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How to Use Prepositional Pronouns in Spanish

In an interview appearing in the Spanish series, 75 minutos, we can hear a beautiful gypsy voice singing the following:

 

Me dormí pensando en ti; pensando en ti, me desperté

I fell asleep thinking about you; thinking about you, I woke up

Soñé contigo, estoy sin ti y así llevo to' mi vi'a

I dreamed about you, I am without you, and I carry on like that all my life

Captions 10-11, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa

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Do you see that "ti" in the example above? That's a prepositional pronoun, or pronoun that follows a preposition. As prepositional pronouns may have been outshone in your studies by the complexity of object pronouns (me, te, se, le, etc.), let’s focus on them for a change.

 

A Look at Prepositional Pronouns in Action

When pronouns follow prepositions, they take on a special form in the first and second person singular, as follows:

 

Tú sabes que una fiesta sin mí no es una fiesta

You know that a party without me is not a party

porque yo soy el alma de las fiestas.

because I am the soul of parties.

Caption 19, Club 10 - Capítulo 1 - Part 2

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He sentido un flechazo por ti.

I felt love at first sight with you.

Caption 7, Cortometraje - Flechazos

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Note that, unlike the possessive adjective mi (e.g. Mi nombre, or "My name"), the prepositional pronoun  has a graphic accent (tilde) whereas ti does not. 

 

In contrast to the first and second persons, the other persons utilize the same form as the subject pronoun (él, ella, nosotros, etc.) and do not require any special form:

 

Es un poco estresante para nosotros.

It's a bit stressful for us.

Caption 6, Animales en familia - Un día en Bioparc: Cachorro de leopardo

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No, estoy hablando de ella.

No, I'm talking about her.

Caption 22, Muñeca Brava - 41 La Fiesta

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O en los brazos de ella.

Or in her arms.

Caption 21, El Ausente - Acto 3 - Part 8

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Reflexive Use of the Third Person

The third person is the only grammatical person to employ a specific form exclusively for reflexive use: . Although this form does not indicate gender or number, these aspects are apparent (and the agreement with the subject achieved) with the words mismo(s) and misma(s), which often follow the prepositional pronoun sí when expressing the idea of "himself" or "herself." 

 

Agente, Pierre Bernard no habló mucho de sí mismo.

Agent, Pierre Bernard didn't talk much about himself.

Caption 24, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 4

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 can also come after the preposition entre in the third person plural to express the idea of "with each other," as follows:

 

Entonces, ellas son amigas entre sí, también.

So, they are friends with each other also.

Caption 48, Clase Aula Azul - Información con subjuntivo e indicativo

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However, entre can be also followed by the subject pronouns yo and tú:

 

Pues lo que está sucediendo

Because what's happening

es entre tú y yo

is between you and me

Captions 26-27, Vivanativa - Si tú me quieres

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Conmigo, Contigo, and Consigo

 

Soñé contigo, estoy sin ti / I dreamed about you, I am without you

 

Considering the fact that pronouns do not often merge with the prepositions that preceed them, you may have wondered why conmigo, contigo and consigo are written as a single word. The fact is that the prepositional pronouns , ti, and have special forms when used with the preposition con.

 

Quédate conmigo

Stay with me

Caption 42, Carlos Baute y Marta Sanchez - Colgando en tus manos

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Bailar contigo y perdernos esta noche

Dancing with you and losing ourselves tonight

Caption 9, Monsieur Periné - Bailar Contigo

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Porque si no, muchas personas

Because otherwise, many people

tienen conflictos consigo mismas.

have conflicts with themselves.

Captions 2-3, Natalia de Ecuador - Los tipos de temperamento

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Some years ago, a politician in Latin America gained notoriety after saying conmigo o sinmigo, an egregious error for a native speaker of Spanish, let alone a public figure! Now that you have read this lesson, you can rest assured that contigo no tendremos ese problema (we won’t have that problem with you). We hope you liked this lesson, and don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions. ¡Hasta la próxima!

Regular AR Verbs in Spanish

In the Spanish language, all infinitive verbs belong to one of the following groups: verbs ending in ‘-ar’, verbs ending in ‘-er and verbs ending in ‘-ir.

 

Likewise, each infinitive verb is formed using the following formula:

Verb stem + infinitive ending.

 

Let’s look at some of the most common regular ‘AR’ verbs in Spanish:

 

Hablar (to speak) = Habl + ar

Comprar (to buy) = Compr + ar

Estudiar  (to study) = Estudi + ar

 

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What makes a verb regular?

