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-   -   Preposition "a" (http://forums.tomisimo.org/showthread.php?t=18254)

luis magistrado May 28, 2014 09:34 AM

Preposition "a"
 
i am still confused with using the preposition "a". What exactly are the rules?

Todavia yo estoy confundido con usar la preposicion "a". Exactamente, que son las reglas?

wrholt May 28, 2014 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luis magistrado (Post 149439)
gracias,

i am still confused with using the preposition "a". What exactly are the rules?

Todavia yo estoy confundido con usar la preposicion "a". Exactamente, que son las reglas?

I'm not surprised: the preposition 'a' has several distinct uses. For that matter, several other prepositions also have more than one distinct use.

The most common uses of the preposition 'a' include:

1. As a preposition 'a' typically introduces a location towards which motion occurs (a destination or a direction). It commonly is used with verbs of motion. For example, voy a la tienda.

2. 'a' also typically marks 'indirect' objects. Every indirect object is specified as a prepositional phrase, and most often one uses 'a', especially when the nature of the relationship of the 'indirect' object is reasonably clear from context. Sometimes one chooses a different preposition to mark an 'indirect' object. 'Indirect' object pronouns (me, te, nos, os, le, les, or se) are equivalent to the prepositional phrase. Some examples:
Di un libro a María = I gave María a book, I gave a book to María
Compré una pluma a Juan = I bought a pen from Juan. (In some contexts, this may mean "I bought Juan a book" "I bought a book for Juan". Spanish allows a much wider range of meanings for 'indirect' objects than English does.)
Le lavé la cara al bebé = I washed the baby's face.

3. 'a' also has the function that English-speaking students of Spanish know as 'personal a'. In this case, 'a' marks direct objects when they are human, definite and specific; a noun that is human, definite and specific that is not marked with 'a' may appear to be the subject of the verb.
Juan (le) dio el libro a María, (le) dio Juan el libro a María, a María le dio el libro Juan, a María le dio Juan el libro are all possible ways to say "Juan gave Maria the book"/"Juan gave the book to Maria". Of course, some of them are less common than others.

4. Many verbs require another verb as a complement. However, each verb has specific requirements about how another verb may function as a complement.
4.1. Some verbs require their complement verbs to be infinitives that follow immediately. For example, quiero ir.
4.2. Many verbs require that a specific preposition introduce their complement verbs. For example:
4.2.1 Many verb require using 'a': aprendo a cocinar, empiezo a estudiar
4.2.2 Some verbs require using 'de': terminé de hacerlo
4.2.3 Some verbs require using 'con': soñé con mi padre anoche = "I dreamed about my father last night"
4.3 A few verbs require something other than a preposition to introduce their complement verbs. In particular: tengo que ir = "I must/have to go", hay que hacerlo = "It is necessary/one must do it"

While there are a few generalizations one can make about which verbs require which pattern for using a second verb as a complement, one mostly needs to learn each verb and which pattern it requires one at a time.

luis magistrado May 28, 2014 04:01 PM

Muchisimas gracias.


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