¡Hola, amigos! In this post we’ll look at a few Spanish verbs that use different prepositions than their English equivalents. For example, of often translates as de and in as en — but those direct swaps can mislead. Take to consist of: it isn’t consistir de in Spanish; the correct form is consistir en.
Below is a list of 24 verbs that follow different prepositional patterns in English and Spanish:
| # | ENGLISH | ESPAÑOL |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | to apologize to someone | disculparse con alguien |
| 2 | to arrive at/in a place | llegar a un lugar |
| 3 | to attend a place | asistir a un lugar |
| 4 | to borrow something from someone | pedirle prestado algo a alguien |
| 5 | to complain to someone about someone/something | quejarse ante alguien de alguien/algo |
| 6 | to congratulate someone on something | felicitar a alguien por algo |
| 7 | to consist of something | consistir en algo |
| 8 | to crash into something | chocar/estrellarse contra algo |
| 9 | to depend on someone/something | depender de alguien/algo |
| 10 | to divorce someone | divorciarse de alguien |
| 11 | to dream of someone/something | soñar con algo/alguien |
| 12 | to focus on something | centrarse en algo |
| # | ENGLISH | ESPAÑOL |
| 13 | to forget about someone/something | olvidarse de alguien/algo |
| 14 | to insist on something | insistir en algo |
| 15 | to laugh at someone/something | reírse de alguien/algo |
| 16 | to listen to someone to listen to something | escuchar a alguien escuchar algo |
| 17 | to look at someone to look at something | mirar a alguien mirar algo |
| 18 | to marry someone | casarse con alguien |
| 19 | to oppose someone/something | oponerse a alguien/algo |
| 20 | to spend money on something | gastar dinero en algo |
| 21 | to smell like/of something | oler a algo |
| 22 | To think about (something) [reflection] | pensar en/sobre (algo) |
| 23 | To think of/about (something) [opinion] | Pensar de/sobre (algo) |
| 24 | to worry about someone/something | preocuparse por alguien/algo |
Let’s see a few examples:
I arrived in Bolivia at 6.
Llegué en a Bolivia a las 6.
He insists on this.
Él insiste sobre en esto.
Pepe wants to marry Juana.
Pepe quiere casarse con Juana.
And now, let’s play!
