There is a class of Spanish expression that doesn't behave like a normal prepositional phrase: de pronto, en serio, por supuesto, a propósito, sin duda. Each is built from a preposition + a small noun (or noun-like element), and each works in the sentence as a single adverbial unit — not as a true PP modifying a particular constituent. They mean what they mean idiomatically; you cannot derive de pronto (suddenly) from de + pronto by compositional grammar.
These expressions are everywhere in peninsular Spanish, and they're one of the cleanest signals of native command. This page collects them by head preposition, with register labels and the construction errors that English speakers most often produce.
The general pattern
The schema is preposition + (article?) + noun (or adjective acting as noun) → adverbial phrase. Some take an article, most don't. Most are register-neutral; a few trend formal or literary.
A useful test: most of these phrases answer how? or when? or in what manner?, and can be moved around in the sentence like any other adverb. De pronto se oyó un grito / Se oyó de pronto un grito / Se oyó un grito de pronto. All three work.
With de
The de family is large and covers manner, state, time of life, and time of day. Most are short and high-frequency.
| Phrase | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| de pronto | suddenly | neutral |
| de repente | suddenly, all of a sudden | neutral |
| de golpe | all at once, abruptly | informal |
| de veras | really, truly | slightly formal / older |
| de verdad | really, for real | neutral |
| de mentira | for pretend, fake | informal |
| de paso | on the way, while you're at it | neutral |
| de viaje | away travelling | neutral |
| de vacaciones | on holiday | neutral |
| de joven / de niño | as a young person / as a child | neutral |
| de noche / de día | by night / by day | neutral |
| de memoria | by heart | neutral |
| de balde | for free, in vain | informal / older |
De pronto se oyó un grito en el patio y todos miramos hacia la ventana.
Suddenly there was a scream in the courtyard and we all looked toward the window.
¿Lo dices de verdad o me estás tomando el pelo?
Are you saying that for real or are you pulling my leg?
De joven fui muy tímido; ahora no me callo ni debajo del agua.
As a young man I was very shy; now you can't shut me up even under water.
¿Puedes pasar por la panadería de paso al volver del cole?
Can you swing by the bakery on your way back from picking up the kids?
De + body part or posture
A special subgroup describes physical posture or state. These are very common and the article is consistently absent.
| Phrase | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| de pie | standing up | neutral |
| de rodillas | kneeling | neutral |
| de cara | facing, head-on | neutral |
| de espaldas | with one's back turned | neutral |
| de bruces | face down, flat on one's face | neutral / slightly literary |
| de mala gana / de buena gana | unwillingly / willingly | neutral |
| de cabeza | head-first; flat out (figuratively) | informal |
Llevo dos horas de pie en el metro; no he encontrado asiento.
I've been standing on the metro for two hours; I haven't found a seat.
Se cayó de bruces en el portal y se rompió la nariz.
He fell flat on his face in the entrance hall and broke his nose.
Aceptó la propuesta de mala gana, pero al final la aceptó.
He accepted the proposal reluctantly, but he accepted it in the end.
With en
The en family covers manner, register, and quantity of distribution. Several are essential discourse connectors.
| Phrase | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| en serio | seriously | neutral |
| en realidad | actually, in fact | neutral |
| en efecto | indeed, that's right | slightly formal |
| en fin | anyway, in short | neutral |
| en cambio | on the other hand, by contrast | neutral |
| en absoluto | not at all | neutral |
| en general / en particular | in general / in particular | neutral |
| en privado / en público | in private / in public | neutral |
| en silencio | silently, in silence | neutral |
| en voz alta / en voz baja | aloud / in a low voice | neutral |
| en secreto | secretly | neutral |
| en común | in common | neutral |
| en parte / en total | partly / in total | neutral |
¿Lo dices en serio o estás de broma?
Are you serious or are you joking?
En realidad nunca me cayó muy bien, pero hacía como que sí.
Actually I never really liked him, but I pretended I did.
Lee en voz alta, por favor, que no te oigo desde aquí.
Read aloud, please, I can't hear you from here.
—¿Te ha molestado? —En absoluto, no te preocupes.
'Did it bother you?' 'Not at all, don't worry.'
