PREPOSITIONS AFTER VERBS BEFORE AN INFINITIVE

The following is a list of the more commonly used verbs taking a direct infinitive:-

Aconsejar To advise to Jurar To swear

Afirmar To affirm Logar To succeed
Confesar To confess to Merecer To deserve to
Conseguir To manage to Necesitar To need to
Creer To believe Parecer To appear, seem to
Deber Should, must Pensar To intend to
Decidir To decide to Permitir To permit to
Dejar To let, allow Poder To be able
Desear To desire to Preferir To prefer
Elegir To choose to Procurar To try to
Esperar To hope, expect to Prohibir To forbid to
Evitar To avoid Prometer To promise to
Fingir To pretend to Proponer To propose to
Gustar To be pleasing to Querer To want to
Hacer To do, make Saber To know how to
Impedir To prevent, hinder Sentir To be sorry to
Intentar To try to, attempt to Soler 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 To give oneself up to Autorizar a To authorise to

Acostumbrarse a To get used to Aventurarse a To venture to
Animar a To encourage to Ayudar a To help to
Aplicarse a To apply oneself to Comprometerse a To undertake to
Aspirar a To aspire to Condenar a To condemn to
Atreverse a To dare to Decidirse a to decide to
Dedicarse a To do (career) Obligar a To oblige to
Detenerse a To stop to Oponerse a To object to
Disponerse a To get ready to Pararse a To stop to
Enviar a To send to Persuadir a To persuade to
Exponerse a To expose oneself to Prepararse a To prepare to
Forzar a To force to Quedarse a To remain to

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Incitar a To incite to Reducir a To reduce to
Inducir a To induce to Renunciar a To renounce
Invitar a To invite to Resignarse a To resign oneself to
Limitarse a To limit oneself to Resistirse a To resist
Llegar a To succeed in Resolverse a To resolve to
Negarse a To refuse to Volver a To do again

The following is a list of the more commonly used verbs taking ‘de’ with an infinitive:-

Acabar de To have just Encargarse de To undertake to

Acordarse de To remember Excusar de To excuse from
Acusar de To accuse of Guardarse de To take care not to
Alegrarse de To be glad to Haber de To have to
Arrepentirse de To repent of Hartarse de To grow tired of
Avergonzarse de To be ashamed of Incomodarse de To be annoyed at
Cansarse de To be tired of Indignarse de To be indignant at
Cesar de To cease to Jactarse de To boast of
Cuidar de To take care of Olvidar(se) de To forget to
Dejar de To stop No poder menos de To not help but
No dejar de To not fail to Privarse de To be deprived of
Descuidar de To neglect Quejarse de To complain of
Desesperarse de To despair of Sospechar de To suspect of
Desistir de To desist from Terminar de To finish
Dispensar de To excuse from Tratar de To try to
Disuadir de To dissuade from Tratarse de To be a question of
Encargar de To entrust with

The following is a list of the more commonly used verbs taking ‘en’ with an infinitive:-

Complacerse en To take pleasure in Tener éxito en To succeed in

Consentir en To consent to No tener éxito en To fail to
Consistir en To consist of Hacer bien (mal) en To do well (badly) in
Convenir en To agree to Insistir en To insist on
Deleitarse en To take a delight in Ocuparse en To be busy with
Divertirse en To amuse oneself in Pensar en To think of
Dudar en To hesitate to Persistir en To persist in
Empeñarse en To insist on Quedar(se) en To agree to/on
Entretenerse en To amuse oneself in Tardar en To take time to
Esforzarse en To strive to Vacilar en To hesitate to

The following is a list of the more commonly used verbs taking ‘por/para/con’ with an
infinitive:-

Acabar por To finish by Interesarse por To be interested in

Comenzar por To begin by Servir para To be used for
Empezar por To begin by Estar para To be about to
Estar por To still to be done Soñar con To dream of
Luchar por To fight for Amenazar con To threaten with
Felicitar por To congratulate on Contar con To count on

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PREPOSITIONS AFTER VERBS BEFORE A NOUN

The following is a list of commonly used verbs taking ‘de’ with a noun or pronoun:-

Abusar de To abuse Dudar de To doubt

Acordarse de To remember Enterarse de To enquire about
Alimentarse de To feed on Gozar de To enjoy
Asustarse de To be frightened Informarse de To be informed about
Burlarse de To make fun of Maravillarse de To wonder at
Cambiar de To change Olvidar(se) de To forget
Carecer de To lack Pasar de To exceed
Compadecerse de To be sorry for Reírse de To laugh at
Darse cuenta de To realise Servirse de To use
Depender de To depend on Triunfar de To triumph over
Desconfiar de To mistrust Vengarse de To take revenge for
Disfrutar de To enjoy

The following is a list of commonly used verbs taking ‘a’ with a noun or pronoun:-

Acercarse a To approach Fiarse a To trust

Aproximarse a To approach Llegar a To reach (place)
Arrimarse a To lean against Oler a To smell of
Asemejarse a To resemble Oponerse a To oppose
Asomarse a To lean out of Parecerse a To resemble
Asistir a To attend Renunciar a To renounce
Dar a To overlook Resistir a To resist
Faltar a To break promise Saber a 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 To be grateful for Mirar To look at

Aguantar To put up with Pedir To ask for
Aprovechar To take advantage of Recordar To remind of
Buscar To look for Reprochar To reproach with
Cuidar To look after Señalar to point to
Escuchar To listen to Sentir To be sorry about
Esperar To wait for Soportar To put up with

Some Spanish verbs change meaning when followed by a specific preposition:-

Acordarse con To agree with Acordarse de To remember

Contar To count, relate Contar con To count, rely on
Convenir a To suit Convenir con To agree with
Entender To understand Entender de To know all about
Preguntar To ask a question Preguntar por To ask for
Saber To know Saber de To know about

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The following verbs take the preposition a with persons to translate ‘from’ or ‘of’:-

Arrancar To snatch Pedir To ask for

Comprar To buy Quitar To take away from
Esconder To hide Robar To steal
Ocultar To conceal Tomar To take

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