Learning to use prepositions is important to express yourself correctly.
Preposition is a type of word that does not vary and that allows certain elements to be introduced into a sentence , making them dependent on other words already mentioned. Etymologically speaking, the term derives from Latin, being the result of the sum of two perfectly delimited and differentiated components:
- The prefix pre- , which can be translated as "before" .
- The positio , which derives from the verb ponere (synonym of "to place" ).
Prepositions are analyzed within the framework of grammar , especially with regard to syntax . As they play a very important role in language , they are elements that must be known precisely in order to communicate successfully.
Use of prepositions
Prepositions are usually found at the beginning of the syntactic constituent they modify. When linking words, prepositions function as invariable parts of sentences (whether a simple sentence or a compound sentence) that are responsible for denoting the link between the terms.
The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) recognizes 23 prepositions in the Spanish language that are used today. These include "a" , "con" , "de" , "en" , "hasta" , "para" , "por" , "si" and "sobre" .
Various examples
It is important to note that different prepositions can be used to indicate a wide variety of elements. For example, they can be used to refer to a place, an origin, a reason, a means or even a destination, among many other things.
To understand this, it is enough to use the preposition «a» . Thus, when used in the phrase «Siempre voy a la antigua biblioteca» it refers to a place or an address, while if used in sentences such as «Estamos a 6 de julio de 2015» it refers to a day. As you can see, prepositions can appear next to nouns , verbs, adjectives, adverbs and other types of terms.
Another example of a sentence with a preposition is the following: «I will give Martin a ball» . In this case, the preposition included is also «a» , which allows relating the gift in question (a ball ) with the recipient of the gift ( Martín ).
Another expression with prepositions is “Raúl will dance with Estela on graduation night” . Among the prepositions that appear are “con” (which links Raúl and Estela ) and “en” (which indicates when the dance will take place).
There are more than twenty prepositions in our language.
The preposition "of"
Although all prepositions have various uses, one of the ones with the most functions is "de" . Specifically, it can be used for more than twenty purposes.
«De» can indicate a possession : «That car belongs to my neighbor» , «My aunt Etelvina's dog is a poodle» . Likewise, this preposition denotes where something or someone comes from : «The chocolate I used in the cake is from Belgium» , «I came from a very far away country to work here» , «I will leave work at six in the afternoon» .
The content and material of something can also be indicated by this preposition: “I like to wear linen pants,” “I bought a bag of apples at the market.” A cause and a matter , on the other hand, can be indicated by “of” : “The musician passed away from cancer,” “I heard they were talking about you,” “When I graduated, I cried with happiness.”
Other considerations on the concept
In some cases, prepositions link auxiliary verbs with others that appear in an impersonal form, creating what is known as verbal periphrases : "You have to shout louder" , "I'm going to run when I hear the signal" .
It is also worth noting that prepositions can cause a contraction with articles , creating a contracted article . This occurs when "a" or "de" precede the article "el" , giving rise to the creation of "al" and "del" : "Cocinaré los huevos al vapor" (I'll steam eggs) , "Llama a la puerta del vecino" (Knock on the neighbor's door) .
It is also interesting to note that prepositions can appear in the subject or in the predicate of a sentence. If we consider the sentence «Ricardo went to play football» , the preposition «to» is located in the predicate ( «Ricardo» is the subject, while «went to play football» is the predicate). On the other hand, in «Pizza with ham is my favorite food» , the proposition «with» appears in the subject.
Prepositions are linking elements or connections between different words or clauses.
Inseparable preposition and prepositional phrases
In addition to all of the above, we cannot ignore the existence of what is called an inseparable preposition . This name refers to the prefix that was formerly used as a simple preposition and that, nowadays, can never be used alone. An example of this is «sub» .
Similarly, there are also so-called prepositional phrases . These are groups of words that function as if they were a single preposition and, therefore, when analyzing a sentence syntactically, they must be studied as a unit. Examples of prepositional phrases are "under" and "through" .