Prepositions of Place (Preposiciones de Lugar): How and When to Use Them
Written by tutor Dorothy P.
Question: What’s a preposition, anyway?
Answer: Prepositions are words that effect (without describing as an adjective does) a noun or pronoun,
normally preceding it. In other words, prepositions describe the relationship of people, places and things
to the world. There are prepositions that express relationship to purpose (What is a screwdriver for?),
prepositions that express relationship to time (“I’ll get there around 6 o’clock.”), and prepositions that
express relationship to location in space or place (“This lesson is on the Wyzant website.”). Here will will
examine some common Prepositions of Place.
Prepositions of Place tell us where things are, often though not always relative to other people, places
and things. You will notice that the verb estar is often used (rather than ser) in these examples because it
pertains to being and location. Of course, many other verbs are used with prepositions of place including
colocar (to place), ubicar (to position), poner (to put), situar (to place), to name just a few.
Here is a table of the most commonly used (though certainly not all of the) prepositions of place.
Notice that some of the smaller prepositions have multiple meanings!
| Preposition in Spanish | English Translation* | Example |
| A | To, into | Voy a la tienda de móviles. / I am going to the cell phone store. ¡A la batalla! / ¡Into battle! |
| Abajo (de) | Below, underneath | El sótano está abajo de mi casa. / The basement is underneath my house. |
| Adentro (de) | Inside (of), inward | La caja fuerte está adentro del clóset. / The strong-box is inside of the closet. |
| Afuera (de) | Outside (of) | El perro vive afuera de la casa. / The dog lives outside of the house. |
| Al lado (de) | Next (to) | El viejo roble está al lado de mi casa. / The old oak is next to my house. |
| Arriba (de) | Above | El cielo está arriba de mí. / The sky is above me. |
| Cerca (de) | Near (to) | La tienda de móviles está cerca de mi casa. / The cell phone store is near my house. |
| Delante (de) | In front of | El jardín está delante de mi casa. / The garden’s in front of my house. |
| Detrás (de) | Behind, in back of | El gallinero está detrás de mi casa. / The chicken coop is in back of my house. |
| En | In, on, at | Hay leche en la sopa / There’s milk in the soup.
La sopera está en la mesa. / The soup bowl’s on the table. |
| Encima (de) | On top (of) | La gata ahora está encima de la mesa. / Now the cat’s on top of the table. |
| Enfrente (de) | Facing, across from, opposite | El hospital está enfrente de la farmacia. / The hospital is across from the pharmacy. |
| Entre | Between | La tienda está entre dos edificios más grandes. / The store is between two bigger buildings. |
| Sobre | Over, on top (of), on | Hay una espada colgada sobre mi cabeza. / There’s a sword hanging over my head. |
* Some of these prepositions have additional meanings that are not related to location. I have not included those
meanings here.
Did you notice that the preposition “de” is often added to other prepositions? Did you notice that
sometimes it translated as “of ”, sometimes as “to” and that it is sometimes is not audible at all in the
English translation? Whether “de” is used or not with some prepositions of place depends upon whether
you are placing someone or something relatively or not. Take a look at these examples:
Non-relative use: El perro está afuera. The dog is outside.
Relative use: Ell perro está afuera de la casa. The dog is outside of the house.
In the first sentence, the dog is just outside. In the second sentence, the “de” is used to show the dog’s
relative relationship in space to the house.
Preposiciones de Lugar Practice Quiz
Let’s see what you have learned! Answer the following questions, choosing the best answer according to
the accompanying picture.
| El pájaro está… |
…arriba de la rama.
…en la rama.
…detrás de la rama.
| Las pastillas están… |
…adentro del frasco.
…encima del frasco.
…afuera del frasco.
| El hombre y la mujer están… |
…sobre la mesa.
…en la mesa.
…enfrente.
| El gato está… |
…al lado de la olla.
…detrás de la olla.
…adentro de la olla.
| Las copas y la botella están… |
…arriba de la mesa.
…abajo de la mesa.
…encima de la mesa.
| La mesa está… |
…arriba de las sillas.
…detrás de las sillas.
…entre las sillas.
| La muchacha está sentada… |
…adentro de la silla de ruedas.
…delante de la silla de ruedas.
…en la silla de ruedas.
| La fábrica está… |
…delante del humo.
…abajo del humo.
..al lado del humo.
| La comida está… |
…encima de la canasta.
…entre la canasta.
…en la canasta.