Ch 28 · Lesson 17Spanish · Chapter 28 · Lesson 17 · Grammar primer
Verbs with prepositions: de and en
, , , , : the preposition belongs to the verb and rarely matches the English one. Plus , and .
The short version
The preposition belongs to the verb
.
Why?Hide
The preposition attaches to the Spanish verb, not to the meaning, and it rarely matches the English one. You think in something, dream with it, depend of it and marry with someone. There is no rule to extract, so stop translating the little word and learn the pair as a single unit, the way you learn a noun's gender.
Verbs and their prepositions at a glance
| Verb | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| . | It all depends on you. |
| . | I think about you. |
| . | I dream of travelling. |
| . | I learnt to swim. |
| . | Don't worry about me. |
| . | I'm looking for work. |
The preposition stays the same before a noun, a pronoun or an infinitive. After con, the pronouns and fuse with it:
.- I stopped smoking..- I'm counting on you.
AQA GCSE Spanish lists verbs followed by a preposition at Foundation and Higher tier.
Verbs that take de
follows many reflexive verbs of memory and feeling, and is the everyday way to say stop doing:
| Verb | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| ¿ ? | Do you remember that summer? |
| . | I forgot the keys. |
| . | I didn't notice the time. |
| . | It depends on the situation. |
| . | It's about money. |
| . | Stop shouting. |
| . | I'm glad to see you. |
| . | He/she complains about everything. |
| . | He/she fell in love with her. |
Verbs that take en
follows verbs of thinking, trusting and insisting:
| Verb | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| . | I think about you every day. |
| . | I trust my sister. |
| . | He/she insisted on paying. |
| . | Pay attention to the details. |
| . | It took me an hour to get there. |
| . | It turned into a problem. |
| . | The job involves helping. |
changes meaning with what follows it:
| Pattern | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| . | I'm thinking about the exam. |
| . | I think you' right. |
| ¿ ? | What do you think of him? |
asks for an opinion, mostly in a question. Thinking about something is .
Going further: Verbs that take con and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
Practise this lesson
10-question session
One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
Spanish · Free printables
Worksheets for this lesson
Worksheets with answer keys built in. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekLesson 17 of 29 in this chapter