(c) Ais used with many expressions that state location, for example:
al aire libre in the open air al sol in the sun
a la derecha/ on the right/left a la entrada at the entrance
izquierda
a la orilla/ on the bank(s) of a lo lejos in the distance
orillas de
(d) Aalso links repeated words, such as: cara a cara‘face to face’, gota a
gota‘drop by drop’, poco a poco‘little by little/gradually’, uno a uno‘one
by one’.Antes de, ante, delante de
Antes de means ‘before’ with reference to time:
Se fueron antes de las seis. They went before six o’clock.
Anteusually translates ‘before’ with the meaning of ‘in the presence of’
(rather than literally ‘in front of’). It also commonly expresses the notion
of ‘faced with’, or ‘as a result of’:
Deben comparecer ante la They must appear before the
comisión. tribunal.
Ante las revelaciones el Faced with the revelations the
ministro dimitió. minister resigned.
Delante designifies ‘before’ with reference to specific location ‘in front of’
or ‘ahead of’:
Nos veremos delante de la We’ll meet in front of the
biblioteca. library.
Note: Some writers use antewith this meaning of location: unos manifestantes ante
la estatua de Pizarro‘some protestors in front of the statue of Pizarro’.Bajo, debajo de
Both words translate ‘under(neath)’, and ‘beneath’.
Debajo deindicates position in a literal sense. Abajo deis a common alter-
native in Latin America:
Puso su bolso debajo/abajo [LA]de la silla.
She put her handbag underneath the chair.21.3
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Prepositions