De - Spanish Preposition - Lawless Spanish Grammar


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Preposición

The preposition de is generally summarized as "of, from, or about," but it has quite a few more meanings and uses than that.

When de is followed by the definite article el, the two words must contract: de + el = del.

1) Origin or starting point
	Es de Guatemala.	He’s from Guatemala.
	Llegamos de Madrid.	We’re arriving from Madrid.
2) Reference point
	Estamos a 5 km de tu casa.	We’re 5 kilometers from your house.
	Vive a 20 minutos de aquí.	He lives 20 minutes from here.
3) Possession
	el coche de Nico	Nico’s car
	el aeropuerto de Barcelona	Barcelona’s airport
4) Description
	mi clase de español	my Spanish class
	la ropa de niño	children’s clothes
5) Characteristic, defining feature
	chica de piel pálida	pale-skinned girl
	zapatos de tacón alto	high-heeled shoes
6) Contents
	un vaso de agua	glass of water
	una película de guerra	war film, film about war
7) Start of a range of time / amount
	Trabajé de 8 a 11 de la mañana.	I worked from 8 to 11am.
	de lunes a sábado	from Monday to Saturday
8) After verbs
	Many verbs must be followed by de in front of a noun or infinitive.