Back to basics help request - from...to.

Question

Hi all,

I've been doing some vocab practice drills lately and have noticed that I seem to have lost track of when one might express from X to Y with de...a versus desde...hasta, or any combination thereof. I'm trying to get a better handle on this both numerically, and more figuratively.

Can anyone explain or point me to a good link or article?

Thanks Roger

Answer 1

That on is over my head but here is a link where 11 uses of de are discussed.

de

Thanks Kirk. I´ll look that over too. - rogspax, Sep 21, 2013

Answer 2

[Revise my English]
Hello. There are basically 2 usages (that I can recall right now) of those prepositions when they work together: time and space. Let me know if you need help with any other context that I forget.

Space or distance. De/Desde and A/Hasta can be used and interchanged but using desde and hasta is probably a safer bet. Use those which feel better. In Spain it sounds good either way.

• Conduje de Madrid a Valencia sin parar. - I drove from Madrid to Valencia non-stop.
• Desde Madrid hasta Valencia: 355 kilómetros (220,5 millas) por carretera - From Madrid to Valencia: 355 kilometres (220,5 miles) by road.
• Desde aquí hasta allí. - From here to there.

Time. Desde and hasta are used most of the times.

• Desde las 5 de la mañana hasta las 6 de la tarde. - From 5 a.m (in the morning) until 6 p.m (in the afternoon)..
• Llevamos esperando desde las 2, ¿hasta cuándo tendremos que estar aquí? - We've been waiting here since 2 o'clock, until when will we have to wait?
• ¿Desde cuándo? - Since when?

There is a very common situation when de and a are used with time sentences.

• La tienda abre de 10:00 (diez) a 14:00 (dos) y de 5 (cinco) a 20:00 (ocho).

And if you wanted to use desde and hasta in the example above, then:

• La tienda abre desde las 10:00 (diez) hasta las 14:00 (dos) y de 5 (cinco) a 20:00 (ocho).

Another example of the unusual use of de and a: when talking about work shifts.

• Trabajo en el centro comercial, de 9:00 a 15:00. Llámame más tarde. - I work at the mall from 9:00 to 15:00. Call me later..

This is only an approach to the use of that set of prepositions. Let me know if further clarification is needed. ¡Saludos!

Correction: "In Spain, it sounds good either way." However, I wish I could write Spanish as well as you write English! - Raja-jani, Sep 21, 2013

Thank you. - RelaxingCup, Sep 21, 2013

Thanks for the answer RelaxingCup, especially for the emphasis of using las with desde-hasta but not de-a when listing time periods. Very helpful. Thanks much. - rogspax, Sep 21, 2013