Spanish Prepositions Book

For English speakers, the hardest part of Spanish prepositions is choosing between por and para, two words that both translate as "for". This 11-page guide gives that pair its own section with twelve distinct uses, and places it after a clear tour of the prepositions of place, time, movement, purpose, and manner, each illustrated with a Spanish sentence and English translation.

Por or para: the core of the guide

Section 7 separates the two by function. Reading the uses side by side is the quickest way to see the pattern:

A simple guide to remember the difference: por usually looks back at a cause or along a route, while para looks forward to a goal, a recipient, or a deadline. For duration, everyday Spanish often drops the preposition altogether or uses durante: Estudié tres horas, Estudié durante tres horas.

Place: simple and compound forms

The location section distinguishes one-word prepositions such as sobre, bajo, and entre from compound forms that end in de: encima de, debajo de, delante de, detrás de, al lado de, cerca de, and lejos de. The compound forms combine with the article, which leads to the two obligatory contractions covered in section 1: a + el = al and de + el = del, as in al lado del museo.

Time words that do not match English

A few time expressions work differently from their English equivalents:

• Por la mañana, por la tarde: por, not en, for parts of the day.
• En mayo, en 2020: en for months, years, and seasons.
• Desde enero for a starting point, hasta las ocho for an end point.
• Dentro de una hora: "in an hour", meaning an hour from now.
• Hace dos años: "two years ago". Hace is technically a verb form, which is why it comes before the time expression.

Verbs and phrases to learn as units

The tips section recommends learning verbs together with their preposition, citing pensar en, soñar con, and consistir en. Section 11 adds seven prepositional phrases useful for more advanced writing: a pesar de, en lugar de, además de, acerca de, en cuanto a, respecto a, and a diferencia de.

Practice without an answer key

The three exercises focus on por and para, location, and time. No answers are provided, so use section 7 as your checklist for the first exercise: for each sentence, name the use, such as purpose, route, or deadline, before choosing the word. For the location exercise, several answers can be correct, which makes it a good prompt for describing your own home or street.

Level

Learners who can already get by with a, de, and en will gain the most here, since the aim is accuracy rather than first contact. It does not cover the personal a before human direct objects (Veo a María), a key difference from English that is worth studying next.