Verbos con preposiciones: lista completa | Spanish (Spain) Grammar

Spanish has a long list of verbs that demand a specific preposition before their complement — and the preposition is part of the verb. Acordarse is not just "remember"; it's acordarse de. Pensar on its own means little; the meaning depends on whether it's pensar en (have on one's mind), pensar de (have an opinion about), pensar sobre (reflect on), or pensar + infinitive (plan to). For learners, getting these right is what makes a sentence sound finished instead of lurching.

This page is the reference inventory: a long table by preposition, then per-verb commentary on the cases where the preposition does real work — meaning shifts, register differences, and the false friends with English.

Why these verbs need a preposition

In a flat-grammar language like English, most verbs take a direct object: I remember the trip. In Spanish, many verbs take a prepositional object instead: me acuerdo del viaje. The preposition isn't doing locative or directional work — it's selected by the verb, the same way think OF or rely ON are selected by their English verbs. The complement is still the "thing remembered" or "thing relied on"; it just has a preposition attached.

Get the preposition wrong and the sentence breaks: ❌me acuerdo el viaje is ungrammatical in a way English speakers find hard to hear, because in English I remember the trip sounds fine without anything.

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The cleanest way to learn these is to memorise the verb with its preposition as a single chunk: acordarse-de, pensar-en, contar-con. Don't store "acordarse means to remember" and then guess the preposition; store the whole package.

Verbs + a

Detailed treatment of these is on the a-with-verbs page; this is the inventory.

Verb + a	Meaning
ir a, venir a, llegar a	to go to, come to, arrive at
subir a, bajar a	to go up to, go down to
asistir a	to attend
jugar a	to play (a game / sport) — note: in Spain, al fútbol, not just fútbol
invitar a	to invite to (an event); to treat to
aprender a + inf	to learn to
ayudar a + inf	to help (someone to do)
enseñar a + inf	to teach to (do)
empezar a + inf	to begin to
comenzar a + inf	to start to (slightly more formal)
volver a + inf	to do (something) again
oler a	to smell of / like
saber a	to taste of / like
parecerse a	to look like, resemble
acostumbrarse a	to get used to
atreverse a + inf	to dare to
presentarse a	to introduce oneself to; to sit (an exam); to run for (office)
optar a	to apply for, be a candidate for
aspirar a	to aspire to
negarse a + inf	to refuse to
obligar a + inf	to force to

Me he acostumbrado a desayunar con tostada y café con leche todos los días.

I've gotten used to having toast and coffee with milk for breakfast every day.

Este vino sabe a corcho, ¿no? Devolvámoslo.

This wine tastes corked, doesn't it? Let's send it back.

Voy a presentarme al examen de oposición la próxima convocatoria.

I'm going to sit the civil service exam in the next round.

Verbs + de

Detailed treatment on the de-with-verbs page.

Verb + de	Meaning
acordarse de	to remember
olvidarse de	to forget
alegrarse de	to be glad about
arrepentirse de	to regret
quejarse de	to complain about
dejar de + inf	to stop (doing), give up
acabar de + inf	to have just (done)
terminar de + inf	to finish (doing)
tratar de + inf	to try to
tratarse de	to be a matter of
hablar de	to talk about (see contrast below)
depender de	to depend on
fiarse de	to trust
darse cuenta de	to realise
enamorarse de	to fall in love with
ocuparse de	to take care of, deal with
encargarse de	to be in charge of, take on
despedirse de	to say goodbye to
disfrutar de	to enjoy
servir de	to serve as
presumir de	to boast about

No me acuerdo del nombre del restaurante, pero está en Malasaña.

I don't remember the name of the restaurant, but it's in Malasaña.

Me arrepiento de no haberte hecho caso aquella vez.

I regret not having listened to you that time.

Yo me encargo de las bebidas; tú trae la comida.

I'll take care of the drinks; you bring the food.

Acaba de salir por la puerta; si corres lo pillas.

He just walked out the door; if you run you'll catch him.

Verbs + en

Detailed treatment on the en-with-verbs page.

