PREPOSICIONES/ PREPOSITIONS

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X. ENTRE/ between, among

a. ENTRE is used to indicate a relationship between two or more things or people:

EXAMPLES

• Es un secreto entre Juan y yo./ It is a secret between Juan and me.
• Es un secreto entre Juan, Alba y yo./ It is a secret among Juan, Alba, and me.

 

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b. ENTRE is used with reciprocal verbs, such as entender/to understand:

EXAMPLE

• Cuando hablan chino entre ellos no entiendo nada./ When they speak Chinese among themselves, I don't understand a thing.

 

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c. ENTRE is used to group people or things as a total number:

EXAMPLE

• Entre billetes y monedas, tengo $10,50*./ Including bills and coins, I have $10.50. *In Spanish, the comma is used to indicate decimal places and the period to separate whole numbers into groups of three (thousand, million, billion, etc.) More info.

 

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d. ENTRE is used to express cooperative efforts:

EXAMPLE

Terminamos el proyecto entre los dos./ We finished the project between the two of us.

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LESSONS: Maintenance II & Maintenance IIa.

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XI. HACIA / toward, towards, to

a. HACIA is used to indicate direction, such as towards, inward, upward:

EXAMPLES

• Es preferible que las puertas se abren hacia afuera (hacia adentro, hacia arriba)./ It's preferable if doors open outwards (inwards, upwards).
• Hubo mucha fuga del capital hacia el exterior./ There was a lot of flight of capital (towards) abroad.

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b. HACIA is used to express proximity; it means towards:

EXAMPLE

Hacia el fin de año, las ventas subieron./Towards the end of the year, sales increased.

LESSONS: Manufacturing I & Manufacturing Ia.

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XII. HASTA/ until

a. HASTA is used to express time; it means until:

EXAMPLES

• ¿Hasta qué hora se quedan?/ Until what time are you staying?
• Hasta hace unos meses, pesaba 55 kilos./ Up until a few months, I used to weight 55 kilos.

 

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b. HASTA is used to express distance; it means to:

EXAMPLE

• Viajamos en tren desde La Paz hasta Buenos Aires./ We traveled by train from La Paz to Buenos Aires.

 

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c. HASTA is used in greetings:

EXAMPLES

• Hasta mañana./ See you tomorrow.
• Hasta el año que viene./ See you next year.

 

LESSONS: Manufacturing II & Manufacturing IIa.

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XIII. PARA/ for, to

a. PARA is used to express an intention or purpose:

EXAMPLES

• El socio tenía malas noticias para los empleados./ The partner had bad news for the employees.
• Lee para ti./ Read to yourself.

 

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b. PARA is used to express a culmination of something:

EXAMPLE

• Para el colmo llovió./ On top of everything else, it rained.

 

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c. PARA is used to express a consequence or effect:

EXAMPLES

• Para nuestra sorpresa, nos aumentaron el sueldo./ To our surprise, we got a salary increase.

 

• Para la desgracia de la empresa, la competencia remató las mercaderías a precios más bajos./ Unfortunately for the company, its competition liquidated their merchandise at lower prices.

 

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d. PARA is used to express direction:

EXAMPLES

• Saldremos para el aeropuerto./ We'll leave for the airport.
• Vamos para su casa./ We are going to his house.

 

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e. PARA is used to indicate a period of time, such as duration, specific date, or approximate date:

EXAMPLES

• Tengo para rato./ I am going to be a while.
• Tiene que estar listo para el 5 de marzo./ It has to be ready for March 5.
• Edén piensa casarse para octubre./ Eden plans to get married by October.

 

LESSONS: Manufacturing III & Manufacturing IIIa.

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