22
votes
Why do we use "conmigo" but not "sinmigo"?
The preposition "con" (with) comes from the Latin preposition "cum" and in that language when using pronouns, they would put "cum" at the end so instead of saying "cum me" they would say "mecum" (with ...
- 414
17
votes
Accepted
Why do we use "conmigo" but not "sinmigo"?
Origin of conmigo
In Latin, "with me" was expressed mecum ("mí con"). Over time this word evolved phonologically to the point where the original "with" sense needed to be ...
- 19.5k
16
votes
Accepted
Mayúsculas en apellidos con preposiciones
En la Ortografía de la lengua española se explica cuándo se usa mayúscula y cuándo no para apellidos con preposiciones:
Si un apellido comienza por preposición, o por preposición y artículo, estos ...
- 7,038
14
votes
Accepted
What is the "a" in ¿"A dónde vamos?"?
It's not 'we'; the 'we' is implied by 'vamos', which is the first person plural form of the verb 'ir' ('to go').
It's 'to', as @Traveller mentions in the comments, so it literally translates as 'To ...
- 1,251
13
votes
Accepted
Why is the cycle race called La Vuelta "a" España, not "de"?
There's a subtle difference between using 'a' and 'de'.
If you say 'La Vuelta de España', it means the object of this sentence, 'La Vuelta' belongs to Spain and it pertains to it. Like saying 'The ...
- 721
13
votes
Why is "a" needed in "Jugaba al tenis todos los días"?
According to the DLE, the verb jugar is used with that meaning followed by the a preposition:
intr. Entretenerse, divertirse tomando parte en uno de los juegos sometidos a reglas, medie o no en ...
- 77.6k
11
votes
Accepted
What "en..., a... de... de... yo" means in Spanish application form?
Location and date you are filling the form, like:
En Madrid, a 27 de febrero de 2018
Yo, Full Name,
occupation, domiciliado en full address
- 4,463
10
votes
Accepted
What is the use of 'de' preposition in 'Yo voy *de* compras todos los sábados'
Ir de... + noun is a pattern that you can use with a number of nouns. The meaning is about the same as the English "to go ...-ing". It has a connotation of planning or intent.
The word ...
- 39.6k
10
votes
Accepted
Why do we not need "por" in the sentence "Llevo estudiando español 2 años."
The reason why "por" is not used in:
Llevo estudiando español dos años.
is that "dos años" is the direct object of the verb "llevar" (take), which can be considered ...
- 32.3k
9
votes
Accepted
"Fuimos al mercado por pan." Why not para?
Prepositions are, in my view, the most idiomatic words in the language.
In Spanish, we use:
ir por algo (go for something)
to mean that you go somewhere to look for or get something.
However, if ...
- 32.3k
8
votes
Accepted
¿Es correcto usar dos "comos" y decir "tanto como X como como Y"?
Es perfectamente válido, tal y como puede leerse en la entrada de como del Diccionario panhispánico de dudas:
como. Palabra átona que, como tal, debe escribirse sin tilde, a diferencia del adverbio ...
- 77.6k
8
votes
Accepted
"La frase arriba "vs "la frase de arriba"
In English, "above" can be used as an adjective as well as an adverb (also as a preposition, by the way). However, "arriba" is just an adverb. It can never be used as an adjective.
...
8
votes
Why is 'de' used in 'Estoy totalmente *de* acuerdo'?
You shouldn't expect every expression in Spanish to be analyzable from the literal translation of its parts in English. De is a preposition that appears in many, many idioms and expressions, which ...
- 39.6k
8
votes
Accepted
"En nombre de quién" o "A nombre de quién"
Tu pregunta tiene cierta relación con la que se plantea aquí en nuestro foro hermano en relación a esa misma situación pero en inglés.
Desde mi punto de vista, la expresión idiomática sería "a ...
