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   Adverbs and Prepositions


Adverbs basically tell how, where, or when something is done. The following is a list of the different kinds of adverbs, with a list of some of the most common Spanish ones:

Qualifying adverbs tell how something is done. The most common in Spanish are bien, mal, peor, mejor, así. Then there are dozens of those which are formed from an adjective. In English these are formed by adding -ly whereas Spanish does the same thing by adding -mente. For example: the English adjective rapid becomes the adverb rapidly, while in Spanish rápido becomes rápidamente. These adverbs are frequently similar to their English counterparts: rarely -- raramente, frequently -- frecuentamente, totally -- totalmente, etc.

Determinative adverbs deal with time, location, quantity.
   
Time: ayer, hoy, mañana, ahora, antes, después, luego, siempre, nunca, todavía, pronto, tarde, temprano, etc

Location: aquí, ahí, allí, allá, arriba, abajo, delante, detrás, dentro, fuera, cerca, lejos, etc.
   
Quantity: muy, mucho, poco, demasiado, bastante, todo, nada, casi, más, menos, algo, sólo, tan, tanto, etc.

Prepositions

The following is a brief list of common prepositions. A discussion of por and para and a few other problem areas follows:
   
One word prepositions: a, ante, bajo, con, contra, de, desde, durante, en, entre, hacia, hasta, para, por, según, sin, sobre.

Compound prepositions: alrededor de, al lado de, delante de, cerca de, lejos de, después de, antes de, detrás de, encima de, dentro de, frenta a, enfrente de, debajo de, fuera de, junto a.

Problem areas

Aside from learning the new words, people learning Spanish commonly have problems in the following areas: 'por and para, personal 'a', and verbs with a fixed preposition.

Por and Para
   
Por is used in the following situations:
   
1. As the cause of the action of the verb:
   
  • Lo haré por ti.
  • Trabaja por sus hijos.
        
    2. With time: por la mañana, por la tarde, etc.
       
    3. Imprecise location or transit:
       
  • Vive por aquí.
  • Pasamos por Madrid ayer.
        
    4. Exchange, substitution, price:
       
  • Pagamos 200 dólares por el coche.
  • Vamos a ir por ella.
        
    Para is used in these situations:
       
    1. Showing the finality or destination of the verbal action:
       
  • Trabajo para mi padre.
  • Los pasteles son para los niños.
  • Mandaron un regalo para ti.
        
    2. Meaning 'in order to' or 'to' in English:
       
  • Para cantar bien, hay que practicar.
  • Trabajo aquí para ganar dinero.
        
    3. Showing direction: Ven para acá.
       
    4. Showing a time limit: Estará listo para el lunes.
       
    5. Showing opinion: Para sus padres, él el el niño más listo de mundo.

    Personal 'a'

    It is difficult get used to the practice of putting in an 'a' when the object is a person. For most English speakers learning Spanish, 'Veo Juan' (I see John) sounds wonderful, but it not only sounds terrible in Spanish, but you could even be misunderstood by leaving out that little letter. You must put it in when the object is a person. Examples:

    Veo a Juan. (I see Juan)
    Ayudan a sus amigos. (They help their friends)
    Arrestaron a los criminales. (They arrested the criminals) 
     
    Verbs with a fixed preposition
       
    Some verbs always use a certain preposition. This is not necessarily confusing (like 'por' and 'para', for example) but rather must be learned. Be sure to learn verbs of this type along with the preposition. A few common examples:

    acostumbrase a (get used to)
    comenzar a (begin to)
    acabar de (finish - end)
    alegrarse de (be happy that)
    enamorarse de (fall in love with)
    casarse con (get married to)
    soñar con (dream about)
    entrar en (go into)
    quedar en (agree to)
    aprender a (learn how to)
    empezar a (begin to)
    acordarse de (remember)
    dejar de (stop)
    reirse de (laugh at)
    enfadarse con (get angry with)
    confiar en (trust)
    fijarse en (notice)

    Related Topics 

    Adjectives
    Contents
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