Prepositions of place (en, sobre, debajo de, delante de...)

El libro está sobre la mesa y las llaves están debajo del sofá.The book is on the table and the keys are under the sofa.

A preposition of place says where something is in relation to something else: on it, under it, next to it, in front of it. In Spanish it usually comes after estar and before a noun. Some are a single word (en, sobre, entre), and many are short phrases that end in de (debajo de, delante de, al lado de).

Quick shortcut: en = in / on / at · sobre or encima de = on top of · debajo de = under · delante de = in front of · detrás de = behind · al lado de = next to · cerca de / lejos de = near / far from · entre = between · dentro de / fuera de = inside / outside. The phrases end in de, and de + el becomes del: debajo de la mesa, delante del banco.

En: in, on and at

en is the all-purpose preposition of place. English chooses between in, on and at, but Spanish uses en for all three:

• Estoy en casa. (I am at home.)
• El libro está en la mesa. (The book is on the table.)
• Vivo en Madrid. (I live in Madrid.)
• Los niños están en el coche. (The children are in the car.)

Where a more precise word is needed, Spanish adds one of the prepositions below. Movement toward a place (voy a Madrid) uses a, which has its own lesson: Basic place prepositions: a, en and de (with countries and cities).

Where something is in relation to something else

entre needs two things (or a group) to be between: entre el banco y el parque.

The de in the phrase, and del

Most of these phrases end in de, and that de behaves like any other de with an article. Before el it combines into del (see contractions al and del). Before la, los and las it stays de:

• debajo del sofá (de + el), but debajo de la cama
• al lado del banco (de + el), but al lado de la farmacia
• cerca de los árboles, lejos de las tiendas

The al in al lado de is a fixed part of the phrase, so al lado del banco contains both al and del: this is a normal pattern, not a mistake.

When no noun follows

When the place is not named, the de is dropped and the word stands alone as an adverb:

The same idea applies to delante, detrás, dentro, encima, lejos, fuera. You will also often hear the place words aquí (here), ahí (there) and allí (over there): Las llaves están aquí. · El banco está allí.

When the reference is a person, these phrases take the pronoun forms that come after a preposition: delante de mí (in front of me), cerca de ti (near you), al lado de él (next to him), detrás de ella (behind her). Of these two forms, mí takes a written accent and ti does not.

With estar and with hay

These prepositions usually go with estar, because they say where a known thing is: El libro está sobre la mesa. (see estar). To introduce something that exists there, hay takes the same place phrase: Hay un libro sobre la mesa. (see hay).

Common mistakes

• ❌ El gato está debajo la mesa. → ✅ El gato está debajo de la mesa. (the phrase needs its de)
• ❌ El banco está al lado el parque. → ✅ El banco está al lado del parque. (de + el becomes del)
• ❌ El banco está cerca de. → ✅ El banco está cerca. (with no noun, the de is dropped)
• ❌ La farmacia está entre el banco. → ✅ La farmacia está entre el banco y el parque. (entre needs two things)

Quick check

Which word or words complete each sentence?

1. El gato está ___ la mesa. (under; the table is feminine)
2. El banco está al lado ___ parque. (de + el)
3. Mi casa está ___. (near, with no noun)
4. La farmacia está ___ el banco y el parque. (between)
5. Vivo ___ Madrid. (in)
6. Los niños están ___ la casa. (outside; with la casa)

Key takeaways

• en covers in, on and at: en casa, en la mesa, en Madrid.
• For more precision, Spanish adds sobre / encima de, debajo de, delante de, detrás de, al lado de, cerca de, lejos de, entre, dentro de, fuera de and a la izquierda / derecha de.
• Most phrases end in de, and de + el becomes del: debajo del sofá, but debajo de la cama.
• With no noun after it, the de is dropped: El banco está cerca.
• entre needs two things: entre el banco y el parque.
• These phrases go with estar for known things and with hay for things being introduced.