🎯 Why This Matters
Connecting words.
Literacy and idiomatic accuracy.
🇪🇸 The Challenge
Arbitrary nature. 'In the bus' (wrong) vs 'En el autobús' (Spanish/correct). English requires 'On the bus'. Direct translation fails.
🇲🇽🇨🇴🇦🇷 The EN = IN trap
Problem: Spanish 'en' covers in, on, and at
Watch out: Using 'in' for everything: 'in the bus', 'in Monday', 'in night'
✅ Fix: Spanish 'en' can be IN, ON, or AT in English. Learn phrases, not translations.
🧠 Mental Note: Don't translate 'en' as 'in'. Ask: container (in), surface/day (on), or point (at)?
🇪🇸 Same EN confusion
Problem: Spain Spanish has the same 'en' for multiple prepositions
Watch out: Verb + preposition combinations differ: depender DE ≠ depend OF
✅ Fix: Learn verb + preposition as a unit: interested IN, good AT, depend ON
🧠 Visual Explanation (The Mental Fix)
The Container Rule (with exceptions)
If you can walk around inside the vehicle, use ON. If you're seated and enclosed, use IN.
🗣️ Pronunciation Guide
How Spanish speakers should pronounce this structure:
Weak prepositions
Spanish Habit: Giving full stress to every preposition
English Reality: Prepositions are usually unstressed and reduced
Examples:
- to → /tə/ (not 'too')
- for → /fər/ (not 'four')
- of → /əv/ (sounds like 'uv')
Practice: Prepositions blend into the sentence flow. Don't over-pronounce them.
📖 How It Works
Teacher Recommendation: Self-study friendly
Time Investment: 3 hours
🔑 Signal Words (Memory Anchors)
These words/phrases appear with this structure:
| English | Spanish | Example |
|---|---|---|
| in | en (dentro) | in the box, in January, in the morning |
| on | en (superficie) | on the table, on Monday, on the bus |
| at | en (punto) | at school, at 5 pm, at the corner |
| depend on | depender de | It depends on you / Depende de ti |
| married to | casado con | She's married to him / Está casada con él |
💬 Real Examples
Let's see this structure in action with correct vs incorrect usage:
Example 1: Transportation - the big trap
✅ CORRECT: "I'm on the bus. / I'm in the car."
🇪🇸 Translation: "Estoy en el autobús. / Estoy en el carro."
❌ COMMON MISTAKE: "I'm in the bus."
Why wrong? Bus/train/plane = ON (you can walk around). Car/taxi = IN (you're seated/enclosed)
Example 2: Time expressions
✅ CORRECT: "In the morning / On Monday / At 5 o'clock"
🇪🇸 Translation: "Por la mañana / El lunes / A las 5"
❌ COMMON MISTAKE: "On the morning / In Monday / In 5 o'clock"
Why wrong? IN = parts of day (morning), months, years. ON = days, dates. AT = specific times
Example 3: Depend on vs Depend of
✅ CORRECT: "It depends on the weather."
🇪🇸 Translation: "Depende del tiempo."
❌ COMMON MISTAKE: "It depends of the weather."
Why wrong? English: depend ON. Spanish: depender DE. Direct translation doesn't work!
✏️ Practice Exercises
Ready to test your understanding? Let's practice!