Comparative Grammar 2.1. Prepositions in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French

In this comparative grammar lesson of Romance languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French, we study basic prepositions in each language.

Table of Contents

• List of Prepositions in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French
• Contractions
• Prepositions meaning “in” in Italian & French
• The Preposition “da” in Italian
• The Preposition “depuis” in French
• The Preposition “chez” in French
• Prepositions meaning “about”
• Further Notes on Prepositions
• Level II – Beginner

List of Prepositions in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, & French

Here are some of the most used prepositions in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French with the most common meanings in different contexts.

Prep.	Meaning	Examples
a (SP)(PT)(IT)   à (FR)	to	EN: I go to school in the morning. SP: Voy a la escuela por la mañana. PT: Eu vou à escola pela manhã. IT: Vado a scuola la mattina. FR: Je vais à l’école le matin.
	at	EN: I will finish at noon. SP: Terminaré al mediodía. PT: Terminarei ao meio-dia. IT: Finirò a mezzogiorno. FR: Je finirai à midi.
	by	EN: Made by hand (handmade). SP: Hecho a mano. PT: Feito à mão. IT: Fatto a mano. FR: Fait à la main.
	in	EN: I live in London. SP: – PT: – IT: Io vivo a Londra. FR: J’habite à Londres.
	on	EN: I will come back home on foot. SP: Volveré a casa a pie. PT: Vou voltar para casa a pé. IT: Tornerò a casa a piedi. FR: Je reviendrai à pied.
	per	EN: It costs 20 dollars per night. SP: – PT: – IT: Costa 20 dollari a notte. FR: –
al lado de (SP) ao lado de (PT) accanto a (IT) à côté de (FR)	beside next to	EN: There is a cat beside the chair. SP: Hay un gato al lado de la silla. PT: Há um gato ao lado da cadeira. IT: C’è un gatto accanto alla sedia. FR: Il y a un chat à côté de la chaise.
a través de (SP) através de (PT) attraverso (IT) à travers (FR)	across through	EN: We walk through the fields. SP: Caminamos a través de los campos. PT: Caminhamos através doscampos. IT: Camminiamo attraverso i campi. FR: Nous marchons à travers les champs.
con (SP)(IT) com (PT) avec (FR)	with	EN: He speaks with his friend. SP: Él habla con su amigo. PT: Ele fala com o amigo. IT: Parla con il suo amico. FR: Il parle avec son ami.
contra (SP)(PT) contro (IT) contre (FR)	against	EN: I am against injustice. SP: Estoy contra la injusticia PT: Eu sou contra a injustiça. IT: Sono contro l’ingiustizia. FR: Je suis contre l’injustice.
da (IT)	from	EN: I traveled from London to Korea. IT: Ho viaggiato da Londra alla Corea.
	since	EN: I haven’t smoked since April. IT: Non fumo da aprile.
	for	EN: I haven’t smoked for two years. IT: Non fumo da due anni.
	as (a)	EN: As a kid, I was shy. IT: Da bambino, ero timido.
	by	EN: It was painted by Bosch. IT: È stato dipinto da Bosch.
delante de (SP) diante de (PT) davanti a (IT) devant (FR)	in front of	EN: I am in front of the school. SP: Estoy delante de la escuela. PT: Estou diante da escola. IT: Sono davanti alla scuola. FR: Je suis devant l’école.
dentro de (SP)(PT) dentro (IT) dans (FR)	inside	EN: The ball is inside the box. SP: La bola está dentro de la caja. PT: A bola está dentro da caixa. IT: La palla è dentro la scatola. FR: Le ballon est dans la surface.
de (SP)(PT)(FR) di (IT)	of	EN: The color of that car is blue. SP: El color de ese auto es azul. PT: A cor desse carro é azul. IT: Il colore di quella macchina è blu. FR: La couleur de cette voiture est bleue.
	from	EN: She is from Madrid. SP: Ella es de Madrid. PT: Ela é de Madri. IT: Lei è di Madrid. FR: Elle est de Madrid.
	about	EN: They talk about him. SP: Hablan de él. PT: Eles falam dele. IT: Parlano di lui. FR: Ils parlent de lui.
detrás de (SP) atrás de (PT) dietro (IT) derrière (FR)	behind	EN: The tree is behind the house. SP: El árbol está detrás de la casa. PT: A árvore está atrás da casa. IT: L’albero è dietro la casa. FR: L’arbre est derrière la maison.
después de (SP) depois de (PT) dopo (IT) après (FR)	after	EN: I slept after lunch today. SP: Hoy dormí después del almuerzo. PT: Hoje eu dormi depois do almoço. IT: Ho dormito dopo pranzo oggi. FR: J’ai dormi après le déjeuner aujourd’hui.
durante (SP)(PT)(IT) pendant, durant (FR)	during	EN: We can go out during the day. SP: Podemos salir durante el día. PT: Podemos sair durante o dia. IT: Possiamo uscire durante il giorno. FR: Nous pouvons sortir pendant la journée.
