PREPOSICIONES

PREPOSITIONS
Chris Bombardi
 ¿QUÉ SON?

Las preposiciones son palabras que establecen una relación espacial, temporal o
lógica entre diferentes elementos dentro de una oración. Estas palabras conectan
sustantivos (o pronombres) con otros elementos en la oración, como verbos,
adjetivos o sustantivos, para indicar la posición, dirección, tiempo, modo, o relación
entre ellos.
Prepositions are words that show the relationship between a noun (or pronoun)
and other elements in a sentence. They typically indicate location, direction, time, or
the relationship between different elements in a sentence. Prepositions are crucial
for providing context and clarifying the spatial or temporal relationships within a
sentence.
 A. PREPOSICIONES PROPIAS (AQUELLAS PALABRAS SIMPLES QUE PRIMARIAMENTE SON
PREPOSICIONES, AUNQUE, COMO PARTÍCULAS, TAMBIÉN PUEDEN SER ADVERBIOS Y
3
CONJUNCIONES QUE PUEDEN INTERVENIR EN LA FORMACIÓN DE LOS VERBOS

S
COMPUESTOS DE PARTÍCULA)

AR E
G ON
About (por, alrededor de): I enjoy travelling about the country.
LU ICI Above (sobre, por encima de): The plane is above the clouds.
DE OS
Across (a través de, al otro lado de; por una superficie): Go to the bar across the street./Can
you get across the river?
EP
PR

After (después de, tras): He is running after the bus.

Against (contra): Stand against the wall.
Along (a lo largo de, por): Are there any obstacles along the river?
Among, amongst (entre más de dos): There was a letter among his papers.
At (en): I’ll be at the office till two.
Before (delante de, ante): He appeared before the judge.
Behind (detrás de): There is a garden behind the house.
Below (bajo, debajo de): Don´t hit him below the waist.
Beside (al lado de, junto a): Come and sit beside me.
Between (entre dos): He has nothing between his ears.
Beyond (más allá de): The town is beyond that range of mountains.
By (al lado de, junto a): Let`s sit by the stream.
Down (por, abajo de): My house is just down that street/We sailed slowly down the river.
From (de, desde): He comes from Italy/The man from the police department is here.
 4
In (en, dentro de): Is he in his office?/He is working in Burgos.

S
AR E
Inside (dentro de): Have you been inside that church?

G ON
Into (en, con movimiento): He fell into the water.
LU ICI Near (cerca de): Do you live near the sea?
DE OS

Off (fuera de, de): He has cut the roof off their car /Here is a piece off the end of
the loaf.
EP

On (sobre, en): Don´t sit on that chair/There is a book on the table.

PR

Opposite (frente a, cara a cara): We live opposite the church.

Out of (fuera de): Get out of my house/It is coming out of the tunnel.
Over (por encima de, sobre): We have a good roof over our heads/Don´t argue
over it!
Past (por delante de): He ran past my house.
Round (alrededor de): He is building a wall (a)round his house.
Through (a través de, por medio de; a través de un medio, espacio o volumen): I
can`t see through the window/He got rich through hard work.
To (a, hacia): Do you go to school?/ I am writing to him.
Towards (hacia): He came towards me angrily.
Under (debajo de, bajo): There is a cat under the table.
Underneath (por debajo, bajo, debajo de): There is a mine underneath this town.
Upon (tiene el significado de on, en contextos más formales o en frases hechas):
Upon my word/Once upon a time.
After (después de): Can you come after lunch?
At (a, por, en): We can meet at one/ He can sleep at night. PREPOSICIONES DE
By (para, antes de): I want it finished by Tuesday/then. TIEMPO
Before (antes de): I will do it before breakfast/he comes.
Between (entre): Don´t eat between lunch and supper/5 and 8.
During (durante): He left quietly during the night.
For (desde hace/durante): He has been playing soccer for two hours.
They will be here for a month.
From… to/till/until (desde, de…hasta): I worked here from1990 to 1996.

In (en): I do not like the cold in winter/Were you here in March?

