Adverbial Expressions in Spanish w/ a
I’m working on a big post mini-series about different prepositions in Spanish, and I was working on the one for a and there are just so many adverbial expressions that use a so I decided to make this its own post so it’s not one GIGANTIC wall of text when I finish talking about everything that the preposition a is used for.
And if you’d like to go support me and what I do over on Patreon that would be lovely and greatly appreciated!
Anyway, here are some of the most common expressions I know of that use a
Some of these are idioms, some are compound words. Most compound words with a indicate a kind of directionality or an intention. For example la regla is “rule” or “ruler”, and arreglar is “to fix” but in that sense it’s “to set in order” or more literally “to set according to how it should be / to set according to the rule”... things like that are very common with Spanish.
And as we all know I’m garbage at proofreading my own things so bear with me on this and if you see a typo or mistake, let me know.
a veces = sometimes, at times
a ver = “let’s see”, “well then”
[commonly misspelled as haber which is a totally different thing]
a simple vista = “at first sight”, “one’s first impression”
e.g. a simple vista parece que... = at first glance it appears that...
a la vez = at the same time, simultaneously
a pie = on foot, walking
e.g. ir a pie = to go on foot
a salvo = safe / safe and sound
e.g. estar a salvo = to be unharmed
al grano = “down to business”
e.g. vamos al grano = let’s get down to business / let’s not waste time
a la izquierda = to the left / on the left-hand side
a la derecha = to the right / on the right-hand side
a través de = through / going through
atravesar = to go through, to traverse
(hacia) atrás = going backwards
abajo = going under / lower
arriba = going up / higher up
manos a la obra = “let’s get to work”
al dedillo = “by heart”, “from memory”
a bordo = aboard, on board
a caballo = on horseback, riding a horse
a nombre de (alguien) = in someone’s name, under someone’s name
¿A nombre de quíen? = “In whose name?” or “Who’s the reservation for?”; this expression is used for things that are registered or reserved for someone. This would be what someone asks if you went to a restaurant or a hotel and asked you under whose name the reservation was made. It’s also something you’d see on licences and registrations for vehicles or leases, that kind of thing. If someone asks you this at a hotel, you would be giving them your name or the name of whoever you’re booking the room for that would show up on the registry.
a mi manera = “my way” [can be used with other possessives]
ej: lo hice a mi manera = I did it my way
a flor de piel = lit. “(as if) flower’s skin”
This expression is used in the sense of “very noticeable” or “on the surface”. It would be how you’d translate something like… tener los sentimientos a flor de piel “to be very sensitive” or “to wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve”.
You’d also see a flor de piel to be like “running high” or “in the air”, in the sense of something is easily perceived.
a toda costa = at all cost
a cualquier precio = no matter the price
a ciegas = blindly, stumbling, without knowing, in the dark
a espaldas (de alguien) = behind someone’s back
e.g. hablar a espaldas de alguien = to talk behind someone’s back
a solas = one-on-one, in private
This is said of two people alone most often.
ej: Quiero hablar contigo a solas. = I want to talk to you in private. / I want to talk to you one-on-one
mano a mano = hand-to-hand
cuerpo a cuerpo = melee [fighting style; las armas de cuerpo a cuerpo would be “melee weapons” etc]
a consecuencia de = due to [sometimes you see por consiguiente or como resultado as synonyms, “therefore” and “as a result”]
al lado de alguien = on someone’s side
[can be literally “beside” in the sense of direction, or it could be something like te necesito a mi lado “I need you on my side” or “I need you in my corner” in the sense of support]
a corto plazo = short-term
a largo plazo = long-term
a domicilio = delivery
e.g. clases a domicilio “home schooling”, comida a domicilio “take-out food”, entrega a domicilio “delivered to your house”, médico/a a domicilio “a doctor who makes house calls”
al aire libre = in the open air / open-air
al fresco = outside
afuera = (going) outside / out
a fin de = for the purposes of, in order to
a diferencia de (algo/alguien) = unlike
ej: a diferencia de tu hermana, eres… = unlike your sister, you’re…
a distancia = from a distance, at a distance
al cabo = to the end / finishing, in summation
a secas = only, just [in some contexts a secas means “in a blunt way” or “without mincing words”]
a estas alturas = at this point, at this juncture
ej: A estas alturas, no tenemos otra opción. = At this point we have no other choice.
a duras penas = hardly, barely
apenas = hardly, barely
a tientas = fumbling, going by feel or touch
a diestro y siniestro = all over the place
[lit. “to the right and left” where diestro/a “able/dexterous” is the old word for “right” derecho/a, and siniestro/a “sinister” is the old word for “left” izquierdo/a]
a la deriva = adrift, drifting
a cuestas = on someone’s back / piggyback
al principio, al inicio = at the beginning
al final, al fin = at the end
a medias = halfway, partway / half-assed
[in context this means “done halfway”, or in an accusatory way it’s saying that someone “half-assed” something so it depends on proper context... you can see no hace las cosas a medias as in “he/she doesn’t do things halfway” meaning “he/she gives their all”]
(mantener algo/alguien) a raya = (to keep something/someone) in line, at bay
a menos que = unless [this takes subjunctive]
a partir de = starting from
ej: a partir de hoy… = from today on(wards)…
a propósito = on purpose, deliberately
adrede = on purpose [sort of the same, just a little more accusatory]
a la larga = “in the long run”
a la ligera = “lightly”
e.g. tomar(se) algo a la ligera = to take something lightly
a mano = by hand, manually / on hand, nearby
a lo mejor = maybe, perhaps
a medida = tailored, custom-made
a pesar de (que) = despite, in spite of [takes subjunctive]
a punto de = just about to, at the point of
e.g. estar a punto de explotar = to be just about to explode
estar a punto de hervir = to be about to boil
a posteriori = in hindsight
aprisa, a prisa = hurrying [as a command you can say it like “hurry up”, same with deprisa or you might see it as a command like date prisa where darse prisa is “to hurry”]
a toda prisa = as fast as possible, as fast as you can
a primera vista = at first sight
a raudales = in abundance, overflowing [not super common but you never know; more common is estar repleto/a de or estar lleno/a de or using a verb like rebosar]
a primera hora = first thing in the morning, “bright and early”
a plena luz de día = in broad daylight
a cuadros = checkered, gingham [pattern]
a lunares = polka dot [pattern]
a rayas = striped [pattern]
a rombos / de rombos = argyle / diamond-shape pattern
Your clothing you might see a or de used here, but it works like this… quiero una camisa a rayas “I want a striped shirt” or quiero una camisa a lunares “I want a polka dot shirt”. You do see sometimes that it’s de but saying un traje a rayas or una traje de rayas (finas) for “a pinstripe suit” is pretty similar.
Important note: a is used a lot in culinary things the same way you’d see it with French or Italian, where it means “done in the style of”. In that case, it’s hard to translate it very literally.
gambas al ajillo = “shrimp/prawns in garlic and olive oil”
pulpo a la gallega = “Galician-style octopus”
calamar a la romana = “Roman-style squid”
al horno = “oven-baked” [in Italian al forno]
a la carta = a la carte [French]
al pastor = “shepherd-style”
a la rusa = “Russian-style” [usually “stroganoff”]
papas/patatas a la alemana = “German-style potatoes” / German potato salad
In some cases it’s not just food. For example the expression despedirse a la francesa which is literally “saying goodbye the French way” means “to leave without telling anyone you’re going”
Or, you might see something called el servicio a la rusa which is “Russian-style service” or el servicio a la inglesa “English-style service” which refer to a fancier kind of dinner service where an attendant or server will cut portions for you and serve you that way instead of you helping yourself.
Some might require more explanation like... a la amazona which is “side-saddle”. Literally, this is “in Amazon-style”. But, la amazona is also a female rider / “horsewoman”, being the female equivalent of el jinete “horseman”. In that sense, a la amazona means “as a horsewoman does” aka “side-saddle”, because women used to montar a la amazona “to ride side-saddle”
