Spanish prepositions of place say where something is: en (in, on, at), sobre or encima de (on top of), debajo de (under), delante de (in front of), detrás de (behind), al lado de (next to), entre (between), enfrente de (across from), dentro de (inside), fuera de (outside), cerca de (near), lejos de (far from). Always use them with estar.
estar + preposition + de + place (está debajo de la mesa)- en, sobre, debajo, entre…
- Describe location precisely
- Common place-preposition mistakes
Where are the keys? Is the pharmacy next to the bank or across from it? Spanish prepositions of place are the little words that let you answer — en, sobre, debajo de, entre, al lado de — and English speakers get them wrong for one simple reason: English "in," "on" and "at" don't map neatly onto Spanish. This guide fixes that.
After 40 years of teaching, I can tell you the good news: the list is short, most of the expressions end in de, and they all ride on the same verb. Let's put everything in its place.
The big pictureWhen to use Spanish prepositions of place
A preposition of place (preposición de lugar) tells you where a person or thing is in relation to something else. In Spanish, that job almost always involves two ingredients:
- The verb estar — location is a state, not an identity, so you say está, never es. El banco está enfrente de la plaza. (The bank is across from the square.) If you need a refresher on why, read my guide to ser vs estar.
- The preposition + the reference point — debajo de la mesa (under the table), al lado de la puerta (next to the door). Most of these are two- or three-word expressions ending in de, and that de is not optional.
You'll use them constantly: directions on a trip, describing your apartment, telling a coworker where the printer is. But one distinction trips up English speakers before they even reach the list.
En vs a: location vs movement
English uses "to" for movement and "in/at" for location. Spanish does the same, but with different words, and the verb tells you which you need:
- en = in / on / at, for where something is — Estoy en la oficina. (I'm at the office.) Vivimos en Bogotá. (We live in Bogotá.)
- a = to, for where something is going — Voy a la oficina. (I'm going to the office.) Llegamos a Bogotá. (We arrived in Bogotá.)
Verbs of movement (ir, venir, llegar, volver, viajar) take a. Verbs of position (estar, vivir, trabajar, quedarse) take en. Notice that llegar takes a even though English says "arrive in" — in Spanish, arriving is still movement.
The listThe Spanish prepositions of place, with examples
Here's the full set. The pattern is estar + preposition + reference point. Where the expression ends in de, remember that de + el contracts to del: cerca del parque.
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| en | in / on / at | Las llaves están en la mesa. — The keys are on the table. |
| sobre / encima de | on, on top of | El gato está encima de la cama. — The cat is on top of the bed. |
| debajo de | under, underneath | Los zapatos están debajo de la silla. — The shoes are under the chair. |
| delante de | in front of | El taxi está delante del hotel. — The taxi is in front of the hotel. |
| detrás de | behind | El jardín está detrás de la casa. — The garden is behind the house. |
| al lado de | next to, beside | La farmacia está al lado del banco. — The pharmacy is next to the bank. |
| entre | between | El café está entre la librería y el cine. — The café is between the bookstore and the movie theater. |
| enfrente de | across from, opposite | La estación está enfrente del mercado. — The station is across from the market. |
| dentro de | inside | El pasaporte está dentro de la mochila. — The passport is inside the backpack. |
| fuera de | outside | Los niños están fuera de la casa. — The kids are outside the house. |
| cerca de | near, close to | Mi oficina está cerca del metro. — My office is near the subway. |
| lejos de | far from | El aeropuerto está lejos del centro. — The airport is far from downtown. |
| a la derecha de | to the right of | El baño está a la derecha de la cocina. — The bathroom is to the right of the kitchen. |
| a la izquierda de | to the left of | La salida está a la izquierda de la recepción. — The exit is to the left of the front desk. |
Sobre and encima de both mean "on top of," but en is the everyday word when the surface is obvious (en la mesa). Entre is the only one on the list that never takes de.
Learn these with your own room, not with a list. Stand in the doorway and say out loud where five things are: La lámpara está al lado de la cama. El gato está debajo de la silla. Location vocabulary sticks when the objects are real and the reference point is something you can see.
In contextExamples in real Spanish
From the classroomCommon mistakes English speakers make
- Dropping the "de." El libro está debajo la mesa is missing a word. Almost every expression on the list ends in de when a noun follows: debajo de la mesa, cerca del parque. The only exceptions are en, sobre and entre.
- Using ser for location. El museo es en el centro sounds fine to an English ear and is wrong. Location of a person or thing takes estar: El museo está en el centro. The one exception is events — La reunión es en la sala 2 — and that rule lives in my ser vs estar lesson.
- Saying "en" after a verb of movement. Voy en la playa means, at best, that you're traveling inside the beach. Movement takes a: Voy a la playa. Ask yourself "is anything moving?" If yes, it's a.
- Translating "in front of" as "enfrente de" every time. Delante de means directly in front (the car in front of yours); enfrente de means across from, facing (the shop across the street).
- Forgetting the contraction del. Cerca de el banco is never written or said. De + el always becomes del: cerca del banco. De + la stays as two words.
Sibling lessonPrepositions of place vs prepositions of time
Here's the twist that makes prepositions feel harder than they are: the very same words do double duty. En tells you where (en la oficina) and when (en marzo, in March). A says where you're going (a la oficina) and at what time (a las nueve, at nine). De shows where something comes from (soy de Chile) and the part of the day (las ocho de la mañana).
The word doesn't change — the question it answers does. When the question is where, you're in this lesson. When the question is when, you need the Spanish prepositions of time, where a, de, en and por each take on a time-related meaning of their own. And when the question is how (con cuidado, carefully; a pie, on foot), that's the Spanish prepositions of manner.
Once you have all three, you'll see that Spanish prepositions are a small toolkit with three jobs: place, time and manner. Master the where first — it's the one you'll use on day one of your next trip.
PracticeQuick quiz: spanish prepositions of place
Six questions from the lesson. Answer in your head, then open to check.
