In this Spanish Medium Review quiz you will be learning more about the prepositions of de, en, para and por. One thing that sometimes can be more confusing in Spanish than it is in English is the use of certain prepositions. That is especially true of the four specific Spanish prepositions looked at in this quiz.
The preposition 'de' is commonly used to mean 'of' and shows you who or what something belongs to and/or what something is made of. It is also often used with many verbs such as 'cansarse de' (to tire of), 'dejar de' (to stop), 'depender de' (to depend on), 'terminar de' (to finish) and 'tratar de' (to try to). It can also be used with certain expressions such as 'de nada' (of nothing – or meaning 'you’re welcome'), 'de pie' (standing up), 'de prisa' (in a hurry), 'de pronto' (suddenly), 'de todos modos' (anyway) and 'de verdad' (really and/or truly).
The preposition 'de' is also used with the preposition 'a' to mean 'from… to' as in 'from morning to night'. In Spanish this would be 'de mañana a noche'. Finally, one other thing to note is that when 'de' is followed by the definite article 'el', the two words combine to become 'del'. For example: 'of the time' would be 'del tiempo'.
EN
The preposition 'en' is used for 'in' and 'on'. For example: 'she is in the house' becomes 'ella está en la casa'. Next, 'it is on the table' becomes 'lo está en la mesa'. Note that 'en' can also be used to mean 'into' such as in 'he went into the house' would be 'él entró en la casa'. It can also be used as 'at' such as in 'he is at home' becomes 'él está en casa”. In addition, 'en' can also mean 'by' such as 'he went by car' which would be 'él fue en coche'.
In addition, 'en' is commonly used after certain verbs such as 'consistir en' (to consist of), 'convenir en' (to agree to), 'insistir en' (to insist on), 'pensar en' (to think about and/or to contemplate) and 'tardar en' (to delay in). Spanish does not have all of these different words to use as does English. Some think this makes things simpler while others have a little more difficulty grasping the concept. You will simply need to take the time that you need to become comfortable with this preposition.
PARA
The preposition 'para' is commonly used to mean 'for' when the meaning of that 'for' is to indicate 'for me', 'for him', 'for her', 'for you', 'for it', 'for them' and 'for us'. As an example, let’s look at the following. 'I got this for you' in Spanish would be 'yo tengo esto para ti', or 'I went for her' would be 'fui para ella'.
'Para' is also used to indicate 'in order to'. As an example: 'I did it to help you' would be 'lo hice para ayudarte' (It I did in order to help you.)
POR
The preposition 'por' is commonly used to mean 'for' as in 'because of', 'for the benefit of' and 'in exchange for'. As an example, let’s look at the following. 'They do it for grandmother.' In Spanish that would be said as: 'Lo hacen por abuela.' (It they do for the benefit of grandmother.). Another example would be: 'Change this one for that one.' In Spanish it would be: 'Cambiar ésta por aquél.' (Change this one in exchange for that one.)
'Por' can also mean 'by' as in 'by mail' would be 'por correo'.
Finally, 'por' can also mean 'along', 'through' and 'around'.
Because each of these prepositions can be used in place of so many other prepositions, it takes some time to learn just how and when to use which one. Like anything, with practice, within time the words will easily flow into their proper usage. One good thing to remember, however, is that many native Spanish speakers will understand you even if you improperly use these prepositions. Of course they may chuckle a bit. They will be happy that you are at least making an attempt. All the same, you should still try to grasp the usage of each preposition so this quiz is going to help you with these four.
Below there are ten sentences with a preposition that in shown in all capitalized letters. Your task is to locate the correct preposition for that sentence. Take your time and think about it first before your choose an answer.