With por
Por heads a particularly large family of discourse markers and modal phrases. Many overlap with the fixed phrases catalogued on the por-vs-para-complete page — there's no clean line between "fixed phrase" and "abstract adverbial" here.
| Phrase | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| por supuesto | of course | neutral |
| por fin | at last, finally | neutral |
| por ahora | for now | neutral |
| por cierto | by the way | neutral |
| por ejemplo | for example | neutral |
| por casualidad | by chance | neutral |
| por desgracia / por suerte | unfortunately / luckily | neutral |
| por error / por equivocación / por descuido | by mistake / by oversight | neutral |
| por adelantado | in advance | neutral |
| por separado | separately | neutral |
| por escrito | in writing | neutral / formal |
| por completo / por entero | completely / entirely | neutral |
| por encima | on top, superficially | neutral |
| por lo visto | apparently | neutral |
| por las nubes | sky-high (prices, praise) | informal |
Por cierto, ¿sabes algo de Marta? Hace siglos que no la veo.
By the way, do you know anything about Marta? I haven't seen her in ages.
Por desgracia el examen lo aprobaron muy pocos este año.
Unfortunately very few people passed the exam this year.
Eso quiero que me lo digas por escrito, que luego se olvida.
I want you to put that in writing — otherwise it gets forgotten later.
Los precios de la vivienda están por las nubes en el centro.
Housing prices are sky-high in the centre.
With a
The a family is the richest source of manner adverbs. Many describe how an action is done — by hand, blindly, deliberately, against one's will.
| Phrase | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| a propósito | on purpose; by the way | neutral |
| a duras penas | barely, with difficulty | neutral |
| a oscuras | in the dark | neutral |
| a ciegas | blindly | neutral |
| a tientas | groping, by feel | slightly literary |
| a sabiendas | knowingly, deliberately | formal / literary |
| a regañadientes | grudgingly | neutral / slightly literary |
| a la fuerza | by force; unavoidably | neutral |
| a gusto / a disgusto | comfortably / uncomfortably | neutral |
| a tiempo / a destiempo | on time / at the wrong time | neutral |
| a mano / a pie / a caballo | by hand / on foot / on horseback | neutral |
| a menudo / a veces / a diario | often / sometimes / daily | neutral |
| a solas | alone (with the implication of privacy) | neutral |
| a fondo | thoroughly, in depth | neutral |
A propósito, ¿al final fuiste al concierto del sábado?
By the way, did you end up going to the concert on Saturday?
Aceptó el trabajo a regañadientes porque no le quedaba más remedio.
He took the job grudgingly because he had no other choice.
Se quedaron a oscuras toda la tarde porque hubo un corte de luz.
They were left in the dark all afternoon because of a power cut.
Necesito hablar contigo a solas un momento.
I need to talk to you alone for a moment.
Lo hizo a sabiendas de las consecuencias. (formal)
He did it fully aware of the consequences.
With sin
The sin family expresses absence, often with a moral or attitudinal edge.
| Phrase | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| sin duda | undoubtedly, no question | neutral |
| sin embargo | however, nevertheless | neutral / formal |
| sin falta | without fail | neutral |
| sin querer | accidentally, unintentionally | neutral |
| sin más | just like that, with no further ado | informal |
| sin más ni más | just like that, out of nowhere | informal / emphatic |
| sin cesar | without stopping | slightly formal / literary |
| sin pausa | without pause, relentlessly | formal / literary |
Es, sin duda, el mejor restaurante del barrio.
It's, without a doubt, the best restaurant in the neighbourhood.
Te lo pago mañana sin falta, te lo prometo.
I'll pay you back tomorrow without fail, I promise.
Perdona, te he pisado sin querer.
Sorry, I stepped on your foot by accident.
Cogió las llaves y se marchó sin más, sin decir adiós.
He grabbed the keys and left just like that, without saying goodbye.
With con
Manner and concomitance — doing X with a particular attitude or accompaniment.
| Phrase | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| con cuidado | carefully | neutral |
| con razón | rightly so; no wonder | neutral |
| con permiso | excuse me (squeezing past) | neutral |
| con frecuencia | frequently | neutral |
| con suerte | with any luck | neutral |
| con tal de (que) | as long as, provided that | neutral |
| con vistas a | with a view to | formal |
Con cuidado, que el suelo está mojado y resbala.
Careful — the floor is wet and slippery.
Con razón estaba enfadada: nadie la había avisado.
No wonder she was angry — no one had told her.
Con suerte llegamos antes de que cierren el museo.
With any luck we'll get there before the museum closes.
