En el Barrio - Around the Neighborhood
Preposiciones de Lugar - Prepositions of Place
You can already say where something is in a general way: está en la plaza, hay un café aquí. This lesson teaches the words that put things in relation to each other — next to, across from, behind, between. Once you have these, your descriptions of a city stop being a list and start being a map.
The trick is small but important: most place prepositions in Spanish end in de. Al lado de la farmacia. Cerca de mi casa. Enfrente del banco. That little de links the preposition to the thing you're talking about.
Simple Prepositions
These work on their own, without de:
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| en | in / at / on | Estoy en casa. |
| sobre | on / over | El libro está sobre la mesa. |
| entre | between | Entre la plaza y el parque. |
You met en in Lesson 1. Sobre is what you reach for when something is sitting on top of a flat surface — a book on a table, a plate on a counter. Entre ("between") is the only common preposition of place that takes and rather than de: entre la plaza y el parque, entre tú y yo.
Relational Prepositions With De
These all end in de — they need it to attach to a noun.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| al lado de | next to |
| enfrente de | across from |
| detrás de | behind |
| delante de | in front of |
| cerca de | near |
| lejos de | far from |
| encima de | on top of / above |
| debajo de | under / below |
| dentro de | inside (of) |
| fuera de | outside (of) |
Two contraction rules to know on day one:
- de + el = del. So enfrente del banco, never enfrente de el banco.
- a + el = al. You see this baked into al lado de already (it is a + el lado de). Useful later for voy al supermercado ("I'm going to the supermarket").
Examples in context:
- El café está al lado de la farmacia. – The café is next to the pharmacy.
- La parada del autobús está enfrente del banco. – The bus stop is across from the bank.
- Hay un parque detrás de la iglesia. – There's a park behind the church.
- Vivimos cerca del centro. – We live near the centre.
- El mercado está lejos de mi casa. – The market is far from my house.
- Hay una panadería entre el café y la farmacia. – There's a bakery between the café and the pharmacy.
Combining With Estar and Hay
This is where Lessons 1, 2 and 3 click together. Pick estar when the listener already knows the thing, and hay when you're introducing it. Then attach a preposition to say where:
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Hay + indef. + noun + preposition | Hay un parque cerca de mi casa. |
| Definite + noun + está + prep. | El parque está cerca de mi casa. |
| Hay + cantidad + noun + prep. | Hay tres bares enfrente del cine. |
| Definite plural + están + prep. | Los bares están enfrente del cine. |
A short tour of a fictional barrio:
- Hay una plaza en el centro del barrio. There's a square in the centre of the neighbourhood.
- La farmacia está al lado de la panadería. The pharmacy is next to the bakery.
- Enfrente de la farmacia, hay un café muy bueno. Across from the pharmacy, there's a really good café.
- Detrás del café hay un parque pequeño. Behind the café there's a small park.
- El metro está un poco lejos, pero hay autobuses cerca. The metro is a little far, but there are buses nearby.
Notice how the same little neighbourhood can be described entirely with the verbs and prepositions you already know. That's the whole point.
Practice
Words to Remember
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| al lado de | next to |
| enfrente de | across from |
| detrás de | behind |
| delante de | in front of |
| cerca de | near |
| lejos de | far from |
| entre | between |
| encima de | on top of |
| debajo de | under |
| dentro de | inside |
| fuera de | outside |
| sobre | on / over |
| del | of the (m. sing.) |
| la esquina | the corner |
| el centro | the centre |
| la mesa | the table |
Conversation
Showing a friend the new street
Miguel: La panadería está al lado de tu portal. The bakery is next to your front door.
Sara: ¡Qué guay! ¿Y enfrente qué hay? How cool! And what's across the street?
Miguel: Enfrente hay un bar y un supermercado pequeño. Across the street there's a bar and a small supermarket.
Asking about the pharmacy
Carmen: ¿La farmacia está cerca? Is the pharmacy nearby?
Javi: Sí, detrás de la iglesia. Yes, behind the church.
Carmen: Vale, entre la iglesia y el parque, ¿no? OK, between the church and the park, right?
Looking for the bus stop
Pablo: Perdona, ¿hay una parada de autobús por aquí? Excuse me, is there a bus stop around here?
Ana: Sí, delante del banco. Yes, in front of the bank.
Pablo: ¿Está lejos del metro? Is it far from the metro?
Practice
Recall
Type the Spanish for each English meaning. Leave a row blank if you draw a blank — that counts as a miss.
Practice
Translation Exercise
Translate each English sentence into Spanish.
Cultural Note
Madrileños love to describe their barrio in terms of enfrente and al lado de rather than addresses. Vivo enfrente de la panadería de toda la vida ("I live across from the lifelong bakery") tells you more about a neighbourhood than a street name ever could. The expression de toda la vida ("the lifelong one") is itself a love letter to places that have been around forever — the bar where your grandparents had their first date, the panadería that has been on the same corner since the 1950s.
A small but real warning: the preposition encima de is used a lot metaphorically in Spain — estoy encima de él does not mean physically on top of him; it means "I'm on his case" / "I'm staying on top of him". Stick with sobre or encima de la mesa when you mean a literal on top of, and you'll avoid awkward looks.