Vivo en España, voy a Madrid mañana y soy de Alemania.I live in Spain, I'm going to Madrid tomorrow and I'm from Germany.
Three small words do most of the work when you talk about places. en says where someone or something is, a says where someone is going, and de says where someone comes from. They work the same way with countries, cities and everyday places.
Quick shortcut: en = where you are or live (Vivo en Madrid) · a = where you go or arrive (Voy a Madrid) · de = where you come from (Soy de Madrid, Vengo de Madrid). Most country and city names take no article: en España, a Madrid, de Alemania. If a name does come with el, then a + el becomes al and de + el becomes del.
En: where you are and where you live
en places someone or something in a place. It goes with estar, vivir, trabajar, estudiar and other verbs that say where an action happens:
- Estoy en Madrid. (I am in Madrid.)
- Vivo en España. (I live in Spain.)
- Mi hermana trabaja en Berlín. (My sister works in Berlin.)
- Estudio en la universidad. (I study at the university.)
The same en is used for a country, a city or a building, as in prepositions of place.
A: where you are going
a marks the place you are heading to or arriving at. It goes with ir, llegar, volver, viajar and similar verbs of movement:
- Voy a Madrid. (I'm going to Madrid.)
- Llego a Sevilla a las ocho. (I arrive in Seville at eight.)
- Mis padres viajan a Italia. (My parents are travelling to Italy.)
- Voy al parque. (I'm going to the park.)
The difference between en and a is the difference between being somewhere and moving toward it: Estoy en Madrid (I am there) versus Voy a Madrid (I'm on my way there).
De: where you come from
de says where someone or something comes from. It goes with ser for origin, and with venir, salir and volver for the place you are leaving or coming back from:
- Soy de Alemania. (I'm from Germany.)
- ¿De dónde eres? (Where are you from?)
- Vengo de Sevilla. (I'm coming from Seville.)
- Salgo de casa a las siete. (I leave home at seven.)
Soy de Alemania is one way to say where you are from; another is with a nationality adjective, Soy alemán / Soy alemana (see ser).
Countries and cities: usually no article
Most country names and city names are used with en, a and de and no article:
| Idea | Country | City |
|---|---|---|
| where you are or live | Vivo en Francia. | Vivo en París. |
| where you go | Voy a Francia. | Voy a París. |
| where you come from | Soy de Francia. | Soy de París. |
A small group of country names normally comes with an article, and the article stays: el Reino Unido, los Países Bajos. Then a + el and de + el contract, as explained in contractions al and del: Vivo en el Reino Unido. · Voy al Reino Unido. · Soy del Reino Unido. With los, de and a simply stay: Voy a los Países Bajos. · Vengo de los Países Bajos. A few other names, such as (los) Estados Unidos or (el) Perú, are used both with and without the article, so both Vivo en Perú and Vivo en el Perú are heard.
A few city names have El, La or Los as a fixed part of the name: La Habana, Los Ángeles, El Cairo. The article is part of the name, so a and de are used as usual, and with the capitalized El there is no contraction: Voy a La Habana. · Soy de Los Ángeles. · Vuelo a El Cairo.
Everyday places and people's homes
en, a and de work the same way with everyday places. Many of them take an article, so al and del appear:
- Estoy en la escuela. · Voy a la escuela. · Vengo de la escuela.
- Estoy en el banco. · Voy al banco. · Vengo del banco.
- Estoy en casa. · Voy a casa. · Vengo de casa. (no article with casa when it means "home")
To say at, to or from someone's home, Spanish uses casa de + person: Estoy en casa de Ana. · Voy a casa de Ana. · Vengo de casa de Ana.
Questions with a, en and de
Each preposition has its own question, built with the question words from question words:
- ¿Dónde vives? → Vivo en Madrid. (Where do you live? → I live in Madrid.)
- ¿Adónde vas? → Voy a Madrid. (Where are you going? → I'm going to Madrid.)
- ¿De dónde eres? → Soy de Alemania. (Where are you from? → I'm from Germany.)
Common mistakes
- ❌ Vivo a Madrid. → ✅ Vivo en Madrid. (en says where you live)
- ❌ Voy en Madrid. → ✅ Voy a Madrid. (a says where you go)
- ❌ Voy en casa. → ✅ Voy a casa. (going home is movement, so a)
- ❌ Voy a el banco. → ✅ Voy al banco. (a + el becomes al)
Quick check
Which preposition (with the article, if needed) completes each sentence?
- Vivo ___ España. (where I live)
- Mañana voy ___ Madrid. (where I'm going)
- Soy ___ Alemania. (where I'm from)
- Voy ___ banco. (a + el)
- Vengo ___ parque. (de + el)
- Estoy ___ casa de Ana. (where I am)
Show answers
- Vivo en España. 2. Mañana voy a Madrid. 3. Soy de Alemania. 4. Voy al banco. 5. Vengo del parque. 6. Estoy en casa de Ana.
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Key takeaways
- en = where you are or live: Vivo en Madrid.
- a = where you go or arrive: Voy a Madrid.
- de = where you come from: Soy de Alemania. · Vengo de Sevilla.
- Most country and city names take no article: en España, a Madrid, de Alemania.
- With el in the name or before a place, a + el = al and de + el = del: Voy al Reino Unido. · Vengo del banco.
- With casa, "at/to/from someone's home" is en / a / de casa de + person.