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When to use "a" with "mirar"?Éste es el lugar para preguntas sobre conjugaciones, tiempos verbales, adverbios, adjetivos, el orden de palabras, sintaxis y otras cuestiones gramaticales en español e inglés. |
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#1
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When to use "a" with "mirar"?
I'm a beginner at Spanish, and I'm having trouble with the word "mirar", meaning "to watch" or "to look at" (I presume). I've seen it used both with a the preposition "a" proceeding it and without the preposition "a". My question is when should I use "a" after any form of "mirar"? Here are some examples I've found of "mirar" in use.
Sentences with "a" after "mirar" They watch their children. Miran a sus hijos. He looks left and right. Él mira a la izquierda y a la derecha. Sentences without "a" after "mirar" The cat watches the fish. El gato mira el pez. They are watching T.V. Están mirando televisión. So is there a rule? Are they interchangeable? Please correct me if any of my information is incorrect. Any further details about the word "mirar" would be much appreciated! Última edición por Christoferus fecha: June 27, 2011 a las 03:11 AM |
#2
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Cita:
The second sentence has a preposition after mirar, but it has nothing to do with the verb. It is there to begin a prepositional phrase - 'a la izquierda'. Mirar is not followed by a preposition in the other examples you gave because neither of them fits the two cases when mirar can be followed by 'a'. Hope that helps. |
#3
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Thank you. That helps immensely
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#4
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You're welcome.
This site will help you figure out when a preposition is needed after a verb (and when it's not). You'll find mirar listed in 'Verbs followed by an object' group, under the 'Verbs with no preposition' link. Remember, the personal 'a' is not a preposition. So, if the object is a person, the verb will be followed by the personal 'a'. |
#5
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Can you confirm this? What part of speech is it?
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#6
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Actually "a" is a preposition. It's considered a preposition in Spanish grammar. The term "personal 'a' " was probably coined by some English grammarian. It's a term never used in Spanish. No one mentions " 'a' personal" in any grammar book in Spanish that I know.
I understand that the term helps students and comes very handy when explaining the usage of "a". Anyway, "a" is a preposition and one of it uses is to precede the Object when it is a person. The DRAE explains it better than me, of course: a2. (Del lat. ad). 1. prep. Precede a determinados complementos verbales, como el complemento indirecto y el complemento directo cuando este es de persona determinada o está de algún modo personificado. Legó su fortuna a los pobres. Respeta a los ancianos. El gato persigue a un ratón. I hope it helped. Cita:
No matter which way you put it, that "a" has to exist in Spanish. If you say: "Le escribió una carta su padre" you're saying that "his father wrote him a letter". "Una carta le escribió su padre" = same thing. In English you could say (not used, but you could say it): "To his father he wrote a letter". Same thing in Spanish. I know, it doesn't work with every verb in English, but I thought this could be a good example to make it a little more understandable.. Spanish word order is so flexible that in its simplicity (what can be simpler than being able to write a sentence with the words almost in any order and still make sense?) it can make life miserable sometimes..
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Última edición por Luna Azul fecha: June 27, 2011 a las 08:54 AM |
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Cita:
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#8
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Well, as I said before, the concept of "personal 'a' " is not real, so to speak. "a" is a preposition that is used with Direct and Indirect objects as long as that object is a person or personalized item.
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#9
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True, but I think it is presented that way because when used for a direct object, it is not translated into another preposition, but just omitted, simply because the direct object doesn't need a preposition in English. I think I'm right in saying this also true for Romance languages generally, except Spanish and Portuguese.
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#10
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It's technically a preposition, but it's only used to denote that the following object is a person. Because it has a special classification, it is called the 'personal a'. It is also known as the 'personal preposition a'.
I just wanted to make sure our newest member recognized it as special. Perhaps I should reword my statement to 'Remember, the personal 'a' may appear where a preposition is not normally used, and indicates that the following object is a person. In this position, it will appear like an extra word to an English speaker. There is no translation for it.' By the way, there are times when the personal 'a' is not used, even if the object is a person. |
Etiquetas |
difference, prepositions, rule, verb, watch |
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