On (en, fechas fijas): I´m going on Monday.
Since (desde): I’ve played tennis since 1995.
Till, until (hasta; tiempo): Stay here till he comes back.
Through (por): They drove on through the morning.
Up to (hasta ; lugares y tiempo): These are the results up to last week.
 B. PREPOSICIONES IMPROPIAS
6
PREPOSICIONES DERIVADAS DE PARTICIPIOS DE PRESENTE
According to (según): According to him,……
Regarding to (con relación a): Regarding to the third problem, it is better to ask for
help.
Concerning (referente a): I received a letter concerning their plans.
Belonging to (perteneciente a): He did not receive things belonging to hi

PREPOSICIONES COMPUESTAS
Along with (junto a/con): John, along with his family, thinks that…
As far as (hasta; lugar): Walk as far as the bank…
Apart from (lejos de): Don´t run away from me!
Because of (a causa de): We stayed at home because of the rain.
By dint of (a fuerza de): By dint of hard work,….
Close to (cerca de): Don´t light a fire close to the baby.
Due to (debido a): Due to his generosity….
Except for (excepto) Everything was destroyed, except for the garden.
Far from (lejos de): Far from needing help, he was doing it very well.
For the sake of (por consideración a): They decided to stay at home for
the sake of their parents.
For want of (por falta de): For want of something.
In addition to (además de): In addition to his job, he also sells cars.
In case of (en caso de): In case of danger,…
In comparison with (en comparación con): In comparison with my car,
his….
In compliance with (de acuerdo con): We did it in compliance with the
instructions.
In favour of (a favor de): If you are in favour of it…
In front of (delante de): I parked my car in front of the bar.
In order to (para, con el fin de que): I stopped in order to…
In the middle of (en medio de): He lost it in the middle of the party.
In spite of (a pesar de): I escaped in spite of the police dogs.
Instead of (en vez de): I drink water instead of coke.
On account of (debido a, a causa de): It crashed on account of a faulty
engine.
On behalf of (por medio de, en representación de): I want to say
something on behalf of my friends.
On top of (encima de): It could land on top of that building.
 AT IN ON

ESPECIAL ATENCIÓN (PRECISE TIME) (MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and

LONG PERIODS)
(DAYS and DATES)
7

AT 3 O'CLOCK IN MAY ON SUNDAY

AT 10.30AM IN SUMMER ON TUESDAYS

AT NOON IN THE SUMMER ON, MARCH, 6TH

AT DINNERTIME IN 1990 ON DEC 25TH, 2010

AT BEDTIME IN THE 1990S ON CHRISTMAS DAY

AT SUNRISE IN THE NEXT CENTURY ON INDEPENDENCE DAY

AT SUNSET IN THE ICE AGE ON MY BIRTHDAY

AT THE MOMENT IN THE PAST/FUTURE ON NEW YEAR'S EVE

EN RESÚMEN:
 AT para un TIEMPO PRECISO, concreto
 IN para hablar de MESES, AÑOS, SIGLOS o periodos de TIEMPO
LARGOS
 ON para días de la SEMANA y FECHAS DAYS and DATES
ECHA UN VISTAZO A LOS SIGUIENTES EJEMPLOS:
o I have a meeting at 9am. Tengo una reunión a las 9:00. 8
o The shop closes at midnight. La tienda cierra a medianoche.
o Jane went home at lunchtime. Jane fue a casa a la hora de comer.
o In England, it often snows in December. En Inglaterra, a menudo nieva en diciembre.
o Do you think we will go to Jupiter in the future? ¿Crees que iremos a Júpiter en el
futuro?
o There should be a lot of progress in the next century. Debería haber muchos avances
en el siguiente siglo)
o Do you work on Mondays? ¿Trabajas los lunes?
o Her birthday is on November 20th. Su cumpleaños es el 20 de noviembre
FÍJATE EN EL USO DE AT EN LAS SIGUIENTES EXPRESIONES COMUNES
Expression Example

AT NIGHT The stars shine at night. Las estrellas brillas por la noche

I don't usually work at the weekend. Habitualmente no

AT THE WEEKEND*
trabajo los fines de semana.

I stay with my family at Christmas. Me quedo con mi

AT CHRISTMAS*/EASTER
familia en Navidad

We finished the test at the same time. Terminamos el

AT THE SAME TIME
examen al mismo tiempo.

