé (I leaned against the wall because I got dizzy.)
De: of, about, from
When de is followed by el (not él), we combine the two words to: del
Paco es de Cádiz. (Paco is from Cádiz)
¡Es el mejor equipo del mundo! (It’s the best team in the world!)
Desde: since, from
Ella habla español desde que tenía 5 años. (She has been speaking Spanish since she was 5 years old.)
Durante: during, for
Nos lo pasamos bien durante las vacaciones de verano. (We had fun during our summer vacation.)
En: in, on, into, by, inside, within, at
As you will see in the following examples, this preposition can be translated in many different ways:
Nos gusta estudiar en la biblioteca. (We like studying at the library.)
Me dejé las llaves en el carro. (I left my keys in the car.)
El gato duerme en la silla. (The cat is sleeping on the chair.)
Entre: between, among, amongst
El secreto se quedará entre tú y yo. (The secret will stay between you and me.)
Hacia: towards, about, around
(Don’t confuse this word with hacía, which is a conjugation of the verb hacer.)
Las aves se dirigen hacia el norte. (The birds are heading [towards the] north.)
Hasta: as far as, up to, until, till
Estaré en la fiesta hasta que me canse. (I will be at the party until I get tired.)
Mediante: by, by means of
Me pagaron mediante una transferencia bancaria. (I was paid by wire transfer.)
Para: for, in order to, toward
Este regalo es para ti. (This gift is for you.)
Compré un Kindle para leer revistas. (I bought a Kindle [in order] to read magazines.)
Por: because of, for, by, through, per, on someone’s behalf
La calle está cortada por obras. (The street is closed because of construction.)
Mis padres lo harían todo por mí. (My parents would do anything for me.)
¡Ojo! Remember to use ti and mí after prepositions, not tú or yo which are subject pronouns.
Por and para can be tricky for English speakers because they can both be translated as for.
Según: according to, depending on
Según mi médico, tengo que hacer más ejercicio. (According to my doctor, I have to exercise more.)
Sin: without
A Vanessa le gusta el café sin azúcar. (Vanessa likes her coffee without sugar.)
*So: under. This preposition is no longer used in modern Spanish.
Sobre: on (top of), over, above, about, upon
No pongas los pies sobre la mesa. (Don’t put your feet on the table.)
Este artículo es sobre las preposiciones. (This article is about prepositions.)
Tras: after (later in time / in search of), behind (on the other side of)
Tras dos semanas de tratamiento, Raúl empezó a sentirse mejor. (After two weeks of treatment, Raúl started feeling better.)
Versus: versus
En la final jugará el equipo rojo versus el azul. (The final will be played by the red team versus the blue team.)
Vía: through, via
Siempre hago mis compras vía internet. (I always do my shopping via the internet.)
These are all the prepositions we have in Spanish. Ready to check what you’ve learned today?
Choose the correct preposition. You can look up the terms you do not know in the following online dictionaries:
A) por
B) de
C) desde
D) con
A) para
B) contigo
C) con
D) tras
A) con
B) bajo
C) contra
D) sobre
A) a
B) de
C) entre
D) sin
A) hasta
B) hacia
C) según
D) sobre
A) hasta
B) de
C) durante
D) sin
A) a
B) de
C) con
D) para
A) ante
B) por
C) tras
D) desde
A) entre
B) a
C) sin
D) bajo
A) contra
B) en
C) hasta
D) para
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Alicia Fernández is a content writer at Berges Institute.
