A preposition is a word that links or connects a noun, verb, or adjective to a noun or noun phrase. Some words are always followed by the same preposition, while others take different prepositions depending on what they want to express.

In this article we are going to learn the following 15 Spanish verbs with prepositions.

Spanish Verbs with Prepositions

There are many Spanish verbs with prepositions. In this article, we are going to focus on some of the most popular ones.

Verbs with A

Probably the main use of the preposition a is to refer to movement and destination.

Voy a la biblioteca todos los días.

I go to the library every day.

Viajo a Lisboa con mis amigos.

I travel to Lisbon with my friends.

We will go through some of the most common Spanish verbs with prepositions. Now let’s see the verbs that are followed by the preposition a.

Aprender a (to learn to)

Aprender a means to learn to do something.

El niño aprendió a jugar a tenis. 

The child learned to play tennis.

Mi hijo está aprendiendo a nadar.

My son is learning to swim.

Oler a (to smell like)

Oler a means to smell like.

Este perfume huele a rosas. 

This perfume smells like roses.

La habitación huele a ti.

The room smells like you.

Pertenecer a (to belong to)

Pertenecer a means to belong to someone.

Este collar pertenece a mi abuela. 

This necklace belongs to my grandmother.

La cámara me pertenece a mí.

The camera belongs to me.

If you use a pronoun, you can omit the a phrase. That a phrase is only used to emphasize who the possessor is. For example, you could have simply said La cámara me pertenece.

Verbs with Con

The most common meaning of the preposition con is to indicate being accompanied by someone.

Luis trabaja con mi prima. 

Luis works with my cousin.

Esta noche mis padres cenan con mi tía.

Tonight my parents have dinner with my aunt.

Conmigo and Contigo

Con can be used with all the subject pronouns (él, ella, nosotros…) except yo and tú. Instead, we use conmigo to say with me and contigo to say with you.

Have a look at the following Spanish verbs used with the preposition con.

Salir con (to go out with)

Salir con means to go out with someone or to date someone.

Mi hermana sale con un chico de Madrid. 

My sister is going out with a boy from Madrid.

¿Quieres salir conmigo esta noche?

Do you want to go out with me tonight?

Romper con (to break up with)

Romper con means to break up with someone.

Laura rompió con su novio la semana pasada. 

Laura broke up with her boyfriend last week.

Me han dicho que vas a romper con Juan.

I was told you are going to break up with Juan.

Soñar con (to dream about, to dream of)

Soñar con means to dream about someone or to dream of doing something.

Sueño con vivir en un palacio. 

I dream of living in a palace.

Soñamos con un mundo mejor.

We dream of a better world.

Verbs with De

There are many meanings of the preposition de. Its main use is to refer to a movement from a place.

El estudiante viene de la biblioteca. 

The student is coming from the library.

Las naranjas de Valencia están en esa caja.

The oranges from Valencia are in that box.

Here you can see more verbs that are followed by the preposition de.

Trabajar de (to work as)

Trabajar de means to work as something.

Trabajamos de niñeras mientras estudiamos en la universidad. 

We work as babysitters while we study at university.

Trabajo de camarero en este restaurante.

I work as a waiter in this restaurant.

Trabajar de does not express your profession, but what you are doing at the moment for a living. For example, maybe you are a teacher, but at the moment you are working as a waiter.

Soy profesor, pero trabajo de camarero.

I am a teacher, but I work as a waiter.

Ana es actriz, pero trabaja de vendedora.

Ana is an actress, but she is working as a sales clerk.

Sufrir de (to suffer from)

Sufrir de means to suffer usually from an illness.

Mi abuela sufre de diabetes. 

My grandmother suffers from diabetes.

Este hombre sufre de dolores de espalda.

This man suffers from back pains.

Carecer de (to lack, not to have)

Carecer de means to lack or not to have something.

El estudiante carece de permiso para viajar a Estados Unidos. 

The student does not have any permission to travel to the USA.

Creo que tus primos carecen de sentido del humor.

I think your cousins lack a sense of humor.

Verbs with En

The preposition en is usually translated to in, inside or within. En implies that something is inside a place that can be open, like a park, or closed, like a box.

Las llaves están en la mochila. 

The keys are in the bookbag.

Los niños están jugando en el parque.

The children are playing in the park.

Many Spanish verbs require the use the preposition en. Here you have some of them.

Pensar en (to think about, to think of)

Pensar en means to think about someone or to think of doing something.

Antonio, pienso en ti todos los días. 

Antonio, I think about you every day.

Mis amigos están pensando en aceptar ese trabajo.

My friends are thinking of accepting that job.

Invertir en (to invest in)

Invertir en means to invest in something.

Voy a invertir mis ahorros en comprar un coche. 

I am going to invest my savings in buying a car.

Antonio invertirá en acciones de esa empresa.

Antonio will invest in shares of that company.

Creer en (to believe in)

Creer en means to believe in someone or something.

Mi hija pequeña cree en las hadas. 

My little daughter believes in fairies.

Creemos en ti. Vas a tener mucho éxito.

We believe in you. You will be very successful.

Verbs with Por

The preposition por is sometimes mixed up with para. Por can have many possible translations. One of its most popular uses is to express the part of the day when an action is happening.

Doy un paseo con mi familia por la tarde. 

I have a walk with my family in the evening.

Esta semana no trabajo por las mañanas.

This week I don’t work in the mornings.

In this article we will focus on some verbs that are followed with por.

Acabar por (to end up)

Acabar por means to end up doing something.

Mi hermano acabó por decir la verdad. 

My brother ended up telling the truth.

Acabaré por dejar este puesto porque estoy estresada.

I will end up quitting this position because I am stressed.

Apostar por (to push for)

Apostar por means to push for someone.

Apostaron por ti porque aprobaste el examen de ingreso. 

They pushed for you because you passed the admissions exam.

Aposté por vuestro proyecto porque confío en vuestras ideas.

I pushed for your project because I trust in your ideas.

Cambiar por (to change for)

Cambiar por means to change something for something else.

Cambiarán este bolso azul por otro rojo. 

They will change this blue purse for another red one.

No quiero cambiar mi regalo por otro.

I don’t want to change my present for another one.

Exercises

Let’s do some exercises to practice the Spanish verbs with prepositions we have seen in this article.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

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PrepositionsGrammar