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¿Es necesaria la "a"?This is the place for questions about conjugations, verb tenses, adverbs, adjectives, word order, syntax and other grammar questions for English or Spanish. |
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#1
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¿Es necesaria la "a"?
Voy a fingir que es verdad.
Voy fingir que es verdad. Ambos parecen traducir lo mismo. ¿Es una regla sobre cuando la "a" es necesaria o no? Como siempre gracias.
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#2
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The rule in this case is that the verb ir is always followed by 'a'.
You'll hear native speakers leaving out that mandatory 'a', though, because in colloquial speech it isn't always said. For example, "Él va a hacer la tarea antes de salir a jugar con los amigos" (He's going to do his homework before going to play with his friends) is said as if the underscored words were spelled vacer (and when written, some native speakers will actually write it that way (they may include a space after the 'a' or they may substitute an 's' for the 'c' in Latin America), because they don't say/hear three 'a' sounds, and the pronunciations of 'c' and 's' are identical in this case). The second sentence you posted (without the 'a' after the verb 'ir') is not grammatically correct. |
#3
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Gracias Rusty, pero hay una regla en general sobre la "a" antis los verbos;
por ejemplo Yo camino a ejercitar mis piernas. Yo camino ejercitar mis piernas. Como siempre.
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#4
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The infinitive (words like ejercitar) doesn't have an implied preposition, but that is what many textbooks and instructors teach the English-speaking learner of Spanish. They say it means "to exercise," but it doesn't. If you look in a dictionary, you'll see that it means the verb "exercise," not the English full infinitive "to exercise."
The two instances you've mentioned are completely different. 'Voy a fingir' is an example of the near future tense. It is comprised of a conjugated form of the infinitive 'ir', plus the preposition 'a', and this combination precedes an infinitive that provides the near future action. 'Camino a ejercitar' is grammatically correct and conveys a meaning. 'Camino para ejercitar' is also grammatically correct and has a meaning, but not the same meaning as 'camino a ejercitar'. The latter describes the reason you are walking; the former, the destination. 'Camino ejercitar' is not Spanish. You must introduce the infinitive with a preposition in order for the sentence to make any sense (remember: the infinitive has no implied preposition 'to'). Any preposition can precede an infinitive. Which one you choose depends on what meaning you want to convey. "Camino a ejercitar ..." = "I'm off to exercise ..." "Camino para ejercitar ..." = "I walk (in order) to exercise ..." |
#5
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Estoy muy confundido pero creo que entiendo mejor ahora. The key is:
You must introduce the infinitive with a preposition in order for the sentence to make any sense (remember: the infinitive has no implied preposition 'to'). Creo que es un problema con la forma en que se enseña el español. I think it's a problem with the way Spanish is taught. Como siempre gracias.
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#6
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And the fact that every verb has "its own" preposition, which has to be learnt by heart.
I'm sorry there is no easy way to teach this. It's rather mostly the usage what will make it come to you more naturally.
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