en el
/en el/from spelling rules
The English phrase "on the" is translated into Spanish as en el in its default form.
This prepositional phrase is used to indicate that something is positioned on a surface or located in a specific place. Note that while the English language distinguishes between being "on" a surface and being "in" an object, Spanish uses en el to cover both meanings.
Which one should you use?
Use en los for masculine plural nouns and en las for feminine plural nouns.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase must agree in number with the noun that follows it.
How do you pronounce it?
/en el/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often try to use sobre el to mean "on the", but en el is much more common for general location and position.
Did you know?
- The word en descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁én, making it a distant relative of the English word 'in'.
- In some contexts, en el can describe a state of mind or a conceptual space, such as en el aire to mean something is undecided or 'up in the air'.
- If you are describing something being 'on the' floor, you use en el, but if you want to emphasize that something is physically touching and resting on top of a surface, you can use encima de.
Examples in context
- Está en el sofá.It's on the sofa.This example shows how to use en el to describe an object being on a sofa.Tatoeba #793295 by Shishir, translation #43241 by CK
- Dormí en el sofá.I slept on the couch.This example shows how to use en el to describe sleeping on a couch.Tatoeba #4388836 by pchamorro, translation #2406526 by CK
- Comí en el autobús.I ate on the bus.This example shows how to use en el to describe being on a bus.Tatoeba #4571375 by cueyayotl, translation #1847830 by CK
- El libro está encima de la mesa.The book is on the table.
- El plato está sobre la mesa.The plate is on the table.
- El libro está encima de la estantería.The book is on the bookshelf.
- Voy a subirme al autobús.I'm going to get on the bus.
- 960 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daniel and María are looking for a book in the living room.
- DanielEl libro está en el escritorio.The book is on the desk.
- MaríaNo, no está en el escritorio.No, it is not on the desk.
- Daniel¿Está en el estante?Is it on the shelf?
- MaríaSí, Daniel, está en el estante.Yes, Daniel, it is on the shelf.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
