Por la mañana, prefiero una tostada con miel.

I

Breakdown of Por la mañana, prefiero una tostada con miel.

• una: a
• la mañana: the morning
• con: with

Questions & Answers about Por la mañana, prefiero una tostada con miel.

Why is it por la mañana instead of en la mañana?

In Spain, por la mañana is the normal way to say in the morning.

Spanish commonly uses:

• por la mañana = in the morning
• por la tarde = in the afternoon / evening
• por la noche = at night / in the evening

En la mañana does exist in some varieties of Spanish, especially in parts of Latin America, but it sounds less natural in standard Spain Spanish.

Why is there a la in por la mañana?

Because this is a fixed time expression in Spanish. Spanish often uses the definite article in phrases about parts of the day:

• la mañana = the morning
• la tarde = the afternoon
• la noche = the night

So por la mañana literally looks like by/in the morning. Even though English does not use the in in the morning in quite the same way, Spanish does.

How do I know mañana means morning here and not tomorrow?