Let’s talk about prepositions in Spanish! In this lesson, we will discuss the very often used and common preposition de. This preposition has lots of uses in Spanish and because of that, we can use it like the following English prepositions: from, of, in, and even than. Let’s have a look.
There are several ways we can use the preposition de in Spanish. For example, we use the preposition de when we want to indicate the nationality or origin of someone or something:
¿De dónde eres? -Soy de Alemania
Where are you from? -I am from Germany.
Captions 36-37, Curso de español - ¿De dónde eres?
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We also use the preposition de when we want to indicate the material that something is made of.
El lápiz está hecho de madera.
The pencil is made of wood.
Caption 40, Aprendiendo con Karen - Útiles escolares
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Similarly, we use the preposition de when we want to describe the features or characteristics of someone or something, in other words, when we want to describe a noun with another noun.
Se toma mucho el jugo de naranja que tiene mucha vitamina C.
Orange juice is consumed a lot as it has a lot of vitamin C.
Caption 74, Otavalo - Conozcamos el Mundo de las Frutas con Julia
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Eh, sobre todo aquí tenemos libros de historia de, eh…
Um, most of all, here we have history books about, um…
Caption 60, El Instituto Cervantes - Jefa de biblioteca
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Un profesor de español.
A Spanish teacher.
Caption 22, El Aula Azul - Cursos y actividades de la escuela
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One of the most common uses of the preposition de is when we use it to talk about possession. Let’s look at an example.
Es una empresa de tradición familiar, de mis abuelos.
It's a company with a family tradition from my grandparents.
Caption 50, Europa Abierta - Carne ecológica y segura
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In the example above, you can see that the first de is used to describe the company, while the second de is used to indicate possession (the company belongs to the grandparents). We can also use the preposition de in terms of “possession” when we want to indicate the relation that connects people.
El novio de Claudia es un tipo muy pinta.
Claudia's boyfriend is a very "pinta" [handsome] guy.
Caption 27, Carlos comenta - Confidencial - Jerga típica colombiana
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The preposition de also helps us to indicate a cause when it is placed after an adjective and before a verb.
Estoy ya cansado de estar endeudado
I am tired of being in debt (I’m tired because I’m always in debt)
Caption 3, Bacilos - Mi Primer Millón
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We can also use the preposition de when we want to express something using a comparison or a point of reference with the expressions más de (more than) or menos de (less than):
Sí, un poquito menos de quinientos mil habitantes.
Yes, a little less than five hundred thousand inhabitants.
Caption 47, Buenos Aires - Heladería Cumelen
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Besides the uses we mentioned above, we also use the preposition de when talking about expressions of time. Let’s see how:
Supongamos que son las cinco de la tarde
Let's suppose that it's five in the evening
Caption 66, Carlos explica - El pretérito Cap. 2: Perfecto compuesto I
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And finally, we use the preposition de along with the preposition a to indicate a particular range or period. Like in the following example:
El horario es de lunes a viernes
The schedule is from Monday to Friday
Caption 69, Negocios - La solicitud de empleo
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To summarize, the following are the most common uses of the preposition de in Spanish:
- To indicate nationality or origin
- To indicate the material that something is made of
- To describe the features or characteristics of someone or something (to describe a noun with another noun)
- To indicate possession
- To indicate a cause (after an adjective and before a verb)
- To express a comparison or point of reference (with más de or menos de)
- To talk about expressions of time
- To indicate a particular range (with the preposition a)
When the preposition de goes before the definite article el, you need to combine the two words using the contraction del (de + el). Just as it happens with the contraction al (a + el), when you have the preposition de next to the article el, the contraction del is mandatory!
Estos son los números del uno al cien.
These are the numbers from one to a hundred.
Caption 44, El Aula Azul - Los Números del 1-100
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In this example, we can see both contractions (del and al) in action. Also, in this sentence, the speaker is using the preposition de and the preposition a together because she is indicating a range. Remember that it would be wrong to say that sentence in the following way: Estos son los números de el uno a el cien.
That's all for now. If you feel like it, try writing sentences with all the different uses we have mentioned for the preposition de. And don’t forget to send your feedback and suggestions.
Let's continue studying examples of sinalefas. If you missed part 1 of this lesson you can read it here.
Sinalefas are an important aspect to consider when learning Spanish because they play a fundamental role in the fast-paced speech we hear so frequently in many native speakers and which makes listening comprehension so challenging. We've seen that sinalefas can merge up to five vowels from different contiguous words, like in the infamous example Envidio a Eusebio (I envy Eusebio), but sinalefas that merge two and three vowels are much more common and thus the more frequent culprits of word merges. Since we already covered sinalefas that merge two vowels, let's now focus on the ones that merge three or more.
For a sinalefa of more than three vowels to occur, at least one of the following conditions must be met:
Condition 1. The vowels are combined in a gradual scale from more open to less open, for example aeu, as in La europea (the European), or from less open to more open, for example uea, as in abue Antonia (Granny Antonia).
Here's an example with an oi and an aae sinalefa that allows the speaker to pronounce no iba a entrar as a single word:
Decidimos que en nuestras tiendas no iba a entrar un chocolate...
We decided that in our stores no chocolate was going to enter...
Caption 46, Horno San Onofre - El Chocolate
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Here's an iea sinalefa that allows the speaker to pronounce nadie apoyaba as a single word:
Nadie apoyaba el movimiento...
No one was supporting the movement...
Caption 57, Arturo Vega - Entrevista
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Condition 2. The combination consists in one open vowel surrounded by two less open ones. For example iae, as in limpia estancia (clean place), eau as in muerte auspicia (auspicious death), uoi as in mutuo interés (mutual interest), etc.
Here's an oae sinalefa that allows the speaker to pronounce salto a Europa as a single word:
Ahora preparan su salto a Europa, a Francia y a Alemania.
Now they're preparing their jump into Europe, France and Germany.
Caption 49, Europa Abierta - Carne ecológica y segura
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Here's an example with an iao and an ee sinalefa that allows the speaker to pronounce de aire en as a single word:
...y además, controlan [sic] el flujo de aire en el interior.
...and additionally, it controls the flow of air inside.
Caption 53, Tecnópolis - El Coronil
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When none of these two conditions are met, merging contiguous vowels from different words to form a sinalefa is theoretically impossible. We will study some interesting cases in the third and last part of our lesson on this topic. In the meantime, we invite you to find more examples of sinalefas that merge two or more vowels by browsing our catalog of videos. We recommend you use the search tool located in the upper right corner of the site to find them.
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