Personal or distinctive a

1.2 Personal a when used with collective nouns La a con nombres colectivos1.3 Personal a when used with animals La a con animales 1.4 Personal a when used with proper names La a con nomb

1.2 Personal a when used with collective nouns (La a con nombres colectivos)

1.3 Personal a when used with animals (La a con animales)

1.4 Personal a when used with proper names (La a con nombres propios)

1.5 When personal a is not used (Cuando no se usa la a)

In English, the distinction between a noun as subject and a noun as object is shown by

its location in the sentence In John reads the book, John is the subject and book is the object John comes before book In Latin, this was shown by what we call case endings; that is to

say the endings of words changed according to their relationship with each other, andword order was not so important In Spanish, and much more than in French or English,but similar to Italian, location has about as little effect on the meaning as in Latin ManySpanish speakers can find themselves therefore in considerable difficulty in distinguishingbetween subject and object, and do not always succeed as clearly as we do in English orFrench

The only device in Spanish for distinguishing a noun as direct object when

refer-ring to persons is by placing the preposition a before it But, as the preposition a is

regularly used for the indirect object (Le doy el libro a Juan= I give the book to Juan),

most Spanish speakers end up not knowing whether the preposition a involves a direct

or indirect object In other words, they often fail to see the difference between Veo a

Juan (I see Juan) and Le doy el libro a Juan They think erroneously that Juan in Veo a

Juan is an indirect object The situation is further complicated because they do not have

a suitable descriptive equivalent for what we call the “personal a.” French or Italian speakers do not have an equivalent expression either The expression “personal a” in

English therefore helps us over a very difficult hurdle Here are the main uses of the

“personal a.”

Busco a la chica I am looking for the girl

Quiere visitar a mi hija He wants to visit my daughter

Lleva a sus hijos a la estaci´on She takes her children/sons to the station

ii If the personal noun is collective, the personal a is often, but not always, used.

However, it is safer always to use it in these circumstances:

Ana mima a su familia Ana spoils her family

Llaman a la polic´ıa They call the police

El pol´ıtico critica al gobierno The politician criticizes the government

iii The application of the personal a extends to authors, painters, etc., i.e all those in

the public domain:

Leo a Cervantes con frecuencia I read Cervantes regularly

Imita a Diego Rivera He copies Diego Rivera

El p´ublico aplaude a la estrella The audience applauds the star

La empresa despide a cinco obreros The company dismisses five workers

When the direct object noun represents an animal, regarded as intelligent or rational,

and especially if it belongs to a family, the personal a is required:

Se pasa un rato acariciando al gato She spends some time stroking the cat

The personal a is also needed before proper names of persons:

Env´ıo a Diego en su lugar I’ll send Diego in her place

(But see level2.3.)

The personal a is not used when the object is an insignificant animal, or an inanimate

object:

El gato agarra (M) / coge (not in M) un rat´on The cat catches a mouse

El ni˜no persigue una mariposa The child chases the butterfly

Exercises Level 1

i Change as in the example

Esperamos a Jorge (Mar´ıa / el ni ˜no)> Esperamos a Mar´ıa / al ni˜no

a Vemos a los muchachos (Luisa / los se ˜nores / Manuel / la maestra / las ni ˜nas / lospajaritos)

b Llevan a las chicas (sus amigos / la ni ˜na / Carlos / las muchachas)

c Necesitas a Juan (el doctor / mis amigas / el muchacho / los alumnos)

d Oigo a los ni ˜nos (la muchacha / Jorge / mis cuates [M] / el beb´e / el gato)

e Traemos a nuestros amigos (nuestros pap´as [M] / mi abuela / tus primas / los

perritos)

ii Paired activity

Objective – To practice the use of the personal a

Method – A gives B a verb and a noun as a direct object B has to make a sentence with

the verb and the noun, using the personal a when necessary If A is smart enough, (s)he will provide some nouns where the a is not used So B, be careful! (¡cuidado! )

Here are some verbs and nouns A can use:

leer, contar, llevar, buscar, lavar, preparar, llamar, ayudar, contestar, preguntar, querer,observar, preferir, conocer, tocar, limpiar, avisar hombre, m´edico/doctor, enfermera,

profesor, peri´odico, platos, gesto, ciudad, flores, guitarra, rec´amara (M) / habitaci´on,

amigo/a, familia, t´ıo, maestro, vecinas, polic´ıa

Afterwards, you all gather together to discuss your sentences.

