Where it is and how to get there: prepositions of place, del and al
Explaining the way is a task of two halves: say where it is, and say how to go. The first half rests on prepositions of place, the second on commands. For example: “La parada está enfrente del cine, al lado del semáforo” — The stop is opposite the cinema, next to the traffic light. A rule from the Spanish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Explaining the way is a task of two halves: say where it is, and say how to go. The first half rests on prepositions of place, the second on commands.
Almost all Spanish prepositions of place are compound and end in de: enfrente de, detrás de, delante de, al lado de, cerca de, lejos de, debajo de, encima de, dentro de, al final de. While a noun follows, the de is obligatory: detrás de la iglesia. As soon as the noun is dropped, the de goes with it: el coche está detrás. English builds the same compounds from the back — 'in front of', 'next to' — Spanish glues its de on the end.
Then comes the gluing. De plus el must fuse into del, and a plus el — into al. Al lado del banco, enfrente del cine, voy al centro. Writing de el banco is impossible: these are the only two contractions in the language, and they are not optional. With the other articles nothing happens: de la plaza, a los jardines.
The second half — where what is. A building, a street, any point on the map goes through estar: el museo está en la plaza. And hay announces that the thing exists at all, with an indefinite article after it or none: hay una farmacia en esta calle. The difference is audible at once: ¿dónde está la farmacia? — I know it exists; ¿hay una farmacia por aquí? — I do not.
And the command. A passer-by is addressed as usted, which means the usted form: siga todo recto, gire a la derecha, cruce la calle, coja la segunda a la izquierda, baje en la siguiente. To a friend the same verbs sound sigue, gira, cruza, coge, baja. Distance is given in minutes, not metres: está a diez minutos andando.
Table
| in English | in Spanish | the trap |
|---|---|---|
| opposite the pharmacy | enfrente de la farmacia | the 'de' cannot be dropped |
| next to the bank | al lado del banco | de + el = del |
| I'm going downtown | voy al centro | a + el = al |
| the pharmacy is over there | la farmacia está allí | I know it exists |
| is there a pharmacy? | ¿hay una farmacia? | I don't know if it exists |
| go straight on | siga todo recto | a command in usted |
| turn right | gire a la derecha | with tú: gira |
By example
- La parada está enfrente del cine, al lado del semáforoThe stop is opposite the cinema, next to the traffic light
- ¿Hay un cajero por aquí? — Sí, está en la esquinaIs there a cash machine around here? — Yes, it is on the corner
- Siga todo recto hasta el final de la calle y cruce el puenteGo straight on to the end of the street and cross the bridge
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Where it is and how to get there: how does it work in Spanish?
Explaining the way is a task of two halves: say where it is, and say how to go. The first half rests on prepositions of place, the second on commands.
What does it look like in an example sentence Spanish?
“La parada está enfrente del cine, al lado del semáforo” — The stop is opposite the cinema, next to the traffic light. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.