Higher: parece, hace falta, vale la pena and questions with prepositions

Higher phrases that make your Spanish sound natural, and the rule for prepositions in questions.

GCSE · 1SP1
International GCSE · 4SP1
About 15 minutes

Impersonal verbs

Spanish	English	Example
parece que	it seems that	Parece que va a llover.
me parece + adjective	it seems ... to me	Me parece injusto.
basta con + inf	it is enough to	Basta con reciclar un poco.
falta / faltan + noun	is / are missing, there isn't / aren't enough	Faltan espacios verdes.
hace falta + inf / noun	it is necessary, we need	Hace falta proteger el medio ambiente.
vale la pena + inf	it is worth	Vale la pena visitar Sevilla.

Useful phrases

me apetece + infinitive = I fancy: Me apetece ir al cine.
se me da bien / mal = I am good / bad at: Se me da bien el inglés. With a plural, use dan: Se me dan mal las matemáticas.
por un lado ... por otro lado = on the one hand ... on the other hand.
ya no = no longer: Ya no juego al fútbol.

Prepositions in questions

In Spanish a question never ends with a preposition. The preposition goes first:
¿Con quién vas? (Who are you going with?)
¿De dónde eres? (Where are you from?)
¿Para qué sirve? (What is it for?)
¿En qué piensas? (What are you thinking about?)
¿A qué hora empieza? (What time does it start?)

Worked example

Translate: It is worth recycling, but there aren't enough bins in my town.

It is worth recycling = vale la pena reciclar (infinitive)
there aren't enough bins = faltan papeleras / faltan contenedores (plural verb)
in my town = en mi ciudad / en mi pueblo

Answer: Vale la pena reciclar, pero faltan contenedores en mi ciudad.

Key idea

Parece que, me parece, basta con, falta / faltan, hace falta, vale la pena + infinitive. Me apetece, se me da(n) bien / mal, por un lado / por otro lado, ya no. Questions start with the preposition: ¿Con quién...? ¿De dónde...? ¿Para qué...?

Common mistakes

Not “Hay que”. Hay que is followed by an infinitive, not a noun.
Not “da”. Idiomas is plural, so the verb is plural.

Quick check

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Extra practice

2 more questions

Try each one, then tap to check.

What does "Vale la pena visitar Sevilla" mean?
1. It's a pity to visit Seville
2. Seville is worth visiting
3. Visiting Seville costs too much
4. Seville is painful to visit
Show the answer
Answer: Seville is worth visiting
Vale la pena + infinitive = it is worth ...ing.
___ un hospital en mi pueblo.
1. Hace frío
2. Hay que
3. Hace falta
4. Tiene falta
Show the answer
Answer: Hace falta
Hace falta + noun = we need.

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Sources and references

Last updated 2 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.