Spanish pronouns as objects of prepositions.

In Spanish you need to distinguish between subject pronouns and pronouns as objects of prepositions.

Let´s see:

But, what are pronouns as objects of prepositions? It´s easy: a pronoun that follows a preposition. For example:

Antonio vive en México.

Él (Antonio, subject pronoun) vive en México.

He lives in Mexico.

Antonio vive con sus padres.

Él (Antonio, subject pronoun) vive con ellos (sus padres, pronoun as object of preposition).

He lives with them.

As you can see, in Spanish the pronouns as objects of preposition are exactly the same as the subject pronouns, with the exceptions of mí and ti (note “mí” has an accent mark but not “ti”).

Esto es para mí. This is for me.

Esto es para ti/usted. This is for you.

Esto es para él. This is for him.

Esto es para ella. This is for her.

Esto es para nosotros. This is for us.

Esto es para vosotros/ustedes. This is for you.

Esto es para ellos. This is for them.

Watch out! After a preposition, you can translate the English pronoun "it" as:

eso when it refers to an idea

I need to speak about it. Necesito hablar sobre eso.

él or ella when it refers to a specific object whose gender is clear

I need my car. I can´t live without it. Necesito mi coche. No puedo vivir sin él.

So, after a preposition, you can never use the pronoun “it” as “lo” or “la”

However, it´s important to know which the prepositions are.

In English are prepositions words as, for instance, above, about, across, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, since, to, toward, through, under, until, up, upon, with and within.

Here is a list of the Spanish prepositions as well as another words that can work like prepositions.

There is a special preposition: CON

CON + MÍ = CONMIGO

Con followed by mí forms conmigo.

Pedro está conmigo. Pedro is with me.

CON + TI = CONTIGO

Con followed by ti forms contigo

Pedro está contigo. Pedro is with you.

Finally, there are another six special prepositions and words working as prepositions that are six exceptions since they are followed by subject pronouns rather than pronouns as objects of prepositions.

Entre (between): vamos a terminar este trabajo entre tú y yo.

Excepto (except): excepto tú, todos quieren ir al cine.

Menos (except): menos tú, todos quieren ir al cine.

Salvo (except, more formal): salvo tú, todos quiere ir al cine.

Incluso (including): todos quieren ir al cine, incluso tú.

Según (according to): según tú, todos quieren ir al cine