With bajo
A small family, mostly figurative — pressure, control, conditions.
| Phrase | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| bajo control | under control | neutral |
| bajo presión | under pressure | neutral |
| bajo ningún concepto | under no circumstances | formal / emphatic |
| bajo cualquier circunstancia | under any circumstance | formal |
El incendio ya está bajo control, según los bomberos.
The fire is now under control, according to the firefighters.
Bajo ningún concepto le abras la puerta a un desconocido.
Under no circumstances should you open the door to a stranger.
With entre
Entre heads a smaller but useful set, often expressing reciprocity or aside-ness.
| Phrase | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| entre tanto | meanwhile | neutral |
| entre nosotros | between us, off the record | informal |
| entre semana | on weekdays | neutral |
| entre líneas | between the lines | neutral |
Entre nosotros, creo que no le ha gustado nada el regalo.
Between us, I don't think she liked the present at all.
Entre semana no salgo nunca; solo los viernes y los sábados.
On weekdays I never go out; only Fridays and Saturdays.
Hay que saber leer entre líneas lo que dice este informe.
You have to know how to read between the lines of what this report says.
A note on register
Most of these expressions are register-neutral and appear freely in conversation. A few trend formal or literary and should not be used in casual speech without sounding mannered:
- Formal / literary: a sabiendas, sin más ni más, sin pausa, sin cesar, bajo ningún concepto, por mor de. These belong in essays, legal writing, formal speeches, journalism. In a chat with a friend they would sound stiff or affected.
- Informal: de golpe, de cabeza, sin más, entre nosotros. Fine in conversation, avoided in formal writing.
- Neutral: the bulk of the list.
When in doubt, de and en phrases tend to be safer for neutral register; a sabiendas, sin cesar-type phrases pull the register up.
Common Mistakes
❌ De la pronta se oyó un grito.
Wrong — 'de pronto' is a fixed lexical item; you can't insert an article. There is no 'la pronta'.
✅ De pronto se oyó un grito.
Suddenly a scream was heard.
❌ En propósito te lo digo.
English calque from 'on purpose'. Spanish uses 'a propósito'.
✅ A propósito te lo digo.
I'm telling you on purpose.
❌ De la noche estudio mejor.
The article changes the meaning. 'De noche' = by night (when?). 'De la noche' would attach to a noun (e.g. 'el silencio de la noche').
✅ De noche estudio mejor.
I study better at night.
❌ Lo hizo a sabiendas, te lo digo en serio, bajo ningún concepto se va a librar.
Register clash — three formal/emphatic phrases stacked sound theatrical in conversation. Pick one or rephrase.
✅ Lo hizo a propósito, en serio, y no se va a librar.
He did it on purpose, seriously, and he's not going to get away with it. (neutral register throughout)
❌ Por la suerte llegamos a tiempo.
Spurious article. The fixed form is 'por suerte', no article.
✅ Por suerte llegamos a tiempo.
Luckily we arrived on time.
Key takeaways
- These phrases are lexical units, not compositional PPs. Memorise them whole.
- The article presence is fixed: de noche (by night), de la noche (different meaning); por suerte (luckily), not por la suerte; en serio, not en lo serio.
- Most are register-neutral; a smaller set (a sabiendas, sin cesar, bajo ningún concepto, por mor de) trends formal or literary.
- English calques — en propósito for "on purpose," en general for de manera general — are common errors; the correct form must be learned, not derived.
- A small handful of these (por cierto, en realidad, sin duda, por fin, de paso) will do more for the naturalness of your Spanish than almost any other addition.
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Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- Preposiciones: panorama generalA1 — An overview of the Spanish preposition inventory, their core meanings, and the fundamental rule that prepositions never map one-to-one to English.
- Otras preposiciones: bajo, ante, tras, hacia, hasta, desdeB1 — The 'minor' simple prepositions of Spanish — bajo, ante, tras (mostly formal), and hacia, hasta, desde (everyday) — round out the inventory beyond the core a, de, en, con, por, para.
- Preposiciones compuestas: 'delante de', 'al lado de'A2 — Spanish builds dozens of compound prepositions by combining a simple preposition with another word — delante de, al lado de, encima de — and in peninsular speech these have largely displaced the formal simple forms.
- Por vs para: referencia completaB1 — Every documented use of por and para, organised as a lookup. Thirteen uses of por, ten of para, eight tricky minimal pairs, plus the estar por vs estar para contrast — peninsular registers throughout.