01 · One word, three jobs
Estoy en casa.
I am at home.
En covers "in", "on", and "at" for location — English splits it three ways, Spanish doesn't make you choose.
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Preppy Master
Get a, de, en, and con right without translating in your head — out loud.
Three little words do most of the work. En covers English in, on, AND at for location: estoy en casa, el libro está en la mesa, trabajo en un hospital. A marks direction (voy a la escuela) — and Spanish adds the personal a before people: veo a mi hermana, never veo mi hermana. De handles possession and origin (el carro de mi hermano, soy de Argentina), and the contractions are mandatory — al and del, never a el or de el. Round out the core set with con/sin (with/without) and desde/hasta (from/until): trabajo desde las nueve.
Below: each preposition in real sentences, how locals bend them (voy donde mi abuela), the giveaway mistakes — and a way to practice them the way &Be teaches everything: by talking, not with flashcards.
The warm-up pack
The small words holding every sentence together.
01 · One word, three jobs
Estoy en casa.
I am at home.
En covers "in", "on", and "at" for location — English splits it three ways, Spanish doesn't make you choose.
02 · Same word, different picture
El libro está en la mesa.
The book is on the table.
Still en, even though English says "on" here instead of "at". Stop hunting for a different word — there isn't one.
03 · Heading somewhere
Voy a la escuela.
I go to school.
A marks the direction you're moving in. Simple, but it's the preposition you'll reach for constantly.
04 · The a nobody translates
Veo a mi hermana.
I see my sister.
That a before a person doesn't mean anything in English — it's just required whenever a person is the direct object. Drop it and you sound unmistakably like a learner.
05 · The contraction you can't skip
Voy al supermercado.
I'm going to the supermarket.
A + el always becomes al — never "a el" written out. There's no formal version that avoids it.
06 · Where you're from
Soy de Argentina.
I am from Argentina.
De handles origin the same simple way it handles possession — one small word doing a lot of work.
07 · The other contraction
Vengo del banco.
I'm coming from the bank.
De + el becomes del, same rule as al. Once both contractions are automatic, you stop pausing mid-sentence.
08 · Adding something
Tomo café con leche.
I drink coffee with milk.
Con is just "with" — stack it onto any order or description and you're customising, not translating.
09 · Leaving something out
Estudio sin música.
I study without music.
Sin is con's opposite number. Between the two you can describe almost anything you do or don't have with you.
10 · Starting point
Trabajo desde las nueve.
I work from nine.
Desde marks where something begins — a time, or a place. It's the word your daily schedule runs on.
11 · Where it ends
La tienda abre hasta las diez.
The store is open until ten.
Hasta is desde's partner — together they frame any stretch of time or distance, from start to finish.
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Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/preppy-masterRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Carla
Your grammar teacher for this pack
No flashcards, no gap-fills — in the Preppy Master lessons the prepositions come up because the conversation needs them, and Carla keeps the conversation moving. She asks where things are in your neighbourhood, and you place them with en, a, and de: el banco está en la esquina, voy al café. She has you compare two trips — salgo para Lima versus paso por Lima — then walks you through your day from start to finish with desde and hasta, out loud, until the little words stop needing thought.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and Preppy Master is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
An extra a — untranslated in English — that goes before a person as direct object: veo a mi hermana, llamo a mi madre los domingos. Dropping it (veo mi hermana) is one of the fastest ways to sound like a learner.
Always. A + el contracts to al and de + el to del: voy al supermercado, vengo del trabajo. Writing them out in full is never correct.
Usually all three are just en: estoy en casa (at home), el libro está en la mesa (on the table), vivimos en Madrid (in Madrid). Don't hunt for three different words — one does the job.
Desde and hasta: trabajo desde las nueve (from nine), la tienda abre hasta las diez (until ten), vivo aquí desde 2020 (since 2020). They work for space too: caminamos desde el parque hasta la playa.
At this level: para = goal, destination, recipient (estudio para el examen, este regalo es para ti); por = through or because (camino por el parque, gracias por tu ayuda). The full por-vs-para battle is its own badge — here you just need the everyday cases.