A verb is considered regular when the verb stem doesn’t change from the infinitive form to the conjugated form of the verb. Let’s take the regular verb hablar (to speak) and see its conjugation in the simple present. Notice how the stem stays the same but the endings vary:

 

Yo hablo (I speak)

Tú hablas (You speak)

Él/Ella habla (He/She speaks)

Nosotros/as hablamos (We speak)

Vosotros/as habláis (You speak)

Ellos/as hablan (They speak)

 

 

... o cuando mis alumnos hablan español.

... or when my students speak Spanish.

Caption 84, Lecciones con Carolina - Adjetivos posesivos

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Now, let’s take the regular verb comprar (to buy) and see how the conjugation works in the simple past:

 

Yo compré (I bought)

Tú compraste (You bought)

Él/Ella compró (He/She bought)

Nosotros/as compramos (We bought)

Vosotros/as comprasteis (You bought)

Ellos/as compraron (They bought)

 

 

¿Recuerdas el regalo que compré? -Mm-hm.

Do you remember the gift that I bought? -Mm-hm.

Caption 17, El Aula Azul - La Doctora Consejos - El pasado

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Let’s use a different verb to see the conjugation of a regular ‘AR’ verb in the simple future. Let’s take the verb estudiar (to study):

 

Yo estudiaré (I will study)

Tú estudiarás (You will study)

Él/Ella estudiará (He/She will study)

Nosotros/as estudiaremos (We will study)

Vosotros/as estudiaréis (You will study)

Ellos/as estudiarán (They will study)

 

 

La Comisaría de Pesca dice que estudiará la forma de pagar esa indemnización.

The Fisheries Commissioner says that she will evaluate the way to pay that compensation.

Caption 50, Europa Abierta - Aguas en discordia

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Do you want to know more regular ‘AR’ verbs in Spanish?

Take a look at the following list featuring some of the most used 'AR' verbs in Spanish:

 

Cantar (to sing) 

Ahora puedo cantar.

Now I can sing.

Caption 36, Ariana Cita médica

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Bailar (to dance) 

nos gusta bailar, nos gusta disfrutar,

we like to dance, we like to have fun,

Caption 34, Días festivos La diablada pillareña - Part 1

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In this example, the speaker also uses another -ar verb in Spanish: disfrutar (to have fun/to enjoy).

 

Bajar (to go down) 

Y ahora, voy a bajar.

And now, I am going to go down.

Caption 15, Raquel Las direcciones

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Caminar (to walk) 

Comenzó a caminar sin rumbo fijo.

He began to walk with no particular destination in mind.

Caption 39, Aprendiendo con Carlos El microrrelato - Part 2

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Contestar (to answer) 

Tengo que contestar esta llamada.

I have to answer this call.

Caption 9, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 3 - Part 1

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Descansar (to rest) 

Me encanta descansar un poquito después del trabajo.

I love to rest a little bit after work.

Caption 21, Ariana Mi Casa

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Entrar (to enter) 

para entrar en nuevos mercados.

to enter into new markets.

Caption 6, Negocios Problemas laborales - Part 1

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Escuchar (to listen to) 

Tómate un tiempo para escuchar,

Take some time to listen to,

Caption 17, Ana Carolina Mejorando la pronunciación

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Limpiar (to clean)

Ahora sólo me falta limpiar mi mesa de noche.

Now I just have to clean my nightstand.

Caption 27, Ana Carolina Arreglando el dormitorio

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Now, a final challenge: take one of the verbs we just mentioned and try conjugating it in simple present, past and future. And don’t forget to send your feedback and suggestions.

 

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Explore more lessons:

Spanish Reflexive Verbs for Your Daily Routine

Is Agua Masculine or Feminine?

How to Say "Cool" in Spanish

 

Apagar, encender.

The title of Gardi's smoky song, "Leña Apagada," might be translated as "Extingushed Firewood." The image is meant to be kindling that was once on fire but has been put out.

 

Se vistió de hielo y leña apagada.

She dressed up as ice and extinguished firewood.

Caption 16, Gardi - Leña apagada

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The verb "apagar" means "to put out / to extinguish" (as in a fire) or "to turn off" (as in a light, an electrical appliance or a car). The opposite of "apagar" is "encender" ("to light" and "to turn on"). Here are a couple of examples:

 

Tienes la llama que enciende mi alma y nos hace volar

You have the flame that ignites my soul and makes us fly

Caption 12, Monsieur Periné - Bailar Contigo

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¿Apagaste las luces? ¿Y la televisión?
Did you turn out the lights? And [did you turn off] the television?

 

¿Puedes encender una moto sin llaves?
Can you start up a motorcycle without keys?

 

If you're searching around for "an on/off switch," that would be "un interruptor de encendido" in Spanish.  Ready to shut down (apagar) your computer now?

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