Word
El mapa és al costat del passaport i de la maleta.
Meaning
The map is next to the passport and the suitcase.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of El mapa és al costat del passaport i de la maleta.
ser
to be
i
and
al costat de
next to
el mapa
the map
Questions & Answers about El mapa és al costat del passaport i de la maleta.
What does al costat de mean, and how literal is it?
Al costat de means next to, beside, or at the side of.
It is fairly literal:
- al = a + el = at the
- costat = side
- de = of
So al costat de is basically at the side of.
Examples:
- al costat del passaport = next to the passport
- al costat de la maleta = next to the suitcase
It is a very common fixed expression in Catalan.
Why is it al and not a el?
Because a + el contracts to al in Catalan.
So:
- a el costat → al costat
This is a normal contraction, just like:
- de + el → del
You should usually think of al as the standard form, not as an optional shortening.
Why do we get del passaport but de la maleta?