- 8,812
8
votes
Use of “al sol” vs “en el sol”
At least in Spain, "al sol" is the standard collocation to mean "directly illuminated by the Sun", which in English is also said "in the sun". The Diccionario de la ...
- 12.2k
8
votes
Accepted
Why do some write an "a" after the verb "convocar" and others omit it?
There are a couple of likely explanations for this. On the one hand, convocar has in fact two possible usage patterns. As the DPD says, it can mean both “call someone to something” or “call for ...
- 39.6k
8
votes
Accepted
When should I put the letter "a" in front of a name?
That usage of the preposition "a" is sometimes called a personal (personal "a"). It is used before all indirect objects, and before direct objects that refer to a person. It is ...
- 12.2k
7
votes
Accepted
¿Cómo se dice: "nos vemos en lunes" o "nos vemos el lunes"? ¿Por qué?
Lo correcto sería decir "nos vemos el lunes", si te estás refiriendo a que nos veremos el próximo lunes.
Decir "nos vemos en lunes", aparte de sonar raro, da a entender que sólo nos vemos los lunes o ...
- 186
7
votes
¿Debo usar la 'a personal' con un personaje antropomorfo?
Sí. En todos tus ejemplos hay que incluir la "a". Se aplica a cualquier ser/personaje animado.
Apéndice: primer resultado en Google:
http://hispanoteca.eu/Gram%C3%A1ticas/Gram%C3%A1tica%...
- 4,814
7
votes
What preposition follows "gracias"?
Gracias a => Thanks to
Gracias por => Thanks for
You use one or the other depending on context, and can even use both together:
Thank(s to) you for bringing me => Gracias a ti por llevarme.
So the ...
- 203
7
votes
Accepted
«Cuidar que ...» vs «Cuidar de que ...»
According to this article on queísmo and dequeísmo, the standard form for introducing a subordinate clause is cuidar de que, and excluding it is an example of queísmo:
Cuidar [algo o a alguien] y ...
- 19.5k
7
votes
Accepted
Significado de "BASTA DE # DE HAMBRE"
Todo indica que la duplicación de la palabra DE es un error en la confección del cartel, y que el signo # indica un hashtag de Twitter (un prefijo que se usa convencionalmente para indicar que la ...
- 39.6k
7
votes
Accepted
Using the "a" preposition with "echar de menos" and a personal object
Note that the "related example" may not be as related as you think. In the sentence
A lo que yo temo es a la maldita casualidad
the object ("casualidad") is not a person, and even so it carries an ...
- 77.6k
7
votes
Accepted
Se hizo una prueba y dio positivo ¿en COVID? ¿por COVID? ¿a COVID? ¿de COVID?
Según Fundéu, se puede usar "en", "por" o "para":
La expresión dar positivo en algo es la preferible para indicar que se
ha detectado una sustancia o un organismo en un ...
- 32.3k
7
votes
"a" vs "para" for purpose
The verbs "ir" and "venir" are usually used with "a"-adjuncts to indicate purpose. I'd even say that "a"-adjuncts are more usual in colloquial language than &...
- 32.3k
6
votes
Accepted
¿Por qué, en contexto religioso, se sustituye le preposición "con" por "en"?
Por suerte o por desgracia he tenido que traducir algunos textos religiosos (normalmente medievales) escritos en latín, y la preposición que se usa en este tipo de fórmulas es in, con lo que tiene que ...
- 2,347
6
votes
¿Qué diferencia hay entre "deber" y "deber de"?
No, su significado no es el mismo: deber indica obligación, mientras deber de indica probabilidad, tal y como comenta el Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas:
deber.
2. Funciona como auxiliar en ...
- 34.1k
6
votes
Accepted
¿"Al lado", "del lado" or "en el lado" de algo?
These all mean something:
Siempre está al lado de los rusos. = "He's always next to the Russians."
(He can always be found physically standing next to the Russians, whoever these Russians are that ...
- 39.6k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible