“EN” is a frequently-used preposition. It can be translated with various meanings in English such as in, by, at, or on, depending on the context.

Here’s a break down on when to use EN in Spanish. Obviously, there may be exceptions but this will give you some basic guidelines.

To indicate location

Vivo en una ciudad. (I live in a city.)

Busca en ese cajón. (Look in that drawer.)

Hoy me quedo en casa porque no me encuentro bien. (Today I’m staying at home because I don’t feel well.)

To place something in a time frame or time period

Ernest Hemingway nació en el siglo XIX. (Hemingway was born in the 19th-century.)

Acabaré en una hora. (I’ll finish in an hour.)

With movement verbs and modes of transportation

Vine en taxi. (I came by taxi.) Me encanta viajar en tren. (I love traveling by train.)

To indicate what a topic or subject is about

Pienso en ti. (I’m thinking about you.) Luis es experto en artes marciales. (Luis is an expert in martial arts.)

“EN” is also used in fixed expressions like “en voz alta” (in a loud voice), “en vez de” (instead of), “en medio de” (in the middle of), etc.

The only possible overlap in meaning between EN and SOBRE is with location. However, sobre is used to indicate a more precise location, a position that is above something else, while en is used with a more general meaning of location.

Think of “sobre” as the equivalent of “encima de” (on top of).

“Deja las llaves sobre la mesilla.” [ Leave the keys on the nightstand (on top of the nightstand).]

Chicos, por favor, no pongáis los pies sobre la mesa. [Guys, please, don’t put your feet on the table (on top of the table).]

Las cajas están colocadas unas sobre otras. (The boxes are stacked on top of one another.)

Eduardo está muy agobiado. Son demasaidas las responsabilides que recaen sobre él. [Eduardo is very stressed out. He’s got too many obligations weighing him down. (Literal  translation: “…that are falling on top of him.”)]

Sobre also has the meaning of “about” in Spanish. The preposition “acerca de” has the same meaning.

Tenemos que hablar sobre lo que pasó ayer.  Tenemos que hablar acerca de lo que pasó ayer. (We have to talk about what happened yesterday.)

¿Qué sabes tú sobre este asunto? What do you know about this topic?

Sobre can also be used to give an approximation, what we’d translate in English as “around” or “around about.”

Ayer llamé a tu casa sobre las seis de la tarde. ¿Dónde estabas? (I called you around 6 p.m. yesterday. Where were you?)

Sobre is a bit of a weird preposition because in addition to being a preposition, it is also a noun (which means “envelope”), but it’s always obvious, from the context, when it is being used as a noun. Necesito comprar un sobre para enviar esa carta. (I need to buy an envelope in order to send that letter.)

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There is an easy way to uncover the meanings of Spanish idioms and expressions and you can do it by using a monolingual (Spanish-only) dictionary. Here’s how:

Always look up the meaning of an expression by checking the dictionary entry for the first noun mentioned in the expression. The reason? A Spanish verb is more likely than a Spanish noun to be used in multiple expressions. For example, the verbs dar, estar, ir, tener, are used in plenty of Spanish phrases and expressions. An excellent Spanish dictionary will list expressions that contain those verbs, but if there are numerous expressions, most dictionaries usually only list the most commonly-used ones. That’s why you’re better off looking for the definition of a Spanish expression by first checking the entry for the main noun mentioned.

Spanish expressions (frases hechas) are combinations of words whose meaning adds up to something very different from their individual parts.

Take, for example, an expression like “ir al grano.” The verb ir means “to go” while the noun grano can be a seed, a grain of sand or a pimple on somebody’s face. But when ir is added to grano (ir al grano) the meaning changes from a literal translation to a figurative one.

When I checked the dictionary under “IR” there was no definition for the expression. But when I checked “GRANO”, there was the expression with its meaning. Ir al grano means “to get to the point.”

So, to recap, here’s a step-by-step process you can use to find the definition of a Spanish expression.

Step 1: First, look up the primary NOUN

Step 2: If there is no noun, look up the VERB.

Step 3: If there is no verb, look up the ADJECTIVE.

Step 4:  If there is no adjective, look up the PRONOUN.

Most of the time, you won’t have to go down that entire scale. You will usually find your definition by first looking up the noun or the verb. Usually the first two steps (checking the noun or the verb listed in the expression) is enough.

By the way, I strongly believe that once you reach an intermediate-level of Spanish, you should start using a Spanish-only dictionary. Why? A monolingual dictionary usually gives a more comprehensive definition. A good monolingual dictionary will also give you examples as well as multiple definitions. The average bilingual dictionary, because it contains two different languages, generally does not have the space, if it is in book form, to offer the same level of detail.

Of course, there are some electronic or online bilingual dictionaries which are excellent, but another advantage to using a monolingual dictionary is that it forces you to think in Spanish. That means less translating in your head, which is a good thing.

Check out: “How to use a Spanish-English Dictionary”