Prepositions are hard. Why? Because prepositions rarely translate well between languages. And their use often doesn’t follow a nice set of rules.
For example, when is something below and when is it underneath? How would you explain the difference? What about the difference between out and outside—could you tell a foreigner when they should use these two words?
In this week’s theoretical episode of the podcast I take a look at prepositions. I’m going to specifically look at prepositions of position. And I’m going to dedicate two episodes to prepositions of position. Why? Because they are hard and there are lot of them.
In tip 23 we looked at prepositions of movement. Prepositions of movement are also useful prepositions and worth a review.
But for this week we will focus prepositions such as on, above, below, in and out. In next week’s episode I will focus on in front of, behind and beside.
Examples for today:
We are going outside for some fresh air – Vamos afuera a tomar el aire.
We’re going to meet outside the ground – Vamos a quedar afuera del campo.
I don’t like being inside, I prefer to be outdoors – No me gusta estar dentro, prefiero estar fuera.
Have you left the meat out of the fridge – ¿Has dejado la carne fuera de la nevera?
He went inside – Él fue adentro.
It is very noisy here, I’m going inside to speak – Hace mucho ruido aquí, me voy adentro a hablar.
In a few days she will return – Dentro de unos días ella volverá.
He was never in the popular group – Nunca estaba dentro del grupo popular.
There are lots of fish below the waves – Hay muchos peces bajo las olas.
I have a wine cellar below – Tengo una bodega abajo.
My son likes to hide below the table – A mi hijo le gusta esconderse debajo de la mesa.
The keys are on the table – Las llaves están sobre la mesa.
The keys are on the table – Las llaves están encima de la mesa.
The keys are on the table – Las llaves están en la mesa.
The plane flies over land – El avión vuela por encima de la tierra.
She lives upstairs (above) – Ella vive arriba.
How would you now use these prepositions of position in context?
Podcast: Play in new window
Thanks for doing this series, this is something that has been on my list of things to learn for the last few months but I have gotten around to studying it in depth to find the answers. This will save me a lot of time! The questions started for me a few months ago when at the time, I had only learned afuera and adentro. Life was so simple, jaja! Soon, I started to see dentro/fuera used by native speakers without the ‘a’ at the front more often that the words I had learned originally.
I think you did a great job explaining a concept that most definitely changes region to region based on preferences for its usage.
Thanks Amy. It’s good to know that this will save you time. You’re right, there will be changes
from region to region. But I was perplexed when my friends from the same region
of Spain disagree on the use of these words. Since I found it difficult to get
agreement I have been putting this theory episode off but I’m glad to know that
it hit the mark for you.
Loads of good stuff in your podcasts, thank you, they’re very useful! So I am sorry to be picky but I think you were right to be nervous about this episode, for me it was more confusing than clarifying, so I mean this to be constructive. I am very familiar with the inconsistencies and variations in English that you mention, and I suggest that the most useful thing for a student in this situation is to be told that option ‘A’ is the best to use, to minimise the risk of being misunderstood or technically wrong, but not to be surprised if they hear Option ‘B’ (or ‘C’, etc!). So then it is the teacher – i.e. the expert – who determines what is best, rather than the learner. I hope this comment is useful, and thank you again for all the podcasts!
JJono, thanks for your feedback, I appreciate it. As you have pointed out, yes I was nervous about this one. I have been putting it off for a while. And I’m sorry to hear that you are more confused—that was definitely not my intention. My ultimate goal was to show you some of the uses of these words and give a few examples of where and how they work.
Then in future if someone does correct you when you try to use these prepositions you will hopefully remember that it isn’t necessarily because you are wrong, it’s just that there is a little disagreement between individuals on the proper use of these words.