PREPOSITIONS AFTER VERBS BEFORE AN INFINITIVE
The following is a list of the more commonly used verbs taking a direct infinitive:Aconsejar
Afirmar
Confesar
Conseguir
Creer
Deber
Decidir
Dejar
Desear
Elegir
Esperar
Evitar
Fingir
Gustar
Hacer
Impedir
Intentar
Jurar
Logar
Merecer
Necesitar
Parecer
Pensar
Permitir
Poder
Preferir
Procurar
Prohibir
Prometer
Proponer
Querer
Saber
Sentir
Soler
To advise to
To affirm
To confess to
To manage to
To believe
Should, must
To decide to
To let, allow
To desire to
To choose to
To hope, expect to
To avoid
To pretend to
To be pleasing to
To do, make
To prevent, hinder
To try to, attempt to
To swear
To succeed
To deserve to
To need to
To appear, seem to
To intend to
To permit to
To be able
To prefer
To try to
To forbid to
To promise to
To propose to
To want to
To know how to
To be sorry to
To be used to
Note:
If there is a change of subject, the subjunctive + que may be required:Examples:
Necesito que lo hagas cuanto antes, I need you to do it ASAP.
Prefiero que no vengas, I prefer you not to come.
Verbs of perception – such as oír, to hear; ver, to see – are followed by an infinitive coming
immediately after them:Examples:
Vio entrar al hombre, He saw the man going in.
Oigo cantar a las chicas, I hear the girls singing.
The following verbs take the preposition a before a verb, although para (in order to) may
sometimes be substituted:Verbs of motion
ir, to go; venir, to come; correr, to run; subir, to go up; bajar, to go
down; entrar, to enter; acercarse, to approach; etc…
Example:
Vino a verme, he came to see me.
The following is a list of the more commonly used verbs taking ‘a’ with an infinitive:Abandonarse a
Acostumbrarse a
Animar a
Aplicarse a
Aspirar a
Atreverse a
Dedicarse a
Detenerse a
Disponerse a
Enviar a
Exponerse a
Forzar a
Autorizar a
Aventurarse a
Ayudar a
Comprometerse a
Condenar a
Decidirse a
Obligar a
Oponerse a
Pararse a
Persuadir a
Prepararse a
Quedarse a
To give oneself up to
To get used to
To encourage to
To apply oneself to
To aspire to
To dare to
To do (career)
To stop to
To get ready to
To send to
To expose oneself to
To force to
1
To authorise to
To venture to
To help to
To undertake to
To condemn to
to decide to
To oblige to
To object to
To stop to
To persuade to
To prepare to
To remain to
Incitar a
Inducir a
Invitar a
Limitarse a
Llegar a
Negarse a
Reducir a
Renunciar a
Resignarse a
Resistirse a
Resolverse a
Volver a
To incite to
To induce to
To invite to
To limit oneself to
To succeed in
To refuse to
To reduce to
To renounce
To resign oneself to
To resist
To resolve to
To do again
The following is a list of the more commonly used verbs taking ‘de’ with an infinitive:Acabar de
Acordarse de
Acusar de
Alegrarse de
Arrepentirse de
Avergonzarse de
Cansarse de
Cesar de
Cuidar de
Dejar de
No dejar de
Descuidar de
Desesperarse de
Desistir de
Dispensar de
Disuadir de
Encargar de
Encargarse de
Excusar de
Guardarse de
Haber de
Hartarse de
Incomodarse de
Indignarse de
Jactarse de
Olvidar(se) de
No poder menos de
Privarse de
Quejarse de
Sospechar de
Terminar de
Tratar de
Tratarse de
To have just
To remember
To accuse of
To be glad to
To repent of
To be ashamed of
To be tired of
To cease to
To take care of
To stop
To not fail to
To neglect
To despair of
To desist from
To excuse from
To dissuade from
To entrust with
To undertake to
To excuse from
To take care not to
To have to
To grow tired of
To be annoyed at
To be indignant at
To boast of
To forget to
To not help but
To be deprived of
To complain of
