DESDE and DE are two Spanish prepositions that can be used interchangeably in cases when both means “from”. However, they also have different usages. Our Spanish school El Rincón del Tándem shortly explains how to use them properly in this blog ?
DESDE and DE are two Spanish prepositions that can be translated as “from”. In this case, they both indicate the origin of an action in time and space.
However, the preposition they are combined with and indicating the destination or the end of an action, are different as we can see below:
DESDE – HASTA
Estuve de vacaciones desde mayo hasta septiembre = I was on holiday from May to September
Di un paseo desde mi casa hasta el puerto = I took a stroll from my house to the harbour
DE – A
Las clases son de lunes a viernes = Classes takes place from Monday to Friday
De mi casa a la escuela son 2 kilómetros = The distance from my home to the school is 2 km
These two combinations cannot be changed; we cannot associate DESDE with A or DE with HASTA.
So, let’s see what makes these two prepositions different in order to avoid any confusion.
The Spanish preposition DESDE
Firstly, desde is used to indicate the origin of an action in a sentence where the destination or end is not expressed (it is implicit).
More precisely, desde indicates when or where an ongoing action has started.
Estoy esperando su llamada desde las 19.00 = I have been waiting her call since 7 pm.
Vivo en Lisboa desde marzo = I have been living in Lisbon since March
Mario ha llegado en coche desde Amsterdam = Mario has arrived from Amsterdam by car
When we speak about time, we refer to an action that has been performed till now. Therefore, the implicit final moment of the action would be “hasta ahora”.
When we speak about space, the destination of the motion is “here”. So, the implicit phrase would be “hasta aquí”.
Secondly, DESDE is used to indicate a place where someone is observing from.
Desde la ventana de mi habitación se ve el mar = From the window of my room you can see the sea
Desde esta colina se ve la ciudad = From this hill you can see the city
LOOK OUT!
In all the examples above, we cannot replace desde with the preposition de.
The Spanish preposition DE
The preposition DE have several meanings. It can express possession, cause, material, contents, etc.
When it expresses time, it can easily confuse with DESDE.
So, we have to keep in mind that we must use DE (and not DESDE) to:
– Express the origin. The place where someone or something comes from
El tequila es de México = Tequila is from Mexico
Soy de Argentina = I am from Argentina
Vengo de Chile = I come from Chile
– When expressing space, it is always used with the Spanish verb VENIR. We use it to answer the question “From where?” / “De dónde?”
– ¿De dónde vienes?
– Vengo del gimnasio
– Where are you coming from?
– I am coming from the gym
We hope this post on the Spanish preposition DESDE and DE will help you use them properly.
As always, we invite all our students to keep learning new Spanish words and use them inside and outside de the school.
Finally, we remind you that our Spanish school El Rincón del Tándem provides a cosy place where you can learn Spanish by having fun.
Have a nice day!
