¿ 'A pie' o 'de pie' ?

Question

My Spanish tutor, who's from mainland Spain (near the Portuguese border, I believe) just gave me a 'fill-in-the-blanks' type of test, where one question related to walking somewhere [blank] 'pie'. The options included 'a' and 'de'. I chose 'a', but she corrected me and said it should be 'de' for 'by foot'.

However, according to the Spanish Dict translator 'by foot' = 'a pie' while 'de pie' = 'standing'.

I don't wish to correct my Spanish tutor, whose Spanish is obviously, er, rather better than mine. However, why is this ? Is it a regional variation ?

Gracias por ayudarme

Several very good questions these days, Falda, thank you for asking them! I've learned from them too :-) - Manity, May 14, 2015

De nada... ;-) - Faldaesque, May 14, 2015

Answer 1

a pie - on foot

de pie - standing

Answer 2

Is it perhaps Spain versus Latin America? In Pimsleur (LA version), it was definitely "a pie."

Aye, she also gave me a ticking off for using 'platicar' today & last time is was 'manejar', although I'm sure when I asked for directions in Spain last year, I was told '5 minutos a pie'... ;-) - Faldaesque, May 12, 2015

Answer 3

Look what I found.

http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/pie

"A pie" - on foot or by foot, as in "I'll go there on foot."

"De pie" - on foot, as in to be on one's feet for a long time, or standing.

Answer 4

Thanks. Now that I look at the test question again, I think it is more of a 'standing on your feet' situation so probably 'de pie' is correct. I was unaware of the distinction before, so at least I've learned something

As have we all. ;-) - Winkfish, May 12, 2015