USE OF PREPOSITION

Certain verbs in English require a preposition to follow the verb; however, in Spanish the preposition is NOT always required.

NOTE that the preposition a goes before an indirect object.

1. Buscar/ to look for

Busquemos un lugar fresco./ Let's look for a cool place.

Ella busca trabajo en Bariloche./ She looks for a job in Bariloche.

Busquemos a Ana./ Let's look for Ana.

2. Escuchar/ to listen to

La audiencia escucha la música./ The audience listens to the music.

Los alumnos escuchan a la maestra./ The students listen to the teacher.

3. Esperar/ to wait for

Estoy esperando el tren de las cinco./ I am waiting for the 5 o'clock train.

Espero a Susana que viene en el tren./ I am waiting for Susana who is coming by the train.

Te espero hasta las seis./ I'll wait for youuntil six.

4. Mirar/ to look at

Miran las pinturas de Picasso./ They look at Picasso's paintings.

Miran al futuro./ They look at the future.

5. Pagar/ to pay for

Los subsidiarios de las compañías estadounidenses pagan los beneficios médicos./ American subsidiaries pay for medical benefits.

Los subsidiarios de las compañías estadounidenses pagan por los beneficios médicos./ American subsidiaries pay for medical benefits.

6. Pedir/ to ask for

Le pedí el número de teléfono./ I asked for her phone number.

USE OF PREPOSITION: General Rules.

A

Ante

Bajo

Cabe

Con

Contra

De

Desde

En

Entre

Hacia

Hasta

Para

Por

Según

Sin

So

Sobre

Tras

I. A / at, by, on, to

a. A is used with verbs that express direction or movement:

EXAMPLES

El camión va a la estación./ The truck goes to the station.

El camión llegó a l destino./ The truck arrived at its destination.

b. A is used to indicate a specific time in which an action occurs; a is equivalent to at:

EXAMPLES

El concierto empieza a las ocho./ The concert starts at eight o'clock.

Los artistas llegaron a las seis./ The artists arrived at six o'clock.

c. A is used with the direct and indirect object:

EXAMPLES

Visitamos a l presidente de nuestra compañía./ We visited the president of our company.

Le regalo a mi hermano las entradas del concierto./ I give away the concert tickets to my brother.

d. A is used in idiomatic expressions that indicate how something is made:

EXAMPLES

El pulóver está hecho a mano./ The sweater is hand made.

El pulóver fue tejido a máquina./ The sweater was machine woven.

e. A + quien is equivalent to whom:

EXAMPLES

¿ A quién viste en el concierto?/ Whom did you see at the concert?

Paula, a quien le vendí mi auto, se fue a París./ Paula, whom I sold my car to, left to Paris.

f. Estar + a indicates a distance between a point in reference to another one:

EXAMPLES

Mar del Plata está a 400 kilómetros de Buenos Aires./ Mar del Plata is 400 kilometers away from Buenos Aires.

Estoy a dos cuadradas del colegio./ I am two blocks away from school.

g. A is used after the verbs enseñar / to teach, aprender / to learn, comenzar, empezar / to start; these verbs are followed by an infinitive:

EXAMPLES

Quiero que me enseñes a hablar el español./ I want you to teach me how to speak Spanish.

Victoria está aprendiendo a manejar. / Victoria is learning how to drive.

Este año empezaremos a publicar más libros./ This year we'll start to publish more books.

DIF. BETWEEN PEDIR & PREGUNTAR

The verb pedir means to ask of or requestsomething as in the following examples:

Mis hijos me piden que vayamos al parque./ My children ask me to go to the park.

El gerente me pidió mi opinión./ The manager asked for my opinion.

On the other hand, the verb preguntar means to ask a question.

EXAMPLES

Mis hijos me preguntaron si yo quería ir al parque./ My children asked me (the question) whether I wanted to go to the park.

El gerente me preguntó mi opinión./ The manager asked (a question) about my opinion.

HAY / THERE IS (ARE)

Hay is a conjugated form of the auxiliary verb haber/ to have. It is used to express both there is and there are depending on the context of a sentence. Furthermore, it has no subject.

EXAMPLES

Hay mucho esmog en Los Angeles./ There is a lot of smog in Los Angeles.

Hay muchos aviones en el aeropuerto./ There are many planes at the airport.

NOTE: It is important not to confuse hay with es (it is) and son (they are).

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