Level 2

2.1 Use and non-use of personal a (Uso y omisi ´on de a)

2.2 Use of personal a with personification (Uso de a con personificaci ´on)

2.3 Omission of personal a (Omisi ´on de la a)

2.4 Personal a used with direct and indirect objects (Uso de a con objetos directo e

indirecto)

2.5 Miscellaneous features (Varios detalles)

2.6 Personal a with nadie, alguien, quien (La a con nadie, alguien, quien)

2.7 More possible confusion over the personal a (Posibilidad de m ´as confusi ´on con

la a)

22 Personal or distinctive a

In all cases, the employment of the personal a before a direct object denoting a person

depends largely on how the speaker views the person In other words, if the speaker

knows the person referred to, (s)he will use the personal a, but if the person alluded to is not known, the a is not often used Compare these two sets of cases:

Busco al doctor I am looking for the physician/doctor

Busco un doctor I am looking for a physician/doctor

Estoy esperando al cliente I’m waiting for the client

Estoy esperando un cliente I’m waiting for a client

It is of course conceivable that in all these cases a is used, but the further away the object

is, figuratively speaking, the less likely it is that the personal a is used.

When the direct object is personified, the personal a is frequently, but not always, used Particularly common here is the use of patria, naci ´on and pueblo, especially the latter,

which contains a suggestion of human beings:

Estos soldados honran a la patria These soldiers honor the nation

Juraron defender a la naci´on They swore to defend the nation

Las nuevas medidas pretenden contentar al pueblo The new measures aim to satisfy the people

Las aves saludan a la Aurora The birds salute the Dawn

NB Once, towns and countries were included in this category, but this is

no longer the case.

Abandonaron al hombre They abandoned the man

Abandonaron el hombre a sus remordimientos They abandoned the man to his remorse

ii When the verb has a direct and indirect object, the direct object does not take the

personal a, thus avoiding confusion or ambiguity:

Recomend´o al gobernador su hijo, Don Jos´e He recommended his son, Don Jos´e, to the

governor

Presentar´e mi hermana a la se˜nora de Vargas I’ll introduce my sister to Sra Vargas

El soldado entreg´o su prisionero al capit´an The soldier handed over his prisoner to the

captain

When both subject and object denote things, the object takes the personal a Otherwise,

confusion and ambiguity would arise We are now in the realm of word order (seeunit29) Compare the following four sentences:

El silencio (subject) sigue al ruido (object) Silence follows the noise

Al ruido (object) sigue el silencio (subject) Silence follows the noise

El ruido (subject) sigue al silencio (object) Noise follows the silence

Al silencio (object) sigue el ruido (subject) Noise follows the silence

Compare likewise the following four sentences (From the first four sentences above, youcan work out the subject and object in each sentence below.)

El yate alcanzar´a al vapor The yacht will overtake the steamer

Al vapor alcanzar´a el yate The yacht will overtake the steamer

El vapor alcanzar´a al yate The steamer will overtake the yacht

Al yate alcanzar´a el vapor The steamer will overtake the yacht

i When one of the terms is a person, which is usually the case, danger of ambiguity

does not arise, because the person as object is accompanied by a.

Compare the two following sentences:

Por fin venci´o el joven (subject) su pasi´on (object)

ii Verbs of naming, calling, considering, etc., which may take two direct objects

differentiate one of these objects by the personal a in the following way:

¿Llaman m´usica a este jaleo? Do they call this ruckus music?

Consideramos pura p´erdida de tiempo a la lectura de

estas revistas

We consider the reading of these magazines

a pure waste of time

The true object, or thing asserted, in the first case, jaleo, and in the second case, lectura,

is preceded by the personal a.

The personal a is always used before alguien, nadie and quien when these words

function as direct objects, even though they may suggest uncertainty over the personreferred to:

22 Personal or distinctive a

¿Vas a invitar a alguien? Are you going to invite someone?

To return to the confusion generated by the personal a, personal pronouns are a special

case in point Again, it is difficult for Spanish speakers who are not language conscious

to know whether the following examples include pronouns (le, les) as indirect objects or

direct objects, largely because, in order to stress the pronoun, a disjunctive form of it isused before the verb:

A ´el le interesa el libro The book interests him

A ella le encanta la ´opera She loves opera

A ellas les atrae la idea de They are attracted by the idea of

This issue is further complicated by the following two examples based on the reflexive

se (see the use of reflexives in unit 14, level2

Se vio el hombre en el espejo The man saw himself in the mirror

Se le vio al hombre en el espejo The man was seen in the mirror

Here, the reflexive se dispels any ambiguity over who is seeing whom.

