Using prepositions a, para, por, de, en, sin, hacia, sobre followed by a pronoun

In Spanish all prepositions can be followed by a pronoun in order to express to me, for me, about you, in him, without us, towards them, etc. Let's look at some examples.

With the preposition a

Los profesores me han dado un certificado a mí.The teachers have given a certificate to me.

¿A ti te afecta la crisis?Does the crisis affect you?

Le hemos explicado a ella el problema.We have explained the problem to her.

Notice how when the preposition "a" is used with a pronoun, it is reinforcing the other indirect pronoun also present in the sentence. For example:

Le dieron un regalo. Le dieron un regalo a ella.
They gave her a present. They gave her a present (to her).

With the prepositions por and para 

Antonio lo ha hecho por mí.Antonio has done it for me.

Para ti es muy fácil todo.For you everything is easy.

Ellos se preocupan mucho por nosotros.They worry a lot about us.

Para vosotras todo esto es una broma.For you [plural] all this is a joke.

 With the preposition de

Las chicas están hablando de mí.The girls are talking about me.

Gracias, hemos aprendido mucho de ti.Thank you, we've learnt a lot from you.

Es un honor, viniendo de usted.It is an honour, coming from you [formal].

 With the preposition en 

¿Tú crees en mí?Do you believe in me?

Confiamos en ti para el éxito del proyecto.We have confidence in you for the success of the project.

Tenemos dos hijos y nos concentramos mucho en ellos.We have two sons and we focus a lot on them.

 With the preposition sin

¡Fuisteis a la fiesta sin mí!You went to the party without me!

No sé qué hacer sin ti.I don't know what to do without you.

Sin ellas no podemos continuar la clase.Without them we cannot continue with the class.

 With the preposition hacia 

Hay un gato negro que camina hacia mí.There is a black cat that is walking towards me.

El viento fuerte sopla hacia ti y es difícil caminar.The strong wind is blowing towards you and it is difficult to walk.

El policía fue hacia él y lo arrestó.The policeman went towards him and arrested him.

 

With the preposition sobre

Puse una manta sobre él porque tenía frío.I put a blanket on top of him because he was cold.

Yo soy honesto. No puedo decir lo mismo sobre ti.I am honest. I can't say the same about you.

Los pájaros volaban sobre nosotras.The birds were flying above us.

 

Notice how the first two pronouns (me, you) are: mí, ti. The rest of the forms are the same as the subject pronouns (él, ella, usted, nosotros, nosotras, vosotros, vosotras, ellos, ellas, ustedes).

Also remember: has a written accent [´] while ti does not.

See also Using preposition con followed by a pronoun to say with me, you, him, her, us, you (plural), them.

Want to make sure your Spanish sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Brainmap today »

Learn more about these related Spanish grammar topics

Examples and resources

Para ti es muy fácil todo.For you everything is easy.
El viento fuerte sopla hacia ti y es difícil caminar.The strong wind is blowing towards you and it is difficult to walk.
Puse una manta sobre él porque tenía frío.I put a blanket on top of him because he was cold.
Los profesores me han dado un certificado a mí.The teachers have given a certificate to me.
Le hemos explicado a ella el problema.We have explained the problem to her.
Yo soy honesto. No puedo decir lo mismo sobre ti.I am honest. I can't say the same about you.
Antonio lo ha hecho por mí.Antonio has done it for me.
Los pájaros volaban sobre nosotras.The birds were flying above us.
Ellos se preocupan mucho por nosotros.They worry a lot about us.
Confiamos en ti para el éxito del proyecto.We have confidence in you for the success of the project.
Para vosotras todo esto es una broma.For you [plural] all this is a joke.
Las chicas están hablando de mí.The girls are talking about me.
Gracias, hemos aprendido mucho de ti.Thank you, we've learnt a lot from you.
Es un honor, viniendo de usted.It is an honour, coming from you [formal].
¿Tú crees en mí?Do you believe in me?
Tenemos dos hijos y nos concentramos mucho en ellos.We have two sons and we focus a lot on them.
¡Fuisteis a la fiesta sin mí!You went to the party without me!
Hay un gato negro que camina hacia mí.There is a black cat that is walking towards me.
No sé qué hacer sin ti.I don't know what to do without you.
El policía fue hacia él y lo arrestó.The policeman went towards him and arrested him.
Sin ellas no podemos continuar la clase.Without them we cannot continue with the class.
¿A ti te afecta la crisis?Does the crisis affect you?
Getting that for you now...