Languages › Spanish How Well Do You Know Spanish Prepositions? Test Your Knowledge With This Quiz Share Flipboard Email Vista desde Argentina de las cataratas del Iguasú. (View from Argentina of Iguazu Falls.). Mike/Creative Commons. Spanish Grammar History & Culture Pronunciation Vocabulary Writing Skills By Gerald Erichsen Gerald Erichsen Spanish Language Expert B.A., Seattle Pacific University Gerald Erichsen is a Spanish language expert who has created Spanish lessons for ThoughtCo since 1998. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on March 06, 2017 1. Which is a good way of saying "The train crashed into the car"? El tren chocó en al coche. El tren chocó en el coche. El tren chocó contra el coche. El tren chocó para el coche. El tren chocó por el coche. Correct Wrong You also could use the preposition con here. 2. What does the phrase "uno tras otro" mean? One after the other. One or the other. One of the others. One by one. One before the other. 3. Which would be a good way to translate "I eat to live"? Como en vivir. Como a vivir. Como entre vivir. Como de vivir. Como para vivir. Correct Wrong Para is a very common way of translating "in order to," which is the meaning of "to" here. 4. Which is the best translation for "Viajaron hasta Caracas." They traveled from Caracas. They traveled to Caracas. They traveled until they got to Caracas. They traveled away from Caracas. They traveled past Caracas. Correct Wrong Hasta can be used in many contexts to mean "until." 5. What is a good translation for the sentence "Voy contigo"? I am going contiguously. I am going for you. I am coming to you. I am going with you. None of the above. Correct Wrong Contigo substitutes for con ti. 6. Which is the best translation for "Corrió hacia la escuela? She ran away from the school. She ran until she reached the school. She ran through the school. She ran under the school. She ran toward the school. Correct Wrong Be careful not to confuse hacia and hasta, which sound similar in Latin America. 7. Which of the following is a good way of translating "We arrived at the airport"? Llegamos tras el aeropuerto. Llegamos para el aeropuerto. Llegamos al aeropuerto. Llegamos desde el aeropuerto. None of the above. Correct Wrong Al is one of the very few contractions in Spanish. It is the equivalent of a el. 8. Fill in the blank to say, "I prefer to travel by airplane." Prefiero viajar _____ avión. para por en desde More than one of the above can be used correctly. Correct Wrong Although en is far more common, por can also be used. 9. The opposite of "con" is: entre sin noc de en Correct Wrong Con usually means "with," and sin usually means "without." 10. Which would be a good way to translate "the glass house"? la vidrio casa la casa vidrio la casa de vidrio la casa vidrial la casa con vidrio Correct Wrong De is frequently used in telling what something is made of. Spanish has no adjectives meaning "glass," although it has related adjectives such as vidrioso (glassy) and vidriado (glazed). 11. Fill in the blank to say, "I voted for Jackson" (meaning to support him or her at the polls): Voté ____ Jackson. para por de entre None of the above. Correct Wrong Although para often is the equivalent of "for," it isn't used in this situation. 12. Which of the following is a synonym for "a menudo"? con frecuencia por el mené raramente en la corazón con inteligencia Correct Wrong Although menudo by itself often means small, the phrase a menudo means "often" or "frequently." 13. What is a good translation for "I know your friend, but I don't know your city." Conozco tu amiga, pero no conozco tu ciudad. Conozco tu amiga, pero no conozco a tu ciudad. Conozco a tu amiga, pero no conozco tu ciudad. Conozco a tu amiga, pero no conozco a tu ciudad. Correct Wrong The personal a comes before the name of a person when used as a direct object, but not before most other nouns. 14. Which of the following is best translation for "La actriz tiene esos labios desde bebé"? The actress has those lips because she was a baby. The actress has those lips because she had a baby. The actress has those lips from being a baby. The actress has had those lips since she was a baby. The sentence makes no sense in Spanish. Correct Wrong Although desde usually means "from," it can also be used to mean "since" in a way that it normally wouldn't be used in English. 15. Which would be a good translation for "Según él, no es necesario"? Because of him, it isn't necessary. Despite him, it isn't necessary. After him, it isn't necessary. Following his example, it isn't necessary. According to him, it isn't necessary. Correct Wrong Según usually means "according to." Note that unlike most Spanish prepositions, según uses a subject pronoun for its object. 16. Which would be the best translation for "The bacteria can survive for months on toys." Las bacterias pueden sobrevivir durante meses en los juguetes. Las bacterias pueden sobrevivir para meses en los juguetes. Las bacterias pueden sobrevivir acerca de los meses en los juguetes. Las bacterias pueden sobrevivir tras meses en los juguetes. Las bacterias pueden sobrevivir entre los meses en los juguetes. Correct Wrong "Durante" is usually translated as "during," although that translation doesn't work well in this example. 17. One way of saying "The gift is for you" is: El regalo es para tu. El regalo es para tú. El regalo es para ti. El regalo es para tí. El regalo es para te. Correct Wrong Note the lack of a written accent on ti. 18. Which is a good way to say, "I am thinking about you"? Pienso en ti. Pienso por ti. Pienso desde ti. Pienso abuto ti. Pienso como ti. Correct Wrong Pensar en is the usual phrase for "to think about." 19. Which is the most common way to say "between you and me"? Entre mí y ti Entre mí y té Entre ti y yo Entre tú y yo Correct Wrong Unlike most prepositions, entre uses subject pronouns for objects. 20. In Spanish, a preposition comes before which part of speech? Noun. Pronoun Verb. Conjunction. More than one of the above. Correct Wrong As in English, prepositions come before nouns and pronouns in Spanish. The can also come before infinitives. How Well Do You Know Spanish Prepositions? You got: % Correct. Perfect! El bus llega a las dos. (The bus arrives at 2.). Photo by John Barrie; licensed via Creative Commons. You couldn't do better than that! You've obviously been doing your homework, and now it's paying off. Share Your Results Share Flipboard Email How Well Do You Know Spanish Prepositions? You got: % Correct. Excellent! Sigue haciendo sol en Zaragoza. (It's still sunny in Zaragoza.). Juandc.com; licensed via Creative Commons. You still have a bit of studying to do, but you're well on your way to mastering Spanish's most difficult part of speech. Share Your Results Share Flipboard Email How Well Do You Know Spanish Prepositions? You got: % Correct. Keep on Studying! Estudia hoy. (She is studying today.). Universidad de Montevideo/Creative Commons. Prepositions are the most difficult part of speech to learn in Spanish. Come back after studying more and see how much more you know! Share Your Results Share Flipboard Email