¿Cómo se dice next to en español?
La Perla: Spanish and English often convey the same thing with different words. For example, in Spanish one says al lado de, literally to the side of, while in English one says next to.
Al lado de: A (prep) means to, and el (definite article/masc) means the. Al is the contraction of a + el. Lado (noun/masc) means side. De (prep) means of/from, and sometimes about.
All together: Al lado de → To the side of/Next to
While al lado de/to the side of is a perfectly understandable way to express next to, al lado de does not mean next to. Being aware of this will allow you to correctly use lado/side in other contexts.
¡OJO! There are only two contractions in Spanish, al and del. Al, meaning to the, is the contraction of a + el. Del, meaning of the, is the contraction of de + el.
Examples/Ejemplos:
La farmacia está al lado del banco. The pharmacy is next to the bank.
Al lado de la estación de metro hay un estacionamiento. Next to the subway station is a parking lot.
El baño está al lado de la escalera. The bathroom is next to the stairway.
Este lado de la calle tiene más restaurantes. This side of the street has more restaurants.
El teatro está en el otro lado de la calle. The theatre is on the other side of the street.
El teatro está al otro lado de la calle. The theatre is to the other side of/across the street.
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