Spanish Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases (Part 1)

Part 1 - Simple Prepositions

I had a Spanish teacher in high school who once told me, "A preposition is anything a monkey and a tree can do with each other."  Took me awhile to figure it out, but I got the gist after I bit my teeth on several years of University level grammar in the years that followed.  A preposition is a phrase that we use to suggest an object is related to some sort of a grammatical unit, like "on" the table, or "with" the teacher.  You are already familiar with one of the most known Spanish prepositions, de (of, from).  

There are many prepositions in English, perhaps hundreds.  Here is a list of commonly used ones, along with their Spanish equivalents.  Here they are, along with their Spanish equivalents.  Examples follow the chart: 

Please note that there are over 150 prepositions in the English language, so this list isn't all-encompassing.  It is just a small sample of the most commonly used ones.  Here are some example sentences, with the preposition underlined: 

Mi hermano está en el baño.  My brother is in the bathroom.  

Estoy en el mercado.  I am at the market.  

El libro está encima del pupitre.  The book is on the desk.  

La novela es por Gabriel García Márquez.  The novel is by Gabriel García Márquez.  

Venezuela está cerca de Colombia.  Venezuela is near Colombia.  

Los restaurantes están a lo largo de la calle principal.  The restaurants are along the main street.  

México está através del Río Grande.  Mexico is across the Rio Grande.  

Alaska está lejos de Florida.  Alaska is far from Florida.  

Al lado del edificio hay un buzón.  There is a mailbox next to the building.  

Hope this lesson helps! Next is Part 2 - Prepositional phrases.  I know you're excited about that one!!  

Using Ser and Estar: Different Meanings Depending on Verb Used

Both verbs ser and estar mean "to be" and are an integral part of the Spanish language.  After all, we use the verbs "is" and "are" frequently in the English language, as well.  The difference between both languages is that we only use one verb versus the two for Spanish.  

While we only need to use one verb in English, some sentences in Spanish change meaning depending on whether ser or estar is used.  Here is a list of important differences in Spanish.  While this list is not all-inclusive, it does include the vast majority of the commonly used phrases that change depending on whether or not ser or estar is used: 

Yo soy listo.  I am clever.   

Yo estoy listo.  I am ready (prepared).  

La manzana está verde.  The apple isn't ripe (unfit to eat).  

La tortuga es verde.  The turtle is green.  

Bill Gates es muy rico.  Bill Gates is very rich.  

El mole está muy rico.  The mole is very tasty/delicious.  

El Honda nuevo es muy seguro.  The new Honda is very safe.  

¿Estás seguro que el jefe no viene hoy? Are you certain that the boss isn't coming today?  

El niño es muy malo.  The kid is very bad (he's a bad kid).  

Jaime no se siente bien.  Está muy malo hoy.  Jaime doesn't feel very well.  He is very sick today.  

La profesora es muy aburrida.  The professor is very boring (is a boring person).  

Estoy aburrido.  Vámonos a hacer algo.  I am bored.  Let's go do something.  

Hope this helps.  ¡Ojalá te ayude!