Ultimate Guide to Prepositional Pronouns Spanish: All you need to know!

The straightforward way of understanding Spanish pronouns and grammar is due to its similarity with English pronoun structures. These pronouns act as both subjects and objects in verb and preposition contexts.

The more challenging aspect is when exactly to use which pronoun! English gives you the same pronouns for preposition objects and for verb’s direct and indirect objects. Spanish has pronouns for different purposes – with some overlapping. Now, I’m not going to lie: prepositional pronouns Spanish can be hard.

Lucky for you, Maura from Spring Spanish (a project I co-founded) explains how you can master the 4 most difficult Spanish grammar topics – including prepositional pronouns:

First, let’s recap what pronouns are in Spanish and what prepositional pronouns Spanish are!

1. What are Spanish prepositional pronouns?

Let’s check the following example:

“Para mí” translates to “for me” with “mí” being the prepositional pronoun.

Understanding and accurately using them is important as they are a commonly used element in daily Spanish dialogues.

2. Prepositional Pronouns in Spanish – Chart

Prepositional pronouns are vital because they replace the noun that would otherwise be the object of a preposition. This makes the sentence more efficient and avoids unnecessary repetition.

Take a look at the chart and learn the Spanish prepositional pronouns

Prepositional Pronouns in Spanish

Keep in mind that the pronouns “conmigo“, “contigo” and “consigo” are unique combinations that are specific to the preposition “con” and do not have direct one-word equivalents in English.

3. How To Use Prepositional Pronouns

The requirement to construct a prepositional phrase is a preposition:

• de (of),
• sobre (on),
• con (with),
• sin (without),
• para/por (for).

You’ll also need to add an appropriate pronoun that refers to the noun, individual or object being discussed.

When a preposition precedes a pronoun (like: to me, for us, next to him etc.), prepositional pronouns are created.

It’s time to break it down with an example:

Este regalo es para ti, espero que te guste. – This gift is for you, I hope you like it.

Now that you know Spanish prepositional pronouns work, it’s time to practice them!

1. A mí me gusta el helado. (I like ice cream.)
2. Ella cocinó para ti. (She cooked for you.)
3. Este regalo es para él. (This gift is for him.)
4. Mandaron una carta para ella. (They sent a letter to her.)
5. Tengo un mensaje de nosotros. (I have a message from us.)
6. La profesora siempre piensa en vosotros. (The teacher always thinks about you all.)
7. Esa sorpresa fue planeada por nosotros. (That surprise was planned by us.)
8. Quiero ir contigo a ti. (I want to go with you.)
9. El jefe siempre está en contra de nosotros. (The boss is always against us.)
10. El regalo es de ellas para nosotros. (The gift is from them to us.)

4. Prepositional pronoun forms: conmigo and contigo and consigo

In Spanish, the prepositions “con” (with) combined with the pronouns “mí” (me), “ti” (you, singular informal), and “sí” (himself, herself, itself, yourself formal singular or plural, themselves, yourselves) have special contracted forms that are considered prepositional pronouns.

These are:

• conmigo: ¿Quieres ir al cine conmigo? (Do you want to go to the movies with me?)
• contigo: Siempre me divierto contigo. (I always have fun with you.)
• consigo: Él siempre lleva un libro consigo. (He always carries a book with himself.)

It’s important to note that “consigo” is only used when the subject and the object of the preposition “con” refer to the same person or entity in the third person.

When you’re talking about “with us” or “with you all,” you do not use these special forms; instead, you would use “con nosotros” (with us), “con vosotros” (with you all, informal in Spain), or “con ustedes” (with you all, formal in Latin America).

5. Sí as preposition

Additionally, there’s another prepositional object which is used from time to time.

Sí stands for “himself,” “herself,” the polite “yourself,” the courteous “yourselves,” or “themselves” when it’s the object of a preposition:

Antes de salir, ella prepara café para sí misma. (Before leaving, she prepares coffee for herself.)

In this sentence, “para sí misma” highlights that she is preparing coffee for herself (!), not for someone else.

This structure isn’t as common as the previous ones mentioned because the action could also be expressed reflexively with a verb:

“Ella se prepara café.” (She makes herself a coffee.)

Keep in mind that using “para sí misma” can add emphasis or clarity to the fact that the action is done for the subject’s own benefit.

6. Practice Worksheet – Use Spanish prepositional pronouns in Spanish grammar

I. Fill in the blank with the correct Spanish prepositional pronoun: mí, ti, él, ella, nosotros, vosotros, ellos, or ellas. Keep in mind, that depending on the context, more answers are possible!

This is not everything! Sign up to gain access to our Full Practice Library now!

7. Learn Prepositional pronouns Spanish and exceptions with Conversation Based Chunking

Learning these pronouns can be more intuitive through the method known as Conversation Based Chunking.

This learning strategy focuses on acquiring language in large “chunks” or phrases that are commonly used together in everyday conversation.

Instead of memorizing rules and individual words, learners pick up whole phrases that are already grammatically correct. This helps to internalize language patterns and use them correctly without much conscious thought.

Sign up now to get access to the Spanish Conversation Based Chunking Starter Pack and learn the prepositional pronouns in Spanish!