hasta (SP) até (PT) fino a (IT) jusqu’à (FR)	until	EN: I worked until midnight. SP: Trabajé hasta medianoche. PT: Trabalhei até meia-noite. IT: Ho lavorato fino a mezzanotte. FR: J’ai travaillé jusqu’à minuit.
	as far as	EN: The light reaches as far as the park. SP: La luz alcanza hasta el parque. PT: A luz alcança até o parque. IT: La luce arriva fino al parco. FR: La lumière s’étend jusqu’au parc.
fuera de (SP) fora de (PT) fuori di (IT) à l’extérieur de (FR)	outside	EN: The garage is outside the house. SP: El garaje está fuera de la casa.            PT: A garagem fica fora da casa. IT: Il garage è fuori dalla casa. FR: Le garage est à l’extérieur de la maison.
en (SP) em (PT) in (IT) dans (FR)	in	EN: I live in a small house. SP: Vivo en una casa pequeña. PT: Eu moro em uma pequena casa. IT: Vivo in una piccola casa.       FR: Je vis dans une petite maison.
a lo largo de (SP) ao longo de (PT) lungo (IT) le long de (FR)	along	EN: There are houses along the lake. SP: Hay casas a lo largo del lago. PT: Há casas ao longo do lago. IT: Ci sono case lungo il lago. FR: Il y a des maisons le long du lac.
por/para (SP)(PT) per (IT) pour/par (FR)	for (destination)	EN: I will leave for Barcelona tomorrow.  SP: Salgo para Barcelona mañana. PT: Parto para Barcelona amanhã. IT: Domani partirò per Barcellona. FR: Je pars pour Barcelone demain.
	by	EN: I contacted you by phone. SP: Te contacté por teléfono. PT: Entrei em contato com você por telefone. IT: Ti ho contattato per telefono. FR: Je t’ai contacté par téléphone.
	because of	EN: They suffered because of the lack of water. SP: Sufrieron por falta de agua. PT: Sofriam por falta de água. IT: Soffrivano per la mancanza d’acqua. FR: –
	in order to	EN: We study in order to learn. SP: Estudiamos para aprender. PT: Estudamos para aprender. IT: Studiamo per imparare. FR: On étudie pour apprendre.
antes de (SP)(PT) prima di (IT) avant de (FR)	before	EN: I will call you before leaving. SP: Te voy a llamar antes de irme. PT: Eu te ligo antes de ir. IT: Ti chiamo prima di partire. FR: Je t’appellerai avant de partir.
según (SP) de acordo com (PT) secondo (IT) selon (FR)	according to	EN: According to the law, it is prohibited. SP: Según la ley, está prohibido. PT: De acordo com a lei, é proibido. IT: Secondo la legge, è vietato. FR: Selon la loi, c’est interdit.
sin (SP) sem (PT) senza (IT) sans (FR)	without	EN: A fish can’t live without water. SP: Un pez no puede vivir sin agua. PT: Um peixe não pode viver sem água. IT: Un pesce non può vivere senza acqua. FR: Un poisson ne peut pas vivre sans eau.
bajo, debajo de (SP) baixo, debaixo de (PT) sotto (IT) sous (FR)	under	EN: The cat is under the chair. SP: El gato está bajo la silla.        PT: O gato está debaixo da cadeira. IT: Il gatto è sotto la sedia. FR: Le chat est sous la chaise.
sobre (SP)(PT) su, sopra (IT) sur (FR)	on	EN: The fly is on the table. SP: La mosca está sobre la mesa. PT: A mosca está sobre a mesa. IT: La mosca è sul tavolo. FR: La mouche est sur la table.
	about	EN: The debate about that incident is over. SP: El debate sobre ese incidente ha terminado. PT: O debate sobre esse incidente acabou. IT: Il dibattito su quell’incidente è finito. FR: Le débat sur cet incident est clos.
entre (SP)(PT)(FR) tra, fra (IT)	between	EN: The bird is stuck between the branches. SP: El pájaro está atrapado entre las ramas. PT: O pássaro está preso entre os galhos. IT: L’uccello è bloccato tra i rami. FR: L’oiseau est coincé entre les branches.
	among	EN: I am the tallest among my friends. SP: Soy el más alto entre mis amigos. PT: Eu sou o mais alto entre meus amigos. IT: Sono il più alto tra i miei amici. FR: –
	in	EN: We will leave in a week. SP: – PT: – IT: Partiremo tra una settimana. FR: –
parmi (FR)	among	EN: I am the tallest among my friends. FR: Je suis le plus grand parmi mes amis.
hacia (SP) em direção a (PT) verso (IT) vers (FR)	toward	EN: She ran toward the exit. SP: Ella corrió hacia la salida. PT: Ela correu em direção à saída. IT: Corse verso l’uscita. FR: Elle courut vers la sortie.
cerca de (SP) perto de (PT) vicino a (IT) près de (FR)	near	EN: I live near the city. SP: Vivo cerca de la ciudad. PT: Eu moro perto da cidade. IT: Vivo vicino alla città. FR: J’habite près de la ville.

