Verb + Preposition

Collocations · The prepositions that stick to verbs

📚 Why It Matters
de
a
en
con / por / para
⚠️ False Friends
🎲 Quick Quiz

You cannot guess these. Spanish verb + preposition combinations follow no logical pattern you can derive from English. Depender de (to depend on), soñar con (to dream about), casarse con (to get married to) — none of these prepositions match what English uses. You have to learn each one as a fixed phrase.

How to study this: Don't memorize verb + preposition as two separate words. Memorize them as a single unit — like a compound word. Not "depender" + "de" — just depender de as one thing.
The #1 mistake: Translating the English preposition directly. "I dream about you" → ❌ sueño sobre ti → ✔ sueño contigo. "I got married to him" → ❌ me casé a él → ✔ me casé con él.
The Six Prepositions to Know
de — the most common. From, of, about, with. Depender de, olvidarse de, enamorarse de.
a — movement, direction, learning. Ir a, aprender a, ayudar a.
en — location, state, specializing in. Pensar en, confiar en, trabajar en.
con — with, accompaniment, instrument. Soñar con, casarse con, contar con.
por — cause, reason, exchange. Preocuparse por, luchar por, pagar por.
para — purpose, goal, deadline. Prepararse para, estar listo para.

de is the most common preposition that attaches to verbs. It often translates to "of," "about," "from," or even "on" — which is exactly why you can't just translate from English.

Verbs + de
dependerdeto depend on
Depende de ti. — It depends on you.
❌ Not: depende en ti
olvidarsedeto forget about
Me olvidé de llamarte. — I forgot to call you.
enamorarsedeto fall in love with
Se enamoró de ella. — He fell in love with her.
❌ Not: enamorarse con ella
acordarsedeto remember
¿Te acuerdas de mí? — Do you remember me?
quejarsedeto complain about
Se queja de todo. — She complains about everything.
alegrarsedeto be glad about
Me alegro de verte. — I’m glad to see you.
arrepentirsedeto regret / to be sorry about
Me arrepiento de haberlo dicho. — I regret having said it.
tratardeto try to / to be about
Trato de mejorar. — I try to improve.  |  ¿De qué trata? — What’s it about?
dejardeto stop doing something
Dejó de fumar. — He stopped smoking.
cansarsedeto get tired of
Me cansé de esperar. — I got tired of waiting.
enterarsedeto find out about
Me enteré de lo que pasó. — I found out what happened.
darse cuentadeto realize
Me di cuenta de mi error. — I realized my mistake.
encargarsedeto take charge of / to handle
Yo me encargo de eso. — I’ll handle that.
burlarsedeto make fun of
Se burló de mí. — He made fun of me.
cambiardeto change (something)
Cambié de opinión. — I changed my mind.

a attaches to verbs of movement, learning, beginning, and helping. It often translates as "to" — but not always. The personal a before people is a separate concept.

Verbs + a
aprenderato learn to
Aprendió a manejar. — She learned to drive.
empezar / comenzarato start to / to begin to
Empezó a llover. — It started to rain.
volverato do something again
Volvió a llamar. — He called again.
This is one of the most useful structures in Spanish.
ayudarato help (someone) to
Me ayudó a entenderlo. — She helped me understand it.
invitarato invite to
Me invitó a su boda. — She invited me to her wedding.
atreverseato dare to
No me atrevo a decírselo. — I don’t dare tell him.
negarseato refuse to
Se negó a contestar. — He refused to answer.
obligarato force / to oblige to
Me obligaron a firmar. — They forced me to sign.
acostumbrarseato get used to
Me acostumbré al calor. — I got used to the heat.
❌ Not: acostumbrarse con el calor
dedicarseato devote oneself to / to do for a living
¿A qué te dedicas? — What do you do for a living?
resistirseato resist / to refuse
No me pude resistir a los tacos. — I couldn’t resist the tacos.
llegarato manage to / to come to
Llegamos a un acuerdo. — We reached an agreement.

en often translates as "in," "at," or "on" — but it also appears where English uses "about," "of," or nothing at all. Pensar en = to think about (not pensar sobre).

