DELE B1 Verbs with Prepositions: Practice Test & Review

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Verbs with prepositions are one of the most tested points on the DELE B1 exam. They appear in reading passages with dependent prepositions, and in cloze exercises where choosing the wrong preposition changes the meaning. If you can’t tell “pensar en” from “pensar de,” or “depender de” from “depender en,” you’ll lose points.

This page gives you a five-part practice quiz: an evaluation set to see where you stand, three practice sets to drill the main preposition groups, and a challenge set to confirm mastery. If you get stuck, scroll down for the full explanation. Ready? Start with the evaluation set below.

Grammar Guide

The Rule

Many Spanish verbs require a specific preposition before an object or an infinitive. The preposition is not optional — it belongs to the verb. Changing it changes the meaning or produces an error.

The preposition is not predictable from English. The best way to learn verbs with prepositions is by group: verbs with de, verbs with en, verbs with a, verbs with con, and verbs with por.

Verbs with De

Verb	Meaning	Example	Translation
depender de	to depend on	Depende de ti.	It depends on you.
alegrarse de	to be glad about	Me alegro de verte.	I’m glad to see you.
olvidarse de	to forget about	Me olvidé de la cita.	I forgot the appointment.
acordarse de	to remember	Me acuerdo de ti.	I remember you.
arrepentirse de	to regret	Se arrepiente de lo que dijo.	He regrets what he said.
preocuparse de	to worry about	Se preocupa de sus hijos.	She worries about her children.
terminar de	to finish doing	Terminé de comer.	I finished eating.
acabar de	to have just done	Acabo de llegar.	I have just arrived.
dejar de	to stop doing	Dejé de fumar.	I stopped smoking.
tratarse de	to be about	Se trata de un problema.	It’s about a problem.

Verbs with de + infinitive describe the completion, cessation, or beginning of an action.

Verbs with En

Verb	Meaning	Example	Translation
pensar en	to think about	Pienso en ti.	I think about you.
insistir en	to insist on	Insiste en eso.	He insists on that.
confiar en	to trust in	Confío en ti.	I trust you.
trabajar en	to work on	Trabaja en el proyecto.	He works on the project.
tardar en	to take time to	Tardó en llegar.	He took a while to arrive.
fijarse en	to pay attention to	Fíjate en los detalles.	Pay attention to the details.
empeñarse en	to insist on / strive to	Se empeña en terminar.	He insists on finishing.
consistir en	to consist of	Consiste en tres partes.	It consists of three parts.

Pensar en vs. pensar de: pensar en = to think about (mental activity). Pensar de = to have an opinion of.

Verbs with A

Verb	Meaning	Example	Translation
aprender a	to learn to	Aprendí a nadar.	I learned to swim.
empezar a	to begin to	Empieza a llover.	It’s starting to rain.
comenzar a	to begin to	Comenzó a hablar.	He began to speak.
ir a	to be going to	Voy a salir.	I’m going to leave.
volver a	to do again	Volvió a llamar.	He called again.
llegar a	to come to / manage to	Llegó a ser presidente.	He came to be president.
enseñar a	to teach to	Enseña a leer.	He teaches reading.
ayudar a	to help to	Ayúdame a hacerlo.	Help me do it.

Verbs with a + infinitive describe the beginning, repetition, or movement toward an action.

Verbs with Con

Verb	Meaning	Example	Translation
soñar con	to dream about	Sueño con viajar.	I dream of traveling.
contar con	to count on	Cuento contigo.	I count on you.
casarse con	to marry	Se casó con Juan.	She married Juan.
hablar con	to speak with	Hablo con mi madre.	I speak with my mother.
encontrarse con	to meet / run into	Me encontré con Ana.	I ran into Ana.
conformarse con	to settle for	Se conforma con poco.	He settles for little.

Verbs with Por

Verb	Meaning	Example	Translation
preocuparse por	to worry about	Se preocupa por ti.	He worries about you.
luchar por	to fight for	Luchamos por la libertad.	We fight for freedom.
disculparse por	to apologize for	Se disculpó por llegar tarde.	He apologized for arriving late.
interesarse por	to be interested in	Se interesa por la historia.	He’s interested in history.
optar por	to opt for	Opté por quedarme.	I opted to stay.
brindar por	to toast to	Brindamos por tu salud.	We toast to your health.

Preocuparse de and preocuparse por are both correct. De is more common in Spain, por in Latin America.

Common Mistakes

1. Using the wrong preposition with pensar.
   ✗ Pienso de ti todos los días.
   ✓ Pienso en ti todos los días.
   Pensar en = to think about. Pensar de = to have an opinion of.
2. Omitting the preposition after a verb that requires one.
   ✗ Depende ti.
   ✓ Depende de ti.
   Depender always takes de.
3. Confusing acabar de with terminar de.
   ✗ Acabo de comer a las dos. (if you mean you finished eating)
   ✓ Terminé de comer a las dos.
   Acabar de = to have just done. Terminar de = to finish doing.
4. Using en with verbs that take de.
   ✗ Me alegro en verte.
   ✓ Me alegro de verte.
   Alegrarse takes de.

Quick Decision Chart

Ask yourself	Answer	Preposition
Is the verb depender, alegrarse, olvidarse, acordarse, or arrepentirse?	Yes	de
Is the verb pensar, insistir, confiar, or tardar?	Yes	en
Is the verb aprender, empezar, ir, or volver (before an infinitive)?	Yes	a
Is the verb soñar, contar, or casarse?	Yes	con
Is the verb luchar, disculparse, or optar?	Yes	por
Is the verb preocuparse?	Yes	de or por (both correct)

Two Sentences That Show the Difference

Pienso en ti.
I think about you.

• Pensar en = to think about (mental activity)

¿Qué piensas de él?
What do you think of him?

• Pensar de = to have an opinion of

Acabo de llegar.
I have just arrived.

• Acabar de = to have just done something

Terminé de trabajar a las seis.
I finished working at six.

• Terminar de = to finish doing something

Confío en ti.
I trust you.

• Confiar en = to trust in

Cuento contigo.
I count on you.

• Contar con = to count on