What Are Prepositions of Place?
Prepositions of place are words used to express spatial relationships between actions or events. They help specify things like where something is, in what direction it's headed, where it comes from, etc.:
Soy de Camboya. (I am from Cambodia.)
Vamos al cine. (Let's go to the movies.)
Han venido desde muy lejos. (They have come from far away.)
Toma las monedas que están sobre la mesa. (Take the coins [that are] on the table.)
Hay una araña en el armario. (There is a spider in the closet.)
Common Prepositions of Place
Below you will find a list with all the common prepositions of place in Spanish:
A
Can mean "to," "at," or "towards"; it indicates direction or destination:
Voy a la tienda por leche. (I'm going to the store for milk.)
Apunte a la diana. (Aim at the target.)
"A" can also be used together with "de" to indicate a full route (from…to):
El tren va de Sevilla a Bilbao. (The train goes from Seville to Bilbao.)
El trayecto de la estación al hotel fue de una hora. (The trip from the station to the hotel took [lit. "was"] an hour.)
Ante
Means "before," as in:
Actué ante un público animado. (I performed before a lively audience.)
Su vida pasó ante sus ojos. (His life flashed [lit. "went by"] before his eyes.)
Just like this use of "before" in English, "ante" isn't as commonly used as "enfrente de" (in front of) or "frente a" (before); instead, it appears more often in set expressions or in formal contexts.
Bajo
Means "under(neath)," as in:
Dejamos los regalos bajo el árbol. (We left the gifts under the tree.)
Hay un tesoro escondido bajo tierra. (There is a treasure hidden underground.)
"Bajo" is rarely used in everyday Spanish—the prepositional phrase "debajo de" is preferred instead.
De
Means "from" and indicates origin or starting point:
¿De dónde sois? (Where are you from?)
Partiremos de aquí en una hora. (We will leave from here in one hour.)
"De" can also be used together with "a" to indicate a full route (from…to):
El tren va de Sevilla a Bilbao. (The train goes from Seville to Bilbao.)
El trayecto de la estación al hotel fue de una hora. (The trip from the station to the hotel took [lit. "was"] about an hour.)
Lastly, "de" can also mean "in; on; at" when describing the location of an object in the sentence:
No bebas el agua de la cueva. (Do not drink the water in the cave.)
¿Las llaves de la mesa son tuyas? (Are the keys on the table yours?)
This use of "de" is often mixed up with "en." As a rule of thumb, you should use "de" instead of "en" when the preposition can be replaced with "que está en" (that is in/on/at). For instance:
✅ La manzana (que está) en la nevera está fresca. (The apple [that's] in the fridge is fresh.)
→ La manzana de la nevera está fresca. (The apple in the fridge is fresh.)
If this is not the case, you should use "en" instead:
❌ La manzana está (que está) en la nevera. (The apple is [that's] in the fridge.)
→ La manzana está en la nevera. (The apple is in the fridge.)
Desde
Means "from"; it indicates the origin or source, just like "de":
No veo nada desde aquí. (I can't see anything from here.)
Su teléfono cayó desde el segundo piso. (His phone fell from the second floor.)
"Desde" can also be used together with "hasta" to indicate a route from start to end:
Volaremos desde Alberta hasta Santiago. (We will fly from Alberta to Santiago.)
En
Used to indicate absolute position of a person or object:
Estamos en Lima. (We're in Lima.)
Encontré una moneda en el sofá. (I found a coin in the sofa.)
"En" is always used to indicate location, regardless of whether it refers to an open or closed space:
Hay un gato en la caja. (There is a cat in the box.)
Dejaste un libro en la mesa. (You left a book on the table.)
Estaré en mi escritorio si me necesitas. (I will be at my desk if you need me.)
Entre
Used to indicate location in the middle of several objects; it's mostly used together with the conjunction "y":
La tienda está entre la iglesia y el gimnasio. (The store is between the church and the gym.)
Hay un espacio vacío entre esos dos carros. (There is an empty space between those two cars.)
"Entre" can also be used for more than two objects, much like "among" in English:
Hay un impostor entre nosotros. (There is an imposter among us.)
Hacia
Indicates direction, like "to," "toward," or "at":
Nos dirigimos hacia la plaza. (We headed towards the square.)
Disparó una flecha hacia el enemigo. (He shot an arrow at the enemy.)
Note that "hacia" isn't as common to use as its shorter equivalent, "a":
Nos dirigimos a la plaza. (We headed towards the square.)
