The prepositions "con", "sin", "hacia" and "desde"

Spanish: Las preposiciones "con", "sin", "hacia" y "desde"

Level: B1 Intermediate

Category: prepositions

Explanation

These four prepositions express very useful everyday ideas. "Con" (with) indicates company, instrument or manner: "Voy con mi amiga" (I go with my friend), "Corto el pan con un cuchillo" (I cut the bread with a knife), "Habla con paciencia" (Speak with patience). Its opposite is "sin" (without), indicating absence or lack of something: "Café sin azúcar" (coffee without sugar), "Salí sin paraguas" (I left without an umbrella). "Hacia" (toward) expresses direction or approximate movement toward a point, without necessarily arriving: "Caminamos hacia la plaza" (We walk toward the square). It can also indicate approximate time: "Llegaré hacia las cinco" (I'll arrive around five). Do not confuse "hacia" (direction) with "hasta" (limit or final destination). "Desde" (from/since) indicates the point of origin in space or time: "Viajo desde Madrid" (I travel from Madrid, spatial origin), "Trabajo aquí desde 2020" (I have worked here since 2020, temporal origin). For a complete period we use the structure "desde... hasta...": "Abrimos desde las nueve hasta las seis" (We open from nine until six). With pronouns, "con" forms special words: "conmigo" (with me), "contigo" (with you) and "consigo" (with himself/herself) instead of "con mí", "con ti", "con sí". The other prepositions use normal pronouns: "sin ti" (without you), "hacia mí" (toward me), "desde él" (from him).

Examples

• Un café con leche, por favor. - A coffee with milk, please.
• Quiero la tortilla sin cebolla. - I want the omelette without onion.
• ¿La habitación está limpia? La quiero sin ruido, por favor. - Is the room clean? I want it without noise, please.
• Para el museo, camine hacia la plaza y gire a la derecha. - For the museum, walk toward the square and turn right.
• El tren a Sevilla sale desde la vía cuatro. - The train to Seville leaves from platform four.