To suspect of
To finish
To try to
To be a question of
The following is a list of the more commonly used verbs taking ‘en’ with an infinitive:Complacerse en
Consentir en
Consistir en
Convenir en
Deleitarse en
Divertirse en
Dudar en
Empeñarse en
Entretenerse en
Esforzarse en
Tener éxito en
No tener éxito en
Hacer bien (mal) en
Insistir en
Ocuparse en
Pensar en
Persistir en
Quedar(se) en
Tardar en
Vacilar en
To take pleasure in
To consent to
To consist of
To agree to
To take a delight in
To amuse oneself in
To hesitate to
To insist on
To amuse oneself in
To strive to
To succeed in
To fail to
To do well (badly) in
To insist on
To be busy with
To think of
To persist in
To agree to/on
To take time to
To hesitate to
The following is a list of the more commonly used verbs taking ‘por/para/con’ with an
infinitive:Acabar por
Comenzar por
Empezar por
Estar por
Luchar por
Felicitar por
Interesarse por
Servir para
Estar para
Soñar con
Amenazar con
Contar con
To finish by
To begin by
To begin by
To still to be done
To fight for
To congratulate on
2
To be interested in
To be used for
To be about to
To dream of
To threaten with
To count on
PREPOSITIONS AFTER VERBS BEFORE A NOUN
The following is a list of commonly used verbs taking ‘de’ with a noun or pronoun:Abusar de
Acordarse de
Alimentarse de
Asustarse de
Burlarse de
Cambiar de
Carecer de
Compadecerse de
Darse cuenta de
Depender de
Desconfiar de
Disfrutar de
Dudar de
Enterarse de
Gozar de
Informarse de
Maravillarse de
Olvidar(se) de
Pasar de
Reírse de
Servirse de
Triunfar de
Vengarse de
To abuse
To remember
To feed on
To be frightened
To make fun of
To change
To lack
To be sorry for
To realise
To depend on
To mistrust
To enjoy
To doubt
To enquire about
To enjoy
To be informed about
To wonder at
To forget
To exceed
To laugh at
To use
To triumph over
To take revenge for
The following is a list of commonly used verbs taking ‘a’ with a noun or pronoun:Acercarse a
Aproximarse a
Arrimarse a
Asemejarse a
Asomarse a
Asistir a
Dar a
Faltar a
Fiarse a
Llegar a
Oler a
Oponerse a
Parecerse a
Renunciar a
Resistir a
Saber a
To approach
To approach
To lean against
To resemble
To lean out of
To attend
To overlook
To break promise
To trust
To reach (place)
To smell of
To oppose
To resemble
To renounce
To resist
To taste of, smack of
The following is a list of commonly used verbs which take a preposition in English but in
Spanish take a direct object:Agradecer
Aguantar
Aprovechar
Buscar
Cuidar
Escuchar
Esperar
Mirar
Pedir
Recordar
Reprochar
Señalar
Sentir
Soportar
To be grateful for
To put up with
To take advantage of
To look for
To look after
To listen to
To wait for
To look at
To ask for
To remind of
To reproach with
to point to
To be sorry about
To put up with
Some Spanish verbs change meaning when followed by a specific preposition:Acordarse con
Contar
Convenir a
Entender
Preguntar
Saber
Acordarse de
Contar con
Convenir con
Entender de
Preguntar por
Saber de
To agree with
To count, relate
To suit
To understand
To ask a question
To know
3
To remember
To count, rely on
To agree with
To know all about
To ask for
To know about
The following verbs take the preposition a with persons to translate ‘from’ or ‘of’:Arrancar
Comprar
Esconder
Ocultar
To snatch
To buy
To hide
To conceal
Pedir
Quitar
Robar
Tomar
Examples:
Me robó el dinero a mí, he stole the money from me.
Compró el coche al profesor, he bought the car from the teacher.
JCW
01.01.06
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To ask for
To take away from
To steal
To take