Verbs + en
pensarento think about
Pienso en ti. — I think about you.
❌ Not: pienso sobre ti  |  Note: pensar de = to have an opinion of
confiarento trust / to rely on
Confío en ti. — I trust you.
❌ Not: confiar a ti
creerento believe in
Creo en Dios. / Creo en ti. — I believe in God. / I believe in you.
especializarseento specialize in
Se especializó en cardiología. — She specialized in cardiology.
insistirento insist on
Insistió en pagar. — He insisted on paying.
consistirento consist of
¿En qué consiste? — What does it consist of?
tardarento take time to / to be slow to
Tardó mucho en contestar. — He took a long time to reply.
fijarseento notice / to pay attention to
Fíjate en los detalles. — Pay attention to the details.
quedarento agree to / to arrange to
Quedamos en vernos el viernes. — We agreed to meet on Friday.
convertirseento become / to turn into
Se convirtió en experta. — She became an expert.

con means "with" but attaches to several verbs where English uses completely different prepositions. por signals cause or reason. para signals purpose or goal.

Verbs + con
soñarconto dream about
Soñé contigo anoche. — I dreamed about you last night.
❌ Not: soñar sobre ti / soñar de ti
casarseconto get married to
Se casó con su mejor amigo. — She married her best friend.
❌ Not: casarse a / casarse de
contarconto count on / to rely on
Cuenta conmigo. — Count on me.
encontrarseconto run into / to meet up with
Me encontré con ella en el café. — I ran into her at the café.
quedarseconto keep / to hold onto
Quédate con el cambio. — Keep the change.
comprometerseconto commit to / to get engaged to
Se comprometió con ella. — He got engaged to her.
Verbs + por
preocuparseporto worry about
No te preocupes por eso. — Don’t worry about that.
❌ Not: preocuparse de / preocuparse sobre
lucharporto fight for / to struggle for
Lucha por sus sueños. — She fights for her dreams.
disculparseporto apologize for
Se disculpó por llegar tarde. — He apologized for arriving late.
optarporto opt for / to choose
Optamos por quedarnos. — We opted to stay.
esforzarseporto strive for / to make an effort to
Se esfuerza por mejorar. — She makes an effort to improve.
interesarseporto be interested in
Se interesa por la historia. — He’s interested in history.
❌ Not: interesarse en (though this is also used, por is more standard)
Verbs + para
prepararseparato prepare for / to get ready for
Se preparó para el examen. — She prepared for the exam.
estar listoparato be ready for
¿Estás listo para salir? — Are you ready to go?
servirparato be used for / to serve as
¿Para qué sirve esto? — What is this for?

These are the preposition traps that catch English speakers most often. The English preposition seems to suggest one thing — Spanish uses something completely different.

The Biggest Traps
English ❌ Wrong Spanish ✔ Correct Spanish
to dream about soñar sobre soñar con
Soñé contigo.
to think about pensar sobre pensar en
Pienso en ti.
to worry about preocuparse de preocuparse por
No te preocupes por eso.
to fall in love with enamorarse con enamorarse de
Se enamoró de ella.
to get married to casarse a casarse con
Se casó con él.
to depend on depender en depender de
Depende de ti.
to trust (rely on) confiar de confiar en
Confío en ti.
to insist on insistir a insistir en
Insistió en pagar.
to get used to acostumbrarse con acostumbrarse a
Me acostumbré al clima.
to stop doing sth dejar a dejar de
Dejó de fumar.
to complain about quejarse por quejarse de
Se queja de todo.
to apologize for disculparse de disculparse por
Se disculpó por llegar tarde.
Pattern to notice: Spanish uses con where English uses "about" for dreams (soñar con) but en where English uses "about" for thinking (pensar en). There is no shortcut — each verb must be memorized separately.

Choose the correct preposition. These are the most commonly confused ones.