Contractions

• In Spanish, there are only two contractions that involve the singular masculine definite article “el,” and, unlike in English, these contractions are not optional and must be applied:

a	+	el	=	al	Yo voy al restaurante. I go to the restaurant.
de	+	el	=	del	Yo vengo del café. I come from the café.

• In Portuguese, the propositions “a,” “de,” “em,” and “por” contract when followed by the definite article as shown below:

Preposition	Reduced Form	o	os	a	as
a	–	ao	aos	à	às
de	d–	do	dos	da	das
em	n–	no	nos	na	nas
por	pel–	pelo	pelos	pela	pelas

Notice that the above contractions are not optional. They are mandatory in all cases.

Notice also the use of the grave accent to mark the contraction of two consecutive vowels, where the first vowel is the preposition “a,” i.e., “a” + “a” = “à” and “a” + “as” = “às.”

• In Italian, the prepositions “a,” “da,” “di,” “in,” and “su” contract when followed by a definite article. Remember that there are seven definite articles in Italian: “l’,” “lo,” “il,” “la,” “i,” “gli,” and “le.” This results in the following possible combinations:

	l’	lo	il	la	i	gli	le
a	all’	allo	al	alla	ai	agli	alle
da	dall’	dallo	dal	dalla	dai	dagli	dalle
di	dell’	dello	del	della	dei	degli	delle
in	nell’	nello	nel	nella	nei	negli	nelle
su	sull’	sullo	sul	sulla	sui	sugli	sulle

Although optional, you may also use or encounter the following three contractions of the preposition “con” (with), especially in spoken Italian:

	il	la	l’
con	col	colla	coll’

Other prepositions do not contract.

Contractions add to the complexity of the prepositions in Italian. Practice is your best approach to learn them. Here are some examples:

a	+	lo	=	allo	Verrò con te allo stadio. I’ll go with you to the stadium.
da	+	il	=	dal	Voglio imparare dal libro. I want to learn from the book.
di	+	la	=	della	Il colore della macchina è blu. The color of the car is blue.
in	+	l’	=	nell’	La valigia è nell’armadio. The suitcase is in the wardrobe.
su	+	gli	=	sugli	C’è molta polvere sugli occhiali. There is a lot of dust on the glasses.

The definite article is dropped from some expressions that are commonly used in daily life such as: “a casa” (at home), “in macchina” (by car), “in centro” (in downtown), etc.

• In French, the prepositions “à” and “de” contract when followed by the definite article “le” (in its non-contracted form) or “les.” Other prepositions do not contract with the definite article.

	le	la	l’	les
à	au	à la	à l’	aux
de	du	de la	de l’	des

Here are some examples:

à	+	le	=	au	J’irai avec toi au stade. I’ll go with you to the stadium.
à	+	les	=	aux	Le professeur parle aux élèves. The teacher speaks to the students.
de	+	le	=	du	Toutes les photos sont supprimées du livre. All photos are removed from the book.
de	+	les	=	des	C’est l’un des meilleurs quartiers ici. It is one of the best areas here.
de	+	la	=	de la	La couleur de la voiture est bleue. The color of the car is blue.

Prepositions meaning “in” in Italian & French

The prepositions “a” in Italian and “à” in French are used to mean “in” when referring to the proper name of a city (or a smaller area), for example:

IT	Vivo a Roma.	I live in Rome.
FR	Je vis à Rome.