Disparó una flecha al enemigo. (He shot an arrow at the enemy.)
Hasta
Means "to" and "until"; it indicates destination:
Llevaremos la pizza hasta su hogar. (We will deliver the pizza to your home.)
Tenemos que caminar hasta la estación de gasolina. (We have to walk to the gas station.)
"Hasta" can also be used together with "desde" to indicate a route from start to end:
Volaremos desde Alberta hasta Santiago. (We will fly from Alberta to Santiago.)
Para
Indicates direction, like "hacia" or "a," and is often used in spoken Spanish—although "a" remains the more common option:
Los chicos se fueron para la playa. (The boys left for the beach.)
Por
Means "around" and "through"; it can indicate approximate location or traversal movement:
El gato debe estar por aquí. (The cat must be around here.)
Paseamos por las calles de Córdoba. (We walked through the streets of Cordoba.)
Pasa el hilo por el ojo de la aguja. (Pass the thread through the eye of the needle.)
Sobre
Means "on" or "over," as in:
Hay unas galletas sobre la barra. (There are some cookies on the counter.)
El avión voló sobre Atacama. (The plane flew over Atacama.)
Tras
Means "behind," as in:
Hay algo tras la puerta. (There is something behind the door.)
This preposition is rarely used in everyday Spanish, though—it's mostly reserved for figurative expressions:
Te escondes tras una máscara de apatía. (You hide behind a mask of apathy.)
For literal expressions, you can use "detrás de" instead:
Hay algo detrás de la puerta. (There is something behind the door.)
Vía
Used to indicate the means through which something moves:
Te enviaré la invitación vía correo electrónico. (I will send you the invitation via email.)
Prepositional Phrases of Place
Prepositional phrases are groups of words that function like a single preposition. The most common ones used for expressing place in Spanish are:
A lo largo de
Means "along," as in:
Caminaron a lo largo de la ribera. (They walked along the riverbank.)
Al lado de
Literally "to the side of"; it means "next to":
La harina está al lado de la miel. (The flour is next to the honey.)
Alrededor de
Means "around," as in:
La Tierra gira alrededor del Sol. (The Earth revolves around the Sun.)
"Al rededor de" is also a valid (though less commonly used) variant.
Cerca de
Means "close to" and "near":
Hay un hospital cerca del hotel. (There is a hospital near the hotel.)
Debajo de
Can mean "under" or "underneath"; in spoken Spanish, it's usually preferred over its one-word equivalent, "bajo":
El gato está escondido debajo de la cama. (The cat is hiding under the bed.)
Delante de
Can mean "ahead of," "in front of," or "across from":
El conductor delante de nosotros conduce muy rápido. (The driver in front of us drives very fast.)
Dentro de
Means "inside" and "within":
Hay una sorpresa dentro de la caja.
In Latin American Spanish, it's fairly common to hear "adentro de" as well—just note that this variant is not considered correct and should be avoided in formal or academic contexts.
Detrás de
Means "behind" and "at the back of"; in spoken Spanish, it's usually preferred over its one-word equivalent, "tras":
Detrás de cada puerta hay un premio. (Behind each door, there is a prize.)
In Latin American Spanish, it's fairly common to hear "atrás de" as well—just note that this variant is not considered correct and should be avoided in formal or academic contexts.
En medio de
Can mean "in the middle of" or "among," as in:
Estábamos perdidas en medio del bosque. (We were lost in the middle of the forest.)
"Enmedio de" is also a less frequent but valid variant of this phrase.
Encima de
Means "on top of":
Hay unas cobijas encima de las cajas. (There are some blankets on top of the boxes.)
Enfrente de
Means "in front of" and "across from," as in:
Vi un banco enfrente del cine. (I saw a bank across [the street] from the movie theater.)
"En frente de" is a less commonly used yet valid variant of this phrase.
Frente a
Means "in front of" or "before"—much like "enfrente de," but more commonly used in a figurative sense:
Mi vida pasó frente a mis ojos. (My life flashed before my eyes.)
Fuera de
Means "out of" and "outside," as in:
El perro duerme fuera de la casa. (The dog sleeps outside the house.)
In Latin American Spanish, it's fairly common to hear "afuera de" as well—just note that this variant is not considered correct and should be avoided in formal or academic contexts.
Junto a
Means "next to" and "by":
Dormimos junto a la hoguera. (We slept by the campfire.)
Lejos de
Means "far (away) from," as in:
Aún estamos lejos de la meta. (We are still far from the goal.)
