Spanish Prepositions for Place & Time: Essential Guide to en, a, de & More

If you’ve ever stared at a sentence thinking, “Why is it en here but a there?”, welcome to the Spanish prepositions club. Small words, big headaches.

The good news: you don’t need to memorize every obscure preposition. If you can master the most common ones for place, movement, and time, your Spanish will instantly sound more natural and less “Google Translate”.

By the end of this guide you’ll know how to use core prepositions like en /en/ — in, on; a /a/ — to, at; de /de/ — from, of; plus a bunch of super useful combinations for talking about where things are, where they’re going, and when stuff happens.

Quick Primer on Spanish Prepositions

Prepositions in Spanish are called preposiciones /pɾe.po.siˈθjo.nes, pɾe.po.siˈsjo.nes/ — little words that link nouns, pronouns, and verbs to show relationships like place, time, direction, and origin.

Three quick rules to keep you sane:

No direct word-for-word mapping.
English “in” can be en, dentro de, or nothing at all.
Many prepositions come in phrases.
Not just en, but al lado de /al ˈla.ðo ðe/ — next to; cerca de /ˈθeɾ.ka ðe, ˈseɾ.ka ðe/ — near.
Articles often join with prepositions.
- a + el → al
- de + el → del

Let’s break things down by place, movement, and time so your brain doesn’t revolt.

Prepositions of Place: Where Things Are

Core Trio: en, a, de

First, the three prepositions you meet everywhere:

en /en/ — in, on, at
a /a/ — to, at
de /de/ — from, of

Spanish | IPA | English
en | /en/ | in, on, at
a | /a/ | to, at
de | /de/ | from, of

Examples:

Estoy en casa.
/esˈtoj en ˈka.sa/
I’m at home.

Vamos a la escuela.
/ˈba.mos a la esˈkwe.la/
We’re going to school.

Soy de México.
/soj de ˈme.ksi.ko/
I’m from Mexico.

Usage notes:

Use en for being inside or at a place: en la oficina, en la ciudad.
Use a for movement towards something: voy a la oficina.
Use de for origin or possession: vengo de la oficina, el libro de Ana.

Specific Position: On, Under, Next To

Examples:

El libro está sobre la mesa.
/el ˈli.βɾo esˈta ˈso.βɾe la ˈme.sa/
The book is on the table.

El gato está debajo de la silla.
/el ˈɡa.to esˈta deˈβa.xo ðe la ˈsi.ʝa/
The cat is under the chair.

La farmacia está al lado del banco.
/la faɾˈma.sja esˈta al ˈla.ðo ðel ˈbaŋ.ko/
The pharmacy is next to the bank.

Usage notes:

sobre and encima de can both mean “on (top of)”; sobre is slightly more general.
junto a is often a bit more formal than al lado de, but both mean “next to”.
entre always needs two or more things in context: entre la mesa y la puerta.

Distance: Near and Far

Examples:

Mi casa está cerca de la playa.
/mi ˈka.sa esˈta ˈseɾ.ka ðe la ˈpla.ʝa/
My house is near the beach.

El aeropuerto está lejos de la ciudad.
/el a.e.ɾoˈpweɾ.to esˈta ˈle.xos ðe la sjuˈðað/
The airport is far from the city.

Prepositions of Movement: To, From, Towards

Examples:

Camino a casa todos los días.
/kaˈmi.no a ˈka.sa ˈto.ðos los ˈdi.as/
I walk home every day.

Vengo de la universidad.
/ˈbeŋ.go ðe la u.ni.βeɾ.siˈðað/
I’m coming from the university.

Vamos hacia el centro.
/ˈba.mos ˈa.sja el ˈsen.tɾo/
We’re going towards the city center.

Corro desde el parque hasta mi casa.
/ˈko.ro ˈdes.ðe el ˈpaɾ.ke ˈas.ta mi ˈka.sa/
I run from the park to my house.

Usage notes:

a for direction: voy a Madrid.
de for origin: salgo de Madrid.
hacia is “towards”, more about direction than destination.
desde… hasta… is a nice “from… to…” structure for both place and time.

Prepositions of Time: At, In, On (but in Spanish)

Clock Time: At

Spanish | IPA | English
a las… | /a las/ | at (with clock times)

Examples:

A las ocho empiezo a trabajar.
/a las ˈo.tʃo emˈpje.θo, emˈpje.so a tɾaβaˈxaɾ/
At eight I start working.

Usage notes:

Always use a with hours: a la una, a las tres, etc.

Days, Months, Years: On, In

Examples:

Trabajo el lunes.
/tɾaˈβa.xo el ˈlu.nes/
I work on Monday.

Viajamos en julio.
/bjaˈxa.mos en ˈxu.ljo/
We’re traveling in July.

