How to Use Spanish Verbs with Prepositions ‘Con,’ ‘En,’ and ‘Por’

Spanish verbs with prepositions rarely resemble English verbs with prepositions combinations. They often have surprising translations that you would never suspect. 

To learn about this topic, a list of Spanish verbs with prepositions is not enough. I divided this post into logical sections that are easy to digest. You’ll also see many examples that will help you understand how Spanish phrasal verbs work.

Reading this article to become a pro at using Spanish verbs with prepositions. In the end, you can test your short-term memory by taking a multiple-choice quiz.

What are Prepositions?

Prepositions are tiny little words that show a relationship between the words or phrases around them. They help us talk about location, direction, and time.

Prepositions always introduce nouns or nominal groups. That’s why Spanish verbs after prepositions always come in the infinitive form that works as a noun.

According to RAE (la Real Academia Española – The Royal Spanish Academy), there are currently 21 simple prepositions in use in Spanish. Compare that with 150 prepositions in English, and you’ll surely sigh in relief.

If you want to read more about Spanish prepositions in general, check out the Ultimate Guide to Spanish Prepositions. And now, let’s focus on Spanish verbs with prepositions con (with), en (in), and por (for, by).

Spanish Verbs with Prepositions

Like English, Spanish has many verbs that require a specific preposition to link them to a noun. Translation doesn’t help here, and you simply need to memorize and practice verb and preposition combinations. 

Certain verbs in Spanish do not require a preposition, although they do in English. For example: 

• look at – mirar
• wait for – esperar
• pay for – pagar 

Before you learn all the combinations of Spanish verbs with prepositions con, en, and por, let me explain one more thing. 

Spanish distinguishes between a general usage of the prepositions with common verbs, for example, vivir en (live in), and phrasal verbs, when the verb completely changes its meaning if a specific preposition is added. 

For instance, if you add the preposition oon to the verb contar (count), it means “to rely on” or “to count on somebody or something.” 

Now, I’ll explain the general usage of verbs with prepositions con, en and por and include a list of phrasal verbs for each.

Con

In most cases, con translates to “with.” You use it to show an instrument or tool used to perform an action or a link between people and things.

For example:

Me gusta escribir con pluma.
I like writing with a pen.

Quiero comer pan con tomatoes.
I want to eat bread with tomatoes. 

Spanish Phrasal Verbs with Con

Here are some common phrasal verbs that use the preposition con.

Example Sentences in Spanish

Se casó con ella hace mucho tiempo.
He married her a long time ago.

Coincidí con él en la fiesta de cumpleaños de mi hermana.
I met him at my sister’s birthday party.

Comencemos con preguntas.
Let’s start with questions.

Di con la respuesta por pura suerte.
I came up with the answer by pure luck.

Me encontré con ella ayer.
I met her yesterday.

Mi perro se entusiasma con cualquier cosa.
My dog gets excited about anything.

Me tropecé con la piedra.
I tripped over the stone.

En

In Spanish, en usually translates into “in,” “on,” or “at.” You use it to show location and time or a type of transportation used.

Lo dejé en la cocina.
I left it in the kitchen.

Viví en Madrid en 2005.
I lived in Madrid in 2005.

Viaja en avión.
He travels by plane.

Spanish Phrasal Verbs with En

Let’s see some common phrasal verbs that use the preposition en.

Spanish	English
apoyarse en	to lean on, to rely on
confiar en	to trust in
consistir en	to consist of
convertirse en	to turn into, to become
creer en	to believe in
empeñarse en	to insist on
entrometerse en	to meddle in
fijarse en	to pay attention to
influir en	to influence
interesarse en	to get interested in
meterse en	to interfere with
pensar en	to think about
reparar en	to notice
vender en	to sell for (+ amount)
volver en	to return in (+ time)

Example Sentences in Spanish

Te puedes apoyar en la almohada.
You can lean on the pillow.

Confia en mi.
Trust me.

La prueba consiste en correr lo más rápido que puedas.
The test is to run as fast as you can.

Se convirtió en mi héroe.
He became my hero.

No te entrometas en los asuntos de los demás.
Don’t meddle in other people’s business.

Se interesa en asuntos exteriors.
She is interested in foreign affairs.

Pienso en ti.
I’m thinking of you.

Nunca reparé en esto.
I never noticed this.

