Verbs with no preposition in Spanish, unlike English. Although the verbs below have a preposition when they are used before a noun in English, they don’t need one in Spanish because it’s built into the word. This means that their object is a direct object.
List of verbs with no preposition in Spanish
| Apagar to turn off (a light) |
| Bajar to go down |
| Borrar to rub out |
| Buscar to look for |
| Caerse to fall down |
| Colgar to hang up |
| Encender to light up |
| Escuchar to listen to |
| Esperar to wait for |
| Lograr to succeed in |
| Mirar to look at |
| Pagar to pay for |
| Pedir to ask for |
| Poner to turn on (radio, TV, washing machine…) |
| Quitar to take off |
| Sacar to take out |
| Salir to go out |
| Subir to go up |
Mi marido está buscando los pasaportes (My husband is looking for the passports).
Estamos esperando el autobus (We are looking for the bus).
Pagaré las copas (I’ll pay for the drinks).
He pedido un café (I have asked for a coffee).
When a direct object is a specific person, you use the personal preposition “a” :
Estoy buscando a mi marido (I am looking for my husband).
Estoy esperando a mis hijos (I am looking for my children).
If you are interested in continuous learning about this subject you can go to the post verbs and prepositions: con, en, and por. Remember to contact your tutor with any questions you have about verbs with no prepositions in Spanish. Don’t you have a Spanish personal tutor yet?