Usage notes:

Spanish often drops a preposition for days: just el lunes, not “on Monday”.
en works for months, years, seasons: en agosto, en 2024.

Periods & Approximate Time

Examples:

Estudio español por la mañana.
/esˈtu.ðjo es.paˈɲol poɾ la maˈɲa.na/
I study Spanish in the morning.

Trabajo desde las nueve hasta las cinco.
/tɾaˈβa.xo ˈdes.ðe las ˈnwe.βe ˈas.ta las ˈsiŋ.ko/
I work from nine to five.

Usage notes:

por la mañana/tarde/noche is the default for general time of day.
durante introduces a period: durante el verano, durante la clase.

Tricky Pairs: en vs a, por vs para

En vs A (Place vs Movement)

en /en/ — in, on, at (static location)
a /a/ — to, at (movement or point in time)

Examples:

Estoy en el parque.
/esˈtoj en el ˈpaɾ.ke/
I’m in the park.

Voy al parque.
/boj al ˈpaɾ.ke/
I’m going to the park.

Nos vemos a las tres en la cafetería.
/nos ˈβe.mos a las ˈtɾes en la kafe.teˈɾi.a/
We’ll meet at three in the café.

Think: en = where you are. a = where you’re going or when.

Por vs Para (Just the Essentials)

Entire books exist on por /poɾ/ and para /ˈpa.ɾa/, but here’s a useful starter:

Examples:

Voy para casa.
/boj ˈpa.ɾa ˈka.sa/
I’m heading home. (destination)

Caminamos por el parque.
/ka.miˈna.mos poɾ el ˈpaɾ.ke/
We walk through the park. (route)

Lo hice para ti.
/lo ˈi.se ˈpa.ɾa ti/
I did it for you. (purpose)

Gracias por todo.
/ˈɡɾa.sjas poɾ ˈto.ðo/
Thanks for everything. (cause/reason)

Region Notes

Spain:

You’ll hear en casa a lot with no article: estoy en casa (I’m at home).
sobre is common both as “on top of” and “about”: un libro sobre historia.

Latin America:

Structures with en and a are essentially the same as in Spain.
para is used very frequently to mark goals and destinations: voy para el trabajo, esto es para mañana.

These prepositions are shared across the Spanish-speaking world, so everything in this article is safe globally.

Mini Dialogues

Dialogue 1: Place and Movement

¿Dónde estás ahora?
/ˈdon.de esˈtas aˈo.ɾa/
Where are you now?

Estoy en el centro, voy hacia tu casa.
/esˈtoj en el ˈsen.tɾo boj ˈa.sja tu ˈka.sa/
I’m downtown; I’m heading towards your place.

Ok, nos vemos en la estación a las seis.
/ok nos ˈβe.mos en la es.taˈθjon, es.taˈsjon a las ˈsejs/
Ok, see you at the station at six.

Dialogue 2: Time and Routine

¿A qué hora trabajas mañana?
/a ke ˈo.ɾa tɾaˈβa.xas maˈɲa.na/
What time do you work tomorrow?

Trabajo de nueve a tres.
/tɾaˈβa.xo ðe ˈnwe.βe a ˈtɾes/
I work from nine to three.

Entonces estudiamos español por la tarde.
/enˈton.ses es.tuˈðja.mos es.paˈɲol poɾ la ˈtaɾ.ðe/
Then we’ll study Spanish in the afternoon.

Dialogue 3: Origin and Destination

¿De dónde eres?
/de ˈðon.de ˈe.ɾes/
Where are you from?

Soy de Chile, pero ahora vivo en España.
/soj de ˈtʃi.le ˈpe.ɾo aˈo.ɾa ˈbi.bo en esˈpa.ɲa/
I’m from Chile, but now I live in Spain.

Viajo a Chile en diciembre.
/bjaˈxo a ˈtʃi.le en ðiˈθjem.bɾe, diˈsjɛm.bɾe/
I’m traveling to Chile in December.

Quick Reference

Five-Minute Practice Plan

Take five English sentences with “in/on/at” and translate using en, a, or de.
Draw a simple room and write five Spanish sentences describing where objects are using sobre, debajo de, al lado de, delante de, detrás de.
Write three sentences with desde… hasta… for time (desde las ocho hasta las diez) and three for place.
Record yourself describing your daily routine using at least four time expressions: a las…, por la mañana, en + mes.
Create three pairs of sentences contrasting en vs a (static vs movement): Estoy en… / Voy a….
Tell a short “travel story” using de, a, en, por, para at least once each.

Closing Spark

Mastering prepositions is like learning how to connect all the dots in your Spanish. Once you know how to say where things are, where they’re going, and when they happen, you can describe real life instead of just isolated vocabulary. Keep these core patterns close, practice them in your own sentences, and little by little they’ll stop feeling mysterious and start feeling automatic.