Verb + en	Meaning
pensar en	to think about, have on one's mind (see contrast below)
insistir en	to insist on
consistir en	to consist of
tardar en + inf	to take (time) to (do)
quedar en + inf	to agree to (do)
confiar en	to trust in, rely on
fijarse en	to notice, pay attention to
convertirse en	to turn into, become
creer en	to believe in
especializarse en	to specialise in
coincidir en	to agree on; to overlap on
concentrarse en	to concentrate on

Quedamos en vernos el sábado a las ocho en la plaza.

We agreed to meet on Saturday at eight in the square.

Tardé media hora en encontrar aparcamiento en pleno centro.

It took me half an hour to find parking right in the centre.

Fíjate en cómo lo dice — eso es lo importante, no las palabras.

Notice how she says it — that's what matters, not the words.

Verbs + con

Verb + con	Meaning
casarse con	to marry, get married to
encontrarse con	to bump into; to meet up with
contar con	to count on; to have available
soñar con	to dream about / of
conformarse con	to settle for, make do with
cumplir con	to fulfil, live up to
enfrentarse con / a	to face, confront (both prepositions in Spain; a slightly more standard)
tropezar con	to bump into, run into
comprometerse con	to commit to, get engaged to
amenazar con	to threaten with
romper con	to break up with; to break with

Me encontré con Pedro por casualidad en el metro esta mañana.

I bumped into Pedro by chance on the metro this morning.

Cuenta conmigo para lo que necesites.

Count on me for whatever you need.

Soñé contigo anoche — qué cosa más rara.

I dreamt about you last night — how weird.

Verbs + por

Verb + por	Meaning
preocuparse por	to worry about
interesarse por	to take an interest in; to ask after
esforzarse por / en	to make an effort to (both prepositions work)
votar por	to vote for
decidirse por	to decide on, settle on
pasar por	to go through; to drop by
optar por	to opt for
apostar por	to bet on; to back
luchar por	to fight for

No te preocupes por mí; estoy perfectamente.

Don't worry about me; I'm absolutely fine.

Al final me decidí por el azul, que combina con todo.

In the end I went with the blue one — it goes with everything.

Esta empresa apuesta por la energía solar a largo plazo.

This company is betting on solar energy for the long term.

Verbs + para

A small but high-frequency set.

Verb + para	Meaning
prepararse para	to prepare for
servir para	to be used for; to be good for
estar para	to be fit for; to be about to (see the complete por/para page)
trabajar para	to work for (an employer)
vivir para	to live for

Esto no sirve para nada, tíralo.

This is useless, throw it away.

Vive para sus hijos; no tiene otra cosa en la cabeza.

She lives for her kids; she has nothing else on her mind.

Verbs + sobre

Verb + sobre	Meaning
hablar sobre	to talk about (slightly more formal than de; see below)
escribir sobre	to write about
opinar sobre	to give an opinion on
informarse sobre	to find out about
discutir sobre	to discuss, argue about
investigar sobre	to research, investigate

Estoy escribiendo un artículo sobre la transición energética en España.

I'm writing an article about the energy transition in Spain.

Antes de comprar coche, infórmate bien sobre los modelos eléctricos.

Before buying a car, look properly into the electric models.

Verbs + contra

A small set, almost all combative or oppositional in meaning.

Verb + contra	Meaning
luchar contra	to fight against
atentar contra	to attack, make an attempt on
ir contra	to go against
chocar contra	to crash into
protestar contra	to protest against
rebelarse contra	to rebel against

El coche chocó contra una farola y se quedó sin parachoques.

The car crashed into a lamppost and lost its bumper.

Hay que luchar contra la corrupción en todos los niveles.

We have to fight corruption at every level.

Hablar con / de / sobre — three different things

One of the most stumbled-over distinctions for learners. All three are correct; they mean different things.

Construction	Meaning	Register
hablar con + persona	to talk WITH someone	neutral
hablar de + tema	to talk ABOUT a topic (everyday, the default)	neutral
hablar sobre + tema	to talk ON THE SUBJECT OF (more formal, more measured)	slightly formal

Tengo que hablar con mi jefe sobre el aumento de sueldo.

