Purpose
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to use common Spanish prepositions to describe where something is located.
Lesson Explanation
Prepositions of place are typically used with estar (from Part 1, Lesson 5), since location is a temporary/contextual state, not a defining trait:
en — in / on: El libro está en la mesa. sobre — on top of: El gato está sobre la silla. debajo de — under/below: El perro está debajo de la mesa. delante de — in front of: El coche está delante de la casa. detrás de — behind: El jardín está detrás de la casa. entre — between: El banco está entre la tienda y la escuela. al lado de — next to: La silla está al lado de la mesa.
Notice that several of these (debajo de, delante de, detrás de, al lado de) are genuinely two- or three-word compound prepositions ending in de — a pattern with no single-word English equivalent for some of them.
A genuinely important contraction to remember: de + el always fuses into del — never write de el as two separate words: al lado del coche (next to the car), not “al lado de el coche.”
Practice Questions
1. Which verb is typically paired with prepositions of place — ser or estar?
View Answer
Estar.
2. Write the Spanish word for “in/on.”
View Answer
En.
3. Write the Spanish phrase for “under/below.”
View Answer
Debajo de.
4. Write the Spanish phrase for “in front of.”
View Answer
Delante de.
5. Write the Spanish phrase for “behind.”
View Answer
Detrás de.
6. Write the Spanish phrase for “between.”
View Answer
Entre.
7. Write the Spanish phrase for “next to.”
View Answer
Al lado de.
8. Do “debajo de,” “delante de,” and “detrás de” end in the same word?
View Answer
Yes, they all end in “de.”
9. What does “de” plus “el” always fuse into?
View Answer
Del.
10. Write “next to the car,” using the correct contraction.
View Answer
Al lado del coche.
11. Write “The book is on the table.”
View Answer
El libro está en la mesa.
12. Write “The dog is under the table.”
View Answer
El perro está debajo de la mesa.