A or ah is definitely the trickiest letter in all of Spanish. And I’m not talking about
how to pronounce it. That’s easy.
Ah.
The word “a” -- just an A all alone -- that word has come up at least three times already.
First, in Two Magic Travel Words: A & De, you learned that “a” means “to”.
Then in The Only Two Contractions in Spanish, you saw when “a” comes before “el”
which is “the” -- they form the contraction “al” which then means “to the”.
Okay...
But in reality, “a” doesn’t just mean “to”. “A” can also mean “at”,
“of”, “into” and a few others. Ya see “a” is a preposition. And most prepositions
are like that. They can mean multiple things, depending on the context. I’ll explain it
real soon in an upcoming video, How Prepositions Work.
It’s important, but not the point of today’s video.
Also not the point of today’s video, you saw in Speak in the Future Without More Conjugation,
you can conjugate “ir” or “to go” in the present tense, add “a” then say
any other verb in the infinitive to express a future action.
So “Voy a comer un bocadillo.” would mean “I’m going to eat a sandwich.” “Voy”
is a present tense conjugation of “ir”. And “comer” is the infinitive. But when
there’s an “a” in between, it speaks of the future. A “bocadillo” is a “sandwich”
in Spain on a baguette.
So as you’re starting to see, not only is “a” very common. But “a” is also very
diverse. It’s used in many different ways.
But today’s lesson is all about one way in particular. And to be honest, I’m not
totally comfortable talking about this. It gets a little... PERSONAL.
Hola, soy Jordan and this is a Spanish Quickie. Fast, easy Spanish lessons from somebody who
speaks your language.
One thing I try to do in every video, is explain the topic to you from the Gringo point of
view. Usually that’s pretty easy. In English we do it this way, in Spanish they do the
opposite. In English we say this, in Spanish they say that.
But when it comes to the personal a, there’s no comparison in English. We have nothing
like it. So all I can tell you from the Gringo point of view, is don’t waste your time
looking. Just learn this.
In the last video, Direct Object Pronouns, I reminded you, a direct object is the thing
or person getting the action of a verb.
So, in the sentence “I see the car.” or “Veo el carro.” “El carro” is the
direct object. Direct objects are easy. Same words in the same order.
“Car” is “el carro” in Latin America but “el coche” in Spain.
But things get a little tricky when the direct object is a specific person as opposed to
a thing.
“I see Manuel.” wouldn’t be “Veo Manuel.” When the direct object is a specific person,
like in this sentence, you have to add the personal “a”. This is just the letter
“a” before the direct object. So “I see Manuel.” would be “Veo a Manuel.”
Like I said before, there’s nothing in English I can compare this to. The “a” in this
case basically has no meaning. You just have to get used to it. Don’t worry if you forget
sometimes, you’ll definitely be understood. But you’ll also definitely be wrong.
So when the direct object is a thing, like a “car”, you never use the personal a.
When the direct object is a specific person, like “Manuel” you always use the personal
a.
The personal a can be seen as a sign of respect, kind of. Manuel is more important than a car,
basically.
Now, if there’s more than one direct object that’s a specific person, you use the personal
“a” for every one.
So “I see Manuel and Suzi.” would be “Veo a Manuel y a Suzi.”
Even when the direct object isn’t a name, but it still refers to a specific person.
You have a specific face you’re picturing in your head, you still use the personal a.
So, “He loves his parents.” would be “Él ama a sus padres.”
See what’s going on? No names were used, but his parents are still two specific people.
So the personal a is used here.
“I see the girl.” would be “Veo a la chica.” The personal a is used here even
though the girl is unnamed because it’s THE girl. A very specific one. Again, there’s
obviously a face being pictured.
Here’s a good example.
“I’m looking for my friend.” would be “Busco a mi amigo.” The personal a is
needed because I’m looking for a specific friend.
But “I need a friend.” would be just “Necesito un amigo.” There’s no personal a here
because I’m just saying generally “I need a friend.” Like, any friend will do. I’m
not picturing a specific face in my head.
Got it? You can call it specificity, you can call it a relationship. I just like to go
with the “Am I picturing a specific face?” test.
It’s a little tricky to have to remember to put the extra “a” in there, but not
that hard once you get the general idea.
One kinda weird thing, then we’re out of here.
For pets, you use the personal a in the same way.
“I love my cat.” would be “Amo a mi gato.” But just “I love cats.” would
simply be “Amo los gatos.”
For other animals that aren’t pets, that you don’t have a relationship with, you
don’t use the personal a.
If you let it in your house, use the personal a. If you wouldn’t let it in your house,
don’t use the personal a.
Cool? Not so bad, right? If you go to GringoEspanol.com/quickies/a you’ll find a quick Practice Worksheet I
made for you. When you’re done with that Worksheet, you should have a pretty decent
command of this. The answer key is also at that link and that link is also below this
video.
The next video is about INDIRECT objects pronouns. Direct and indirect object pronouns in English
are one in the same. But not in Spanish. Oh no.
Several previous videos came into play today. If anything didn’t make sense to you, go
back and watch the videos displayed on your screen right now. Those graphics should be
clickable if I did this right.
Subscribe to my Channel to make sure you don’t miss future videos. Like my Facebook page
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I hope you found this video helpful. I’ll see you next time. Hasta luego. Adiós amigo.