Spanish grammar - Verbs with prepositions - hablar a and hablar de etc.

Verbs with prepositions - hablar a and hablar de etc.

Many Spanish verbs can be followed by a preposition that changes their meaning.

One such verb is the regular -AR verb hablar which means 'to speak' or 'to talk'.

The prepositions that follow hablar modify its meaning. For instance:

• hablar con means 'to talk with'

• hablar de means 'to speak about'

• hablar a means 'to talk to'

• hablar en means 'to speak in (a language)' or in a particular manner.

Note that all these permutations take a noun after the preposition.

In later topics we will see many other verbs that, like hablar, get modified with different prepositions.

Examples:
	Hablo español. (I) speak Spanish. No preposition required for speaking a language
	Ella habla alemán bastante bien. She speaks German quite well. alemán (m) means 'German' No preposition required
	Él no habla el idioma ruso. He does not speak the Russian language. idioma (m) means 'language' ruso (m) means 'Russian' No preposition required
	¿De qué hablan ustedes ahora? What are you (formal, plural) talking about now?
	¿Con quién hablas tú sobre tus problemas? With whom do you (familiar) talk about your problems?
	¿Con quién hablas tú cuando estás triste? To whom do you (familiar) talk when you are sad? triste means 'sad'
	¿En qué idioma habla tu familia en casa? In what language does your family talk at home? familia (f) means 'family'
	Hablamos en español en casa. (We) speak in Spanish at home.
	Él quiere hablar con el jefe. He wants to talk with the boss. quiere means 'wants' jefe (m) means 'boss'
	¿De qué estás hablando con mi hermana? What are you talking about with my sister?
	El director habla a los estudiantes de secundaria. The principal talks to the high school students. director (m) means 'principal' secundaria (f) means 'high school'
	Siempre hablan de juegos de ordenador. They always talk about computer games. juegos (m, pl) means 'games'
	¿Él habla en portugués con su madre? Does he speak in Portuguese with his mother? portugués (m) means 'Portuguese'
	¿Hablas en francés con tu profesor? Do (you, familiar) speak French with your teacher? francés (m) means 'French'
	¿Hablas de la película? Are (you, familiar) talking about the movie?
	Ella habla con su madre todos los días. She talks with her mother every day.
	¿Por qué hablas en inglés? Why do (you, familiar) speak in English?
	Hablamos a menudo de nuestros libros favoritos. (We) often talk about our favorite books. favoritos means 'favorite'
	Ellos hablan en voz baja. They talk in a low voice. voz (f) means 'voice' baja means 'low'
	¿Hablas con tus padres frecuentemente? Do (you, familiar) talk to your parents frequently? padres (m, pl) means 'parents' frecuentemente means 'frequently'
	¿Con quién hablas tú por teléfono? Who are (you, familiar) talking to on the phone? por teléfono means 'on the telephone'
	¿De qué habláis vosotros con vuestra hermana? What do you (informal, plural) talk about with your sister?