a. in, on, at
En is used to say, that the object is either inside of something, or on it’s surface. This is the most common use case of this preposition.
Mis padres están en el parque — My parents are in the park
Quiero colgar un cuadro en esta pared — I want to hang the painting on this wall
Estoy en un concierto – I’m at a concert
Sometimes, instead of en you can use sobre. It helps specify that the object is on a horizontal surface.
El bolígrafo está en la mesa = El bolígrafo está sobre la mesa
The en preposition is used with transport:
¿Vas al trabajo en metro? — Do you go to work on the metro?
No, voy en coche — No, I go by car
In this case, no article is required.
en autobús – by bus
en tren – by train
en avión – by plane
En is also used with months and seasons:
en verano — in summer
en invierno — in winter
en febrero — in February
Don’t use en where it’s not needed:
el lunes — on Monday
el viernes — on Friday
el fin de semana — on the weekend
el 10 de mayo — on the 10 of May
Try it yourself:
We are in Santander
I’m sitting on a couch
What shop do you buy clothes in?
Does your mom goes to work by bus?
Do you stay home on Sunday? (vosotros)
b. Verbs with en
creer en – to believe en
entrar en – to enter, to get into
pensar en – to think about
¿Cree usted en Dios? – Do you believe in God?
El paciente entra en el despacho del médico – The patient comes in the doctor’s office
The verb entrar can sometimes be used with the preposition a. This is typical for the Latin American Spanish.
Entro en la habitación = Entro a la habitación
Cada día pienso en el futuro de mis hijos — Every day I think about the future of my children
Try it yourself:
The students get into the classroom
I don’t believe in superstitions
What are you thinking about?
The first and foremost meaning of con is with.
Hablo con mi profesor — I speak with my teacher
El alcalde pasea con su mujer por el parque — The mayor walks with his wife in the park
Quiero estar contigo – I want to be with you
¿Con quién vives? – Who do you live with?
Try it yourself:
The dog plays with the cat
Susana is dancing with Alejandro
Who is she dancing with?
They want to stay with us
Who are you going on holiday with?
b. The con preposition can specify a tool, or, more generally, what is used to perform an action.
Dibujo una vaca con un lápiz — I draw a cow with a pencil
Los europeos comen con un tenedor y los chinos comen con unos palillos — European people eat with a fork, and Chinese people eat with chopsticks
¿Te duchas con agua fría o con agua caliente? — Do you take a shower with cold or hot water?
Los alumnos escuchan al profesor con atención – The pupils listen to the teacher with attention
Try it yourself:
I love you with all my heart
I like taking photos with an old camera
The customers are waiting with patience
c. Verbs that require con
soñar con – to dream of
casarse con – to get married to
estar casado con – to be married to
estar contento con – to be satisfied with
Sueño con una casita en la playa — I dream of a little house on the beach
En verano Luisa se casa con Ricardo – In the summer Luisa is getting married to Ricardo
Estoy contento con los resultados de nuestro experimento — I’m satisfied with the results of our experiment
Try it yourself:
Do you dream of a new life?
Why aren’t you satisfied with me?
My brother is married to a famous actress
a. for
This is the main meaning of this preposition.
Estas flores son para Marisa — These flowers are for Marisa
Necesito español para mi trabajo — I need Spanish for my job
When para comes before a verb, it can be translated as to.
Quiero ir a España para practicar mi español — I want to go to Spain to practice (for practicing) my Spanish
Llamo a Felipe para invitar a su familia a nuestra casa — I call Felipe to invite his family to our house
¿Para qué? – What for?
¿Para qué necesitas esta aplicación? – What do you need this app for?
¿Para quién? – Who … for?
¿Para quién son esas flores? – Who are these flowers for?
Try it yourself:
We want to buy a present for Julia
Who do you want to buy a present for?
Spaniards use a special frying pan to cook paella. It’s called paellera
What do you want an iphone for?
b. Movement direction
Sometimes para can replace the a preposition in the following situations:
transport route:
El tren para Madrid sale a las 16:45 — The train to Madrid leaves at 16:45
Necesitamos cambiar de avión en Italia y coger otro vuelo para Bogotá — We need to change planes in Italy and take another flight to Bogota
set phrases:
para acá – (towards, over) here
para allá – (towards, over) there
para arriba – up, upstairs
para abajo – down, downstairs
Vamos para allá – Let’s go over there
¿Por qué no te vienes para acá? – Why don’t you come over here?
¿Quieres subir para arriba? – Do you want to come upstairs?
colloquial Spanish:
Using para instead of a is typical for colloquial speech.
Quiero ir para Madrid = Quiero ir a Madrid
Vamos para casa – Let’s go home
In this case para is usually abbreviated to pa’.
Vamos pa’ casa – Let’s go home
¿Por qué no te vienes pa’ acá? – Why don’t you come here?
Try it yourself:
The train to Paris leaves at 8
Do you need to go over there?
Why don’t you come over to Spain?
c. time (until)
Debo terminar esto para el lunes — I must finish this for Monday
Ella tiene que hacer todo para las dos de la tarde – She has to do everything until 2 p.m.
Try it yourself:
You have to do this job for tomorrow
d. Verbs and expressions with para
prepararse para – to get ready for
para siempre – forever
Nos preparamos para el examen – We get ready for the exam
¿Quieres mudarte a Colombia para siempre? – Do you want to move to Colombia forever?
