A or de ?

[rafidola]

Hello.
I started studying Spanish through free online lessons and I'm having some trouble. A and de both mean "of" so when do we use "a" and when "de" ?
Thanks in advance for the answer.

[Julvenzor]

Hello Rafidola,

No, "a" and "de" don't mean "of".

"A" can mean "to", "toward" or nothing (without translation in English).

"De" can mean "of" or "from".


Prepositions are, possibly, one of the hardest parts of studying a language. You have to learn what the proper is, depending on the context.

Cheers!

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@rafidola: Can you post the precise examples that caused the confusion?

[rafidola]

When I type in google translator from Spanish to English "a" it shows that "a" can also mean "of".
Thank you for the replies.
One more question because I don't want to make a new thread.
Vas a invitar a muchas muchachas.
You are going to invite lots of girls.
Shouldn't it be "Vas a invitar muchas muchachas"? Why is there "a" after "invitar" ?

[poli]

The verb ir is always followed by a.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Rafidola: "A" can be translated into several other prepositions ("at", "by", "in", "on", "to"...) or not be translated at all. As languages evolve differently, there is no actual rule to translate each case. One must get familiar with the foreign language to learn some general cases. And no online translator can substitute a good dictionary. I suggest you go to better reference brands. :)

[Rusty]

The 'a' that follows 'invitar' is called the personal 'a'. It must be used when the direct object is a person.