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Five-minute Spanish Lessons - Lesson 37.Two confusing prepositions: "con" / "en"."Con" does not coincide with the English "with" in some contexts. Although, with reference to clothing, we can say: Hace tiempo que no te veo con gafas. It's been a long time since I last saw you / with / in / glasses. when somebody habitually wears an article of clothing, we say: ¿Te acuerdas de esa anciana del abrigo largo? Do you remember that old woman / with / in / the long coat? "Con" is necessary with these verbs (and verbs of similar meaning): Me encontré con Pepe hoy en la calle. (also "tropezar con", "topar con" etc.) I met Pepe in the street today. Tuvo un accidente y se dio un golpe con un muro (also, "chocar con" etc) He had an accident and crashed into a wall. When an English Speaker hears a Spanish speaker say the following, it can sound very confusing: Anoche soñé con un monstruo. Last night I dreamed about a monster. The use of "con" seems to imply that the speaker and the monster dreamed together in the same bed! But when a Spanish mother says to her child: Sueña con los ángeles. Dream about the angels. she doesn't expect the angels to crawl into bed with her child! Another preposition to be aware of is with the verb "pensar": No puedo dejar de pensar en ti. I can't stop thinking about you. Yet the English use "in" with the verb "believe"... ¿Crees en los fantasmas? Do you believe in ghosts? So when you hear your Spanish-speaking boyfriend or girlfriend say: you will sympathize with the error!
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