Try it yourself:
Lola is getting ready for the party
My dog thinks, that I’m going away forever
The first thing you should avoid is confusing por and para. They seem similar only at first sight. Their meaning is different.
a. via
In this case the por preposition can be translated into English in many different ways. The general meaning is that some action is performed via something.
por teléfono – on the phone
por internet – on the Internet
por la tele – on TV
por la radio – on the radio
por correo electrónico – by email
Hablamos por teléfono – We speak on (via) the phone
Veo películas por internet – I watch movies on (via) the Internet
Mi abuela me envía fotos por whatsapp – My granny sends me photos via whatsapp
Try it yourself:
I’ll send you the document by email
Does your son buy anything on the Internet?
We listen to music on the radio
b. through
The second common use case of por is to point out a movement through something. It can be translated as through, along, across and around.
por el bosque – through the woods
por la ciudad – around, through the city
por la calle – along, down the street
por la escalera – up, down the stairs
por la ventana – through, out of the window
por la puerta – through the door
The movement can be expressed by such verbs as ir, viajar, caminar, pasear, dar una vuelta, subir, bajar, mirar, etc.
¿Quieres dar una vuelta por la ciudad? – Do you want to take a walk around the city?
Estamos paseando por la playa – We are walking along the beach
¿Subes por la escalera o en el ascensor? – Do you take the stairs or the elevator to go upstairs?
Mi vecino siempre entra en su casa por la puerta trasera – My neighbour always gets in his house through the back door
Try it yourself:
I want to travel across Spain
We are walking along the street
Sra. Garcia is looking out of the window
c. reason: because of, due to, for the sake of
Los precios suben por la crisis – The prices rise due to the crisis
Trabajo por dinero, no por amor al arte – I work for money, not for the sake of art
Está ahora en la comisaría por conducir borracho — He is at the police station now because of driving drunk
Sofía no quiere estar con Daniel por muchas razones — Sofia doesn’t want to be with Daniel for many reasons
¿Por qué? – Why?
porque – because
por eso – that’s why
¿Por qué estás aquí? – Why are you here?
Estoy aquí porque te quiero – I’m here, because I love you
Te quiero, por eso estoy aquí – I love you, that’s why I’m here
¡Por Dios! – For God’s sake!
Lo hago por ti – I do it for you (for your sake, because of you)
Los soldados luchan por su patria – The soldiers fight for their motherland
This is where the expression por favor comes from.
Por favor – Please (literally, for the sake of a favour)
Try it yourself:
Our flight is cancelled because of the rain
You must live for your family’s sake
Why are you crying?
I’m crying, because he doesn’t love me
He is smart, that’s why he is rich
c. somewhere, around
por aquí – around here
por ahí – over there, outdoors
por allí – around there
Vamos a vernos por McDonald’s – Let’s meet somewhere around McDonald’s
Nos gusta cenar por ahí – We like going outside to have dinner
El restaurante está por aquí cerca – The restaurant is somewhere near here
Por aquí, por favor – This way, please
Try it yourself:
There is much snow around here
Where do you have breakfast, at home or outside?
c. for a certain period of time
Voy a España por dos semanas — I’m going to Spain for two weeks
¿Por cuánto tiempo vas a España? – For what period are you going to Spain?
This is why sometimes the expression para siempre (forever) can be used with the preposition por: por siempre.
Try it yourself:
We are going to Madrid for three days
For how many nights do you want to book a room?
d. Verbs and expressions with por
preocuparse por – to worry about
estar preocupado por – to be worried about
pagar por – to pay for
por la mañana – in the morning
por la tarde – in the afternoon
por la noche – in the evening, at night
por fin – finally
por ejemplo – for example
por cierto – by the way
por lo menos – at least
por ahora – for now, by now
por si acaso – just in case
La abuela se preocupa por nosotros – Granny worries about us
¿Cuánto pagas por la electricidad? – How much do you pay for electricity?
Por cierto, estoy embarazada – By the way, I’m pregnant
Por ahora estamos ocupados – We are busy at the moment
Try it yourself:
Where is it possible to buy a flat for 20.000 euro?
I don’t worry about anything
At least you are happy
Finally it’s summer
Are you married, just in case?
Ejercicio 1
Fill in the gaps with a suitable preposition: por, para, con, en
1. El profesor habla … nosotros sólo … español
2. Ahora estamos … la casa de Natalia
3. Me gusta pasear … las calles de mi ciudad
4. Tus empleados nunca se preocupan … el resultado
5. El autobús … Málaga sale pronto
6. Trabajamos mucho … tener un buen futuro
7. Cada día hablo … teléfono con mi novio
8. Luis piensa mucho … su proyecto
9. ¿Estás contento … tu vida en Lisboa?
10. No puedo terminar mi tesis doctoral … falta de tiempo
11. Héctor sueña … yate blanco
12. Tienes que hacer deporte … ser fuerte
13. ¿… qué me miras así?
14. Alberto quiere casarse … Gabriela
15. Marcelo es de Argentina, … eso tiene acento
16. Voy … allá
17. Quiero olvidar a mi exnovio … siempre
18. Te invito, no tienes que pagar … nada
19. Miro … la ventana, pero no veo nada
Ejercicio 2
Translate into Spanish
1. In the morning Sr. Garcia listens to the music on the radio
2. Are you ready for the lesson?
3. Daniel’s parents speak Portuguese, because the are from Brazil
4. We need Spanish to go to Panama
5. Who are you talking to?
6. When I come into the room, I turn on the light
7. Elena says, that she doesn’t worry about the money
8. The flight to New York is cancelled due to the bad weather
9. By the way, what’s your name?
10. You only think about your problems
11. Let’s take a walk over there
12. At least they love each other
13. Would you like to drink something outside?