PREPOSITIONS

305. Prepositions are simple or complex in form, according as they immediately precede their object, or are used in combination with other words:

308. Á, to, is used with verbs of motion; en, in, at, on, with verbs indicating rest in a place; de, from, out of, sometimes by, to denote origin, source, ownership, material, etc. :

a. Of a dative relation in the sense of to:

Á la casa, al hombre.

To the house, to the man.

b. Of a sign of a personal accusative, to make the object of a

verb more specific:

No temo al enemigo.

I do not fear the enemy.

c. Of a connective between certain verbs and their infinitives:

Fué á verlo.

He went to see him.

d. Of the English at in such cases as the following:

Á la puerta, á la mesa.

At the door, at the table.

e. Of at in expressing time, price, rate, distance:

Á las seis, á mediodía.

Á dos chelines la vara.

Á una milla.

f. Of the distributive by:

Poco á poco.

At six o'clock, at mid-day.

At two shillings a yard.
At the distance of a mile.

One by one.

310. Ante, before, signifies in the presence of an authority:

Ante el juez.

Before the judge.

311. Delante de indicates situation in front of in an informal

sense:

Delante de la mesa.

Before the table.

312. Antes de indicates priority of time, order, rank:

Antes de las cuatro.

Before four o'clock.

Un rey es antes de un príncipe. A king is before a prince.

313. Tras, after, indicates what immediately follows; detrás de signifies what is behind, as to place, situation, or order, being the opposite of delante de; después de, after, is descriptive of time or order, and is the opposite of antes de:

Tras él andaba su hijo.

Detrás de un árbol.

Después de tres días se marchó.

After him walked his son.

Behind a tree.

After three days he went away.

314. Bajo, below, beneath, underneath, indicates a situation just under; debajo de, under, denotes material situation :

Bajo el mar.

Debajo de la cama.

Beneath the sea.

Under the bed.

315. Sobre and encima de, on, upon, of location, have this difference sobre means on in the common sense, while encima indicates what is higher than we are, or over, above:

Sobre la mesa.

Encima de la casa.

316. Con, with, indicates

Llegó con su padre.

Lo mató con una espada.

On the table.

On the housetop. accompaniment or instrument:

He arrived with his father.

He killed him with a sword.

317. Desde, from, denotes the starting point, and is used either

of time or place:

Desde el principio.

Desde ayer.

318. Hacia, toward, indicates

Corrió hacia el muelle.

Hacia la mañana.

Hacia el fin del siglo.

From the beginning.

Since yesterday.

material or temporal direction:

He ran toward the quay.

Toward morning.

Toward the end of the century.

319. Hasta, as far as, to, up to, till, until, even, is indicative of

320. Para means for in the sense of destination, end, purpose:

Esta carta es para su padre de V.

Este palo no sirve para bastón.

This letter is for your father.

This stick will not answer for a walking-cane.

321. Por means for, in behalf of, for the sake of, by, through,

along, on account of:

Lo digo por mi padre.

Paso por la calle.

I say it for my father (in behalf

of).

I go through the street.

CONJUNCTIONS

322. There are very few simple conjunctions, though adverbs and prepositions may be utilized as conjunctions, with or without que.

323. The true conjunctions are: Pero, mas, sino, but.

Ni, nor.

Ó (ú before another o-sound), or.

Que, that.
Si, if, whether.

Y (é before an i-sound), and.

324. Pero, mas, and sino signify but, pero and mas being found at the beginning of a sentence or paragraph, and in adversative sentences; while sino occurs only in an adversative sentence, the first clause of which contains a negation that is contrasted with an affirmation in the second:

Pero el conde rehusa declararlo.

But the count refuses to declare it.

Él mantiene que es la verdad, He maintains that it is the truth, mas qué me importa á mí? No tiene padre ni madre sino tres hermanos.

but what does it matter to me? He has neither father nor mother, but three brothers.

325. The conjunction y, and, takes the form e when the word which follows it begins with i or hi:

Algodón é hilo.

Fuerte é invencible.

Cotton and thread.
Strong and invincible.

326. The conjunction ó, or, becomes ú before words beginning with o or ho:

Éstos ú otros, mujer ú hombre. These or others, woman or man.

327. The following are the common conjunctions, formed with que and certain adverbs or prepositions:

328. The true interjections are those which are expressive of

strong emotion:

Oh! ah! oh! ah!

¡Ay! oh! alas! ah!

Ha! (exultation), ha! eh! He! (shock, start), eh! ¡Ea! (encouragement), come! ¡Ea! (impatience), come now! ¡Huy! (pain, shock), oh! dear

me!

¡Ola! or hola! (recognition or discovery), ah! oh!

Puf! (aversion), ugh!

¡ Uf! (weariness), oh!

¡Ca! and ¡quía! (expressive of indignant negation or doubt).

¡ Cáspita! zounds!

Chitón! hist! hush!

¡Ojalá! would that! Oh that!

329. There are certain idle or profane terms which are very common among all the Spanish classes, but which need not be included in a work of this kind.

330. The principles of syntax are amply stated and illustrated in the Method. To it the student is directed for further elucidation of the rules laid down in the Elements.