Vuelvo en cinco minutes.
I’ll be back in five minutes.

Por

Por can be translated in many ways (such as for, because of, through, by, after, per, instead of, to, due to, and around), so instead of memorizing, try to understand how this preposition works in context.

You use por to talk about time, cause, and gratitude and in multiplication problems, among many other uses.

Viajaré por España por varias semanas.
I will be traveling in Spain for several weeks.

Trabajaré por ti.
I will work for you.

Brindo por nuestro future.
Here’s to our future.

Spanish Phrasal Verbs with Por

And finally, let’s have a look at some popular phrasal verbs that use the preposition por.

Spanish	English
asustarse por	to be frightened by
cambiar por	to exchange for
comenzar por	to start with
decidirse por	to decide on
disculparse por	to be concerned about
esforzarse por	to struggle for
jurar por	to swear by, on
luchar por	to fight for
molestarse por	to bother with
pagar por	to pay for
preocuparse por	to worry about
preguntar por	to ask about
rezar por	to pray for
tomar por	to take for
votar por	to vote for

Example Sentences in Spanish

No te asustes por eso.
Don’t be scared of that.

Comienza por este párrafo.
Start with this paragraph.

No me puedo decidir por ninguno.
I can’t decide on any of them.

Esfuérzate por mejorar.
Try harder to get better.

Luchamos por nuestra libertad.
We fought for our freedom.

Se molestó por nada.
He got upset for nothing.

Pagamos por nuestro viaje con nuestro propio dinero.
We paid for our trip with our own money

No te preocupes por esto.
Don’t worry about this.

Vota por nuestro partido.
Vote for our party.

Bonus Prepositions – a, de

To wrap up this lesson on Spanish verbs with prepositions, let’s take a look at two more of the most common prepositions: a and de. 

Preposition a

A can be translated as “to,” “at,” “by,” or “for.” And it can be used to:

1. Show Motion

Ayer fui al cine.
Yesterday I went to a cinema.

2. Connect Verbs with Infinitives

Vamos a cantar.
Let’s sing.

3. Show How Something is Done

Lo escribí a máquina.
I typed it.

4. Introduce a Person as a Direct Object

In this case, it’s known as the personal a.

¿Conoces a Juan?
Do you know Juan?

Phrasal Verbs with a

Dar a – to face, to overlook

Mi ventana da al parque.
My window overlooks the park.

Sonar a – to sound like

Suena a mentira.
It sounds like a lie.

Tocarle a – to be someone’s turn

Le toca a Pedro.
It’s Pedro’s turn.

Preposition de

De in Spanish translates to “of,” “from,” or “with.” Use it to:

1. Talk about Possession

El coche es de Miguel.
The car belongs to Miguel.

2. Show Cause

Estoy cansada de estudiar.
I’m tired of studying.

3. To Indicate Origin

Son de Guatemala.
They are from Guatemala.

Phrasal Verbs with de

Bajar de  – to get off, to descend from

Bajé de peso cuando empecé a correr.
I lost weight when I started running.

Enamorarse de – to fall in love with

Me enamoré de esta ciudad.
I fell in love with this city.

Pensar de – to think of, to have an opinion about

¿Qué piensas de mi?
What do you think of me?

Spanish Verbs with Prepositions – Wrap Up

Before you check how much you’ve learned about Spanish verbs with prepositions, let’s do a quick summary.

• Prepositions indicate a relationship between words and phrases.
• There are 21 prepositions in Spanish.
• Prepositions link a verb with a noun, a nominal group, or an infinitive.
• The most common Spanish prepositions are: con, en, por, a, and de
• Spanish phrasal verbs with prepositions change their meaning. 

Spanish Verbs with Prepositions Quiz

Choose the correct preposition for each sentence:

Practice Spanish Verbs with Prepositions

You’re getting there! The more effort you put into your Spanish studies, the closer you are to fluency! Congratulations.

What’s more, did you know that by studying another language, you not only become bilingual but also improve your cognition and decision-making abilities? Practice makes perfect when it comes to learning Spanish verbs with prepositions. The best way to improve your skills is to use the prepositions you learned in a conversation with someone who can correct your mistakes and challenge you to improve. 

Sign up today for a free trial class at Homeschool Spanish Academy with one of our certified, native-speaking teachers from Guatemala and work on your Spanish verbs with prepositions.

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