English for Spanish speakers · part 13 of 22

Prepositions Spanish speakers confuse

Prepositions rarely map one-to-one, and English draws lines Spanish does not. These pairs cause the most trouble:

Confusion	Rule of thumb	Example
for vs since	for + a length of time; since + a starting point	for three years / since 2020
in vs on vs at	in = enclosed/large; on = surface; at = a point	in the room / on the table / at the door
by vs until	by = no later than; until = up to that moment	finish by Friday / wait until Friday
to vs for	to = direction/recipient; for = purpose/benefit	give it to her / a gift for her
in vs into	in = position; into = movement inward	he's in the car / he got into the car
on vs over	on = contact; over = above/across	on the wall / over the wall
between vs among	between = two; among = a group	between us two / among the crowd

Time and place prepositions (in / on / at) deserve special attention, because Spanish often uses en for all three. There is no shortcut except exposure and a memorised core: at a time, on a day, in a month or year — at 3 o'clock, on Monday, in June.