Basic adverbs and prepositions of place

ENCIMA DE / SOBRE: on

My cat is on the table.

Mi gato está encima de la mesa.

Mi gato está sobre la mesa. (watch out! You don´t need the preposition “de” if you use “sobre” instead “encima”)

DEBAJO DE: under

My cat is under the table.

Mi gato está debajo de la mesa.

ENTRE: between

My cat is between the table and the ball.

Mi gato está entre la mesa y la pelota.

DELANTE DE: in front of

*Note: enfrente de and delante de are not exactly the same, enfrente de is as “opposite”.

The main difference is: “enfrente de” means “face to face” whereas “delante de” is not necessary face to face.

Let´s see an example:

Miguel está delante de ti. Mike is in front of you (it can be face to face or not, you can be behind Mike)

Miguel está enfrente de ti. Mike is opposite you (face to face)

DETRÁS DE: behind

My cat is behind the table.

Mi gato está detrás de la mesa.

AL LADO DE: next to, beside, at the side of

My cat is next to the table.

Mi gato está al lado de la mesa.

A LA IZQUIERDA DE: on the left of, to the left of.

My cat is on the left the table.

Mi gato está a la izquierda de la mesa.

A LA DERECHA DE: on the right of, to the right of.

My cat is on the right the table.

Mi gato está a la derecha de la mesa.

*Note:

Be careful! If the following word of the preposition “de” is the article “el” we join the two words to create “del”.

DE + EL = DEL

Mi gato está detrás de la mesa. My cat is behind the table.

Mi gato está detrás DEL sofá. My cat is behind the sofá.