Por Nick Potter
English Tips for Spanish Lawyers. In this series we look at real-life examples of the most common mistakes in English by native Spanish lawyers. These and lots more invaluable tips are available in a new e-book/paperback, here: 50 English Tips for Spanish Professionals.
the No Preposition Verbs
In a perfect world, all Spanish verbs followed by the preposition “a”, for example, would translate as English verbs followed by “to”. But of course…
Question: Which ONE of A – G below is correct?
| A | We would ask to the client why multi-currency loans are Excluded Assets, because there are no regulatory reasons for this |
| B | On delivery of the unit, Tenant will pay to Landlord the amount of €75,000 plus VAT |
| C | The defendants oppose to the claim on the basis of the following arguments |
| D | Although the fine imposed on the bank was not for a significant amount, it may have reputational impact |
| E | Can the Borrower incur in any additional financial indebtedness without the Lenders’ prior consent? |
| F | The Issuer shall inform to the Agent of the Bondholders of this situation |
| G | The Ruling does not apply retrospectively and will not affect to payments already made by consumers |
Before you read the answer, remember:
Remembering the right preposition is difficult because these words don’t neatly map across from one language to another – the Spanish “a” is not always “to”.
Some prepositions you may use regularly enough to learn – conforme a la ley / los estatutos means in accordance with the law / articles of association. Not to (though you can say “according to”, which means según).
However, certain Spanish verb-preposition combos we can group together because they all have the same thing in common – the English verb is usually followed by an object and no preposition at all.
Here are just a few Spanish verbs followed by “a” which translate without a preposition:
oponer a = to oppose
preguntar a = to ask
llamar a = to call
contestar a = to answer
pagar a = to pay
pedir a = to ask, order
afectar a = to affect
asistir a = to attend
informar a = to inform
Obviously this applies to the verbs when followed by an object (“They called me”; “I attended the class”).
In other forms, they can be followed by prepositions: (He was informed by the authorities (passive): I forgot to call to tell them it was cancelled – to call followed by to + infinitive)
Tip: try to remember as many of these “No Preposition Verbs” as you can.
So:
A-C are all wrong because although the Spanish verb is followed by “a”, the English verb takes no preposition before the object:
| A | We would ask to the client why multi-currency loans are Excluded Assets, because there are no regulatory reasons for this |
| B | On delivery of the unit, Tenant will pay to Landlord the amount of €75,000 plus VAT |
| C | The defendants oppose to the claim on the basis of the following arguments |
D is the correct sentence. Imponer a translates as the verb to impose followed by a preposition – but the preposition is on, not to.
| D | Although the fine imposed on the bank was not for a significant amount, it may have reputational impact [CORRECT] |
E is wrong. Incurrir en is yet another “No Preposition Verb” in English. Never write “incur in”!
| E | Can the Borrower incur in any additional financial indebtedness without the Lenders’ prior consent? |
Finally, F and G are two further examples of Spanish verbs followed by “a” which in English are not followed by “to” – or any preposition.
| F | The Issuer shall inform to the Agent of the Bondholders of this situation |
| G | The Ruling does not apply retrospectively and will not affect to payments already made by consumers |