He's not home at present. Try later. Él no está en casa en

AT PRESENT
este ahora. Inténtalo más tarde

*Algunas variantes del inglés pueden usar "on the weekend" y "on Christmas"
FÍJATE EN EL USO DE LAS PROPOSICIONES DE TIEMPO IN Y ON EN ESTAS EXPRESIONES COMUNES:
9
IN ON

IN THE MORNING ON Tuesday morning. El martes por la mañana

POR LA MAÑANA

IN THE MORNINGS ON Saturday mornings En las mañanas del

POR LAS MAÑANAS sábado/los sábados por la mañana

IN THE AFTERNOON(S) ON Sunday afternoon(s) Los sábados por la

POR LA(S)TARDE(S) tarde/Las tardes de los sábados

IN THE EVENING(S) ON Monday evening(s)

POR LA(S) NOCHE(S) Las noches de los lunes/Los lunes por la noche

Cuando añadimos LAST (ÚLTIMO), NEXT (PRÓXIMO), EVERY (evri) (CADA), THIS (dis)
(ESTE) NO USAMOS at, in, on.
 I went to London LAST June. (not in last June)

 He's coming back NEXT Tuesday. (not on next Tuesday)

 I go home EVERY Easter. (not at every Easter)

 We'll call you THIS evening. (not in this evening)

 LOS ERRORES MÁS COMUNES CON LAS PREPOSICIONES IN, AT, ON
10

1.Usar indebidamente “at” para mencionar las partes
del día:
Nos vemos por la mañana, a las 10.
I’ll see you at the morning, at 10 o’clock. ✗
I’ll see you in the morning, at 10 o’clock. ✓
2.Utilizar “in” con todos los medios de transporte:
Estaba en el autobús cuando me llamaste.
I was in the bus when you phoned. ✗
I was on the bus when you phoned. ✓

3.Confundir la preposición adecuada con el verbo “to arrive”.

Con el verbo “to arrive” son posibles tanto “at” como “in”.
Normalmente utilizamos “at” para hablar de lugares como un
aeropuerto, una estación, un banco, etc., e “in” para referirnos a una
ciudad o un país. Nunca usamos, en cambio, la preposición “to”:

Llegamos a París a las 20.00 h.

We arrived to Paris at 8 p.m. ✗
We arrived in Paris at 8 p.m. ✓

Llegué al banco cuando acababan de abrir.

I arrived to the bank just as it opened. ✗
I arrived at the bank just as it opened. ✓
4. Uso incorrecto de "in" en lugar de
"on" al hablar de fechas específicas.
Te veré el lunes.
I will see you in Monday. ✗
I will see you on Monday. ✓
6. Uso incorrecto de "in" o "on" en
lugar de "at" al hablar de horas
específicas.
La reunión es la las 3 de la tarde.
The meeting is in 3 PM. ✗
The meeting is at 3 PM. ✓
5. Uso incorrecto de "in" en lugar de "on" al
hablar de lugares específicos. 11
Las llaves están en la mesa.
The keys are in the table. ✗
The keys are on the table. ✓
7. Uso incorrecto de "at" para lugares amplios,
para referirse a lugares más grandes o áreas
geográficas.
Ella vive en París.
She lives at Paris. ✗
She lives in Paris. ✓
Cada una de las frases siguientes contiene un error. Encuéntralo y
12
corrígelo.

1.Joan arrived to the office late again - his boss is not happy.
2.I’m going to Berlin in the bus - it’s going to take 12 hours.
3.I like to go running in the night, just before I have dinner.
4.I think we are going to stay at home on Christmas this year.
5.Let’s meet at my house, in 26 Oxford Road.

ERRORES.

1.Joan arrived to the office late again - his boss is not happy.
2.I’m going to Berlin in the bus - it’s going to take 12 hours.
3.I like to go running in the night, just before I have dinner.
4.I think we are going to stay at home on Christmas this year.
5.Let’s meet at my house, in 26 Oxford Road.

RESPUESTAS

1.Joan arrived at the office late again - his boss is not happy.
2.I’m going to Berlin on the bus - it’s going to take 12 hours.
3.I like to go running at night, just before I have dinner.
4.I think we are going to stay at home at Christmas this year.
5.Let’s meet at my house, at 26 Oxford Road.