I need to talk to my boss about the pay rise. (with my boss + about the topic — both prepositions in one sentence)

No me apetece hablar de política esta noche.

I don't feel like talking about politics tonight.

La conferencia trata sobre la inteligencia artificial en la educación.

The lecture is about artificial intelligence in education. (formal context — sobre is right at home)

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If you can substitute "about" naturally and the context is everyday, use de. If the context is formal — a lecture, an article, a structured discussion — sobre sounds more polished. Hablar con is never about the topic; it's always about the interlocutor.

Pensar en / de / sobre / + infinitive

Even more layered than hablar. Four constructions, four meanings.

Construction	Meaning	Example trigger
pensar en	to think ABOUT, have in mind, dwell on	"What are you thinking about?"
pensar de	to have an OPINION about (typically in questions)	"What do you think of him?"
pensar sobre	to reflect ON (formal)	academic, contemplative
pensar + infinitive	to PLAN to, intend to	"I'm thinking of going."

—¿En qué piensas? —En nada, estoy distraído.

'What are you thinking about?' 'Nothing, I'm just daydreaming.'

¿Qué piensas de la nueva ley educativa?

What do you think of the new education law? (opinion question — 'de' is right)

El filósofo dedica todo el capítulo a pensar sobre la naturaleza del tiempo.

The philosopher devotes the whole chapter to reflecting on the nature of time. (formal)

Estoy pensando en ir a Galicia este verano, pero no he reservado nada todavía.

I'm thinking of going to Galicia this summer, but I haven't booked anything yet.

The contrast between pensar en and pensar de is sharp: en = what's on your mind; de = what's your opinion. ❌¿Qué piensas en la ley? doesn't ask for an opinion — it would mean something like "what are you thinking on the law," which doesn't quite parse.

The pensar + infinitive construction (no preposition at all) is the standard peninsular way to express intent: pienso ir, piensan venir, pensamos quedarnos. In Latin American Spanish, pensar en + infinitive (pienso en ir) also appears for intent, but in Spain the bare infinitive is overwhelmingly preferred.

Common Mistakes

❌ Me acuerdo el día que nos conocimos.

Wrong — 'acordarse' takes 'de'. Without the preposition, the sentence is ungrammatical.

✅ Me acuerdo del día que nos conocimos.

I remember the day we met.

❌ Me enamoré con ella en la primera cita.

English calque from 'fell in love with'. Spanish uses 'enamorarse de'.

✅ Me enamoré de ella en la primera cita.

I fell in love with her on the first date.

❌ ¿Qué piensas sobre mi nuevo coche?

Acceptable but stilted in conversation. The natural question is with 'de'.

✅ ¿Qué piensas de mi nuevo coche?

What do you think of my new car?

❌ Voy a hablar sobre mi jefe ahora mismo.

Ambiguous and odd. To talk WITH your boss is 'hablar con'; to talk ABOUT your boss is 'hablar de'.

✅ Voy a hablar con mi jefe ahora mismo. / Voy a hablar de mi jefe.

I'm going to talk to my boss right now. / I'm going to talk about my boss.

❌ Tardé en encontrar aparcamiento media hora.

Word order — the time expression goes between 'en' and the rest, not after. Compare: 'tardé media hora en encontrar aparcamiento'.

✅ Tardé media hora en encontrar aparcamiento.

It took me half an hour to find parking.

Key takeaways

Learn each verb with its preposition as a single chunk: acordarse-de, pensar-en, contar-con. Storing the verb and preposition separately produces dropped prepositions and English calques.
Hablar triples: con (interlocutor) vs de (topic, everyday) vs sobre (topic, formal).
Pensar quadruples: en (have on one's mind) vs de (have an opinion about) vs sobre (reflect on, formal) vs + infinitive (plan to).
A few verbs accept either of two prepositions with little meaning change: esforzarse por / en, enfrentarse con / a — both are heard in Spain.
The biggest sources of error are dropped prepositions (me acuerdo el día), English-calque prepositions (enamorarse con), and over-using sobre in conversational contexts where de is more natural.

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