al aire libre‘in the open air’
a la izquierda‘on the left’
al otro lado‘on the other side’
a la sombra‘in the shade’39.3 (p. 232); 39.4 (p. 235)
25.1.1.5 Aexpressing rate
poco a poco‘little by little’, ‘gradually’
a docenas‘by the dozen’
a diario‘daily’25.1.1.6 Aexpressing manner
tortilla a la española‘omelette in the Spanish style’
al estilo barroco‘in the Baroque style’25.1.2 Ante
Ante means ‘before’ in the sense of ‘face to face with’, ‘faced with’; it often has a
figurative meaning. The literal notion of ‘in front of’ is usually rendered by delante de.El delincuente compareció ante el tribunal.
The criminal appeared before the court.
Ante la posibilidad de morir de hambre, optaron por emigrar.
Faced with the possibility of starving, they decided to emigrate.25.1.3 Antes de
Antes de means ‘before’ in a temporal sense.
Llegaron antes de las seis.
They arrived before six o’clock.25.1.4 BajoBajo‘under’ is often used in set phrases, or with a figurative meaning. The literal notion
of ‘under’ is also rendered by debajo de.
bajo la mesa‘under the table’
bajo fianza‘on bail’
España bajo los Borbones‘Spain under the Bourbons’39.3 (p. 232)
25.1.5 Con
Con corresponds to English ‘with’, and is also extensively used to form adverbial
phrases of manner:Voy a salir con mis amigos.
I’m going out with my friends.Basic use of prepositions 25.1