Ways to Translate “To”

Quick Answer

"To" generally translates as ain Spanish when it is a preposition; however, it also sometimes translates as que, para, de, hasta, hacia, por, and even menos.In verb phrases where to is part of the infinitive, it can translate in a variety of ways.

Some of the shortest and most common words in Spanish are the hardest to master. The simple English word to has a variety of translations, and sometimes does not translate at all, depending on how it is used. ¡No hay necesidad de preocuparse!(There’s no need to worry!) This guide explains how to translate to in the most common contexts.

Direction and Movement

A is the primary translation of to when used with verbs of movement such as ir(to go), volver(to return), caminar(to walk), and viajar(to travel).

Hacia can also be used instead of a with certain verbs of movement when the destination is less specific. Additionally, hasta is sometimes used as a translation of to, meaning as far as.

Let’s take a look at some examples!

examples
Voy a la biblioteca. I’m going to the library.
Carlos jamás volvió a su ciudad natal. Carlos never returned to his home city.
Caminaremos hacia el bosque. We’ll walk to the woods.
Te acompañaría hasta los confines del mundo. I’d go with you to the ends of the earth.

Indirect Objects

If there is an indirect object pronoun in the sentence, it will often be accompanied by a clarifying phrase. If you are clarifying to whom the action is happening, use a.

For example:

examples
Le di el anillo a Samantha. I gave the ring to Samantha.
Le pasé la taza a mi abuela. I passed the cup to my grandmother.

Verb Formulas

When to is part of the infinitive form, it usually translates by a verb formula in Spanish which combines a conjugated verb followed by a preposition and an infinitive.

Verb formulas that translate the infinitive marker to.

Verb formula in Spanish	Translation in English
aprender+ a + infinitive	to learn to
empezar+ a + infinitive	to begin to
estar+ para + infinitive	to be about to
ir+ a + infinitive	to be going to
tener+ que + infinitive	to have to
tratar+ de + infinitive	to try to

Check out these examples!

examples
Aprendimos a cocinar. We learned to cook.
Estoy para acostarme. I’m about to go to bed.
Va a cenar con nosotros. He’s going to have dinner with us.
Tenemos que hacer esto. We have to do this.
Traté de encontrar tus llaves. I tried to find your keys.

Other verb formulas, such as poder+ infinitive (to be able to), soler+ infinitive (to tend to), saber+ infinitive (to know how to), gustar+ infinitive (to like to), necesitar+ infinitive (to need to), and querer+ infinitive (to want to) do not require that we translate the infinitive marker to. These verbs are simply conjugated and followed by an infinitive.

For example:

examples
No saben nadar. They don’t know how to swim.
Quiero bailar. I want to dance.

In Order To

When used to express purpose, to translates as a or para.

For example:

examples
Solo vine a decir adiós. I just came to say goodbye.
Le pedí dinero a mi padre para comprar un vestido de graduación. I asked my father for money to buy a prom dress.

Possession

To indicate belonging in Spanish, we translate to as a when using the verb pertenecerand as de when using the verb ser.

examples
Estos aretes pertenecían a mi madre. These earrings belonged to my mother.
Esa bufanda es de Juanita. That scarf belongs to Juanita.

Telling Time

What time is it? Time to learn how to translate to when telling time! Menos is used to indicate how many minutes there are before the hour.

Check out these examples!

examples
Son las tres menos cuarto. It’s a quarter to three.
Son las nueve menos diez. It's ten to nine.

Other Ways to Translate "To"

Here are some examples of how to translate to in other contexts.

examples
El problema está por resolverse. The problem is yet to be resolved.
¡Por la novia! ¡Salud! Here's to the bride! Cheers!
Para mi sorpresa, ella rechazó la oferta de trabajo. To my surprise, she rejected the job offer.
Preferimos la carne roja a la carne de ave. We prefer red meat to poultry.