For larger areas, we use the prepositions “in” in Italian and “en” in French, for example:

IT	Vivo in California.	I live in California.
FR	Je vis en Californie.
IT	L’ho visto in Spagna.	I saw it in Spain.
FR	Je l’ai vu en Espagne.

In most contexts, the prepositions “in” in Italian and “en” in French generally mean “in” in English. However, when referring to a destination that is larger than a city, these prepositions can also be translated as “to,” for example:

IT	Andrò in California.	I will go to California.
FR	J’irai en Californie.
IT	Ho viaggiato in Spagna.	I traveled to Spain.
FR	J’ai voyagé en Espagne.

When referring to a means of transportation, the preposition “en” in French is often translated as “by,” e.g., “On voyage en train” (We travel by train).

The Preposition “da” in Italian

The preposition “da” in Italian can have several meanings:

• The basic meaning of “from” in English with its versatile use to indicate the starting point of a movement, source or origin, separation, etc. For example:

Ho viaggiato da Londra alla Corea.	I traveled from London to Korea.
Vengo da Firenze.	I come (am) from Florence.
Separa l’acqua da questa miscela.	Separate the water from this mixture.

• The equivalent of “since” or “for” in time expressions that typically use the present perfect or present perfect continuous tense in English. For example:

Non fumo da aprile.	I haven’t smoked since April.
Non fumo da due anni.	I haven’t smoked for two years.

Notice that, in Italian, the present tense is used before “da” to convey the equivalent meaning in English.

Keep in mind that to describe a defined duration in the future, the preposition “per” must be used instead. For example:

Lavoro lì da due anni.	I have worked there for two years.
Lavorerò lì per due anni.	I will work there for two years.

• The equivalent of “to” or “for” when used to indicate purpose or reason. For example:

Qualcosa da bere	Something to drink
Una casa da vendere	A house for sale

• The meaning of being at someone’s house or workplace. In this context, “da” is often translated as “at,” but can also mean “to” if preceded by the verb “go.” For example:

Siamo da Marco.	We are at Marco’s place.
Domani vado dal dentista.	I will go to the dentist tomorrow.

• The meaning of the preposition “by” in English, referring to an agent in the passive voice. For example:

Un software sviluppato da Microsoft.	A software developed by Microsoft.
Dipinto da un artista anonimo.	Painted by an anonymous artist.

• The expression “as (a) …” in English. For example:

Te lo dico da amico.	I tell you as a friend.
Da bambini, ci divertivamo molto.	As kids, we had a lot of fun.

The Preposition “depuis” in French

The preposition “depuis” in French is used as the equivalent of “since” and “for” in time expressions that typically use the present perfect or present perfect continuous tense in English. For example:

Je n’ai pas fumé depuis avril.	I haven’t smoked since April.
Je n’ai pas fumé depuis deux ans.	I haven’t smoked for two years.

The Preposition “chez” in French

In French, we use “chez” to refer to being at someone’s house or workplace. In this context, “chez” is often translated as “at” or “to.” For example:

Nous sommes chez Marco.	We are at Marco’s place.
Es-tu chez Anne?	Are you at Anne’s place?
Nous sommes chez Burger King.	We are at Burger King.
Je viendrai chez toi.	I will come to your house.
J’irai chez le dentiste demain.	I will go to the dentist tomorrow.

Prepositions meaning “about”

To express the meaning of “about” (e.g., to talk about someone or watch a documentary about something), we often use one of the following prepositions:

SP	Vi un documental sobre la guerra.	I watched a documentary about that war.
PT	Eu vi um documentário sobre a guerra.
IT	Ho visto un documentario su quella guerra.
FR	J’ai regardé un documentaire sur cette guerre.
SP	Leí un libro acerca de la vida en Japón.	I read a book about life in Japan.
PT	Eu li um livro acerca da vida no Japão.
IT	Ho letto un libro circa la vita in Giappone.
FR	J’ai lu un livre sur la vie au Japon.
SP	Ellos hablan de él.	They talk about him.
PT	Eles falam dele.
IT	Parlano di lui.
FR	Ils parlent de lui.

Further Notes on Prepositions

• In Spanish and Portuguese, both “para” and “por” can be used to mean “for.” Differences between the two with examples will be explained in Level II, Lesson 8.
• In Italian, the preposition “tra” or “fra” often means “between.” If used to indicate the future, it can mean “in,” as in: “Ci vediamo tra un mese” (See you in a month).

Next: Present Indicative Tense II: Irregular Verbs

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