Exercises Level 2

i Sustituye un nombre por un pronombre como en el ejemplo Puedes elegir cualquier

nombre (noun) a condici ´on de que sea una persona Puede haber una gran variedad

de respuestas

Los/les oigo> Oigo a los alumnos

a Los necesito g ¿Los acoges?

b Las ven h Las traigo

c ¿La quieres? i ¿Las oyes?

d Los o´ımos j No lo/le entiendo

e La est´an esperando k Los llevo a todos en mi carro

f Lo recibo l Los admiramos

ii Pon las siguientes palabras en su orden correcto Ten en cuenta que faltan la

preposici ´on a y los art´ıculos definidos en la mayor´ıa de los casos, y que te toca

insertarlos en su lugar correcto cuando sea necesario, y que puede haber m ´as de una soluci ´on

Ejemplos

atac´o le´on tigre> El tigre atac´o al le´on / El le´on atac´o al tigre / Al le´on le atac´o el tigre /

Al tigre le atac´o el le´on

ver familia quer´ıa hija> La hija quer´ıa ver a la familia / La familia quer´ıa ver a la hija

a verbo pronombre sigue

b doctor hallamos (M) sepa hijo nuestro un curar que no

c ver quer´ıa su esposa sus hijos y

d ganso pel´o cocinera

e tres mataron faisanes ciervos dos y

f caballo comprar quisiera yo un

g vender quer´ıa su caballo ´el

h director hija Mar´ıa presentaron su

i hijos colegio llevaba sus la madre

j carro carro (M) r´apido lento rebas´o (M)

k gato perro persigue

l juez no pol´ıtico sobornar pudo

m qui´en saber llamaba quer´ıa

n nadie yo ve´ıa no

o le en si conoc´ıa pregunt´e colegio alguien

iii Actividad en parejas

Objetivo – Practicar el uso de “a” con nombres como objeto directo

M ´etodo – Se les elige a dos miembros de la clase Escriben en el pizarr´on (M) / la

pizarra seis series de palabras mezcladas que contienen un verbo y un objeto directo que

es una persona Omiten adrede (deliberately) la a Intentar no crear frases largas (seis o siete

palabras como m´aximo) La clase tiene que reconstruir la frase, poni´endo las palabras

en su orden correcto y a ˜nadiendo la a en su lugar apropiado.

Ejemplos

Se escribe en el pizarr ´on: consulta madre mi m´edico el

(no a here)

Se le corresponde al profesor intervenir si quiere

1.3 Uses of ante (Usos de ante)

1.4 Uses of bajo (Usos de bajo)

1.5 Uses of con (Usos de con)

1.6 Uses of contra (Usos de contra)

1.7 Uses of de (Usos de de)

1.8 Uses of desde (Usos de desde)

1.9 Uses of durante (Usos de durante)

1.10 Uses of en (Usos de en)

1.11 Uses of entre (Usos de entre)

1.12 Uses of excepto (Usos de excepto)

1.13 Uses of hacia (Usos de hacia)

1.14 Uses of hasta (Usos de hasta)

1.15 Uses of mediante (Usos de mediante)

1.16 Uses of salvo (Usos de salvo)

1.17 Uses of seg ´un (Usos de seg ´un)

1.18 Uses of sin (Usos de sin)

1.19 Uses of sobre (Usos de sobre)

1.20 Uses of tras (Usos de tras)

The simplest use of prepositions is to express the relations of things to each other with

respect to time and place Such prepositions in English are in, out, before, under, over.

They extend, however, to many other relations, and especially to the relations betweenadjectives or verbs and the nouns or pronouns to which they apply

There are two sorts of prepositions in Spanish: simple and compound The simpleones will be treated in level 1, while the compound ones will be dealt with in level2,together with more complex expressions

The simple prepositions are:

bajo under mediante by means of, through

contra against por for, by (see separate unit24)

en in, into, at, on sobre on, about, over

excepto except

i a = to, at, in:

Vamos a Nueva York We are going to New York

Llegamos a Los Angeles We arrive in Los Angeles

Se sienta a la mesa/puerta She sits at the table/door

ii a in time expressions:

a las tres de la tarde at three in the afternoon

a la noche/ma˜nana/tarde tonight / tomorrow morning / this

afternoon/evening

a principios de a˜no/mes at the beginning of the year/month

a mediados de semana/mes/a˜no in the middle of the week/month/year

a finales de mes/a˜no at the end of the month/year

a los diecinueve a˜nos at nineteen years of age

a los cinco minutos five minutes later

iii a expressing rate:

tres veces a la semana three times a week

a raz´on de dos por persona at the rate of two per person

¿A cu´anto se vende el carro? How much is the car (being sold for)?

a cuarenta pesos el kilo at forty pesos the kilo

Lo vende al litro She sells it by the liter

vender al por menor/mayor to sell retail/wholesale

a cuarenta kil´ometros por hora at forty kilometers / twenty-five miles an

hour

**a mi juicio / entender / parecer / modo de ver in my opinion

*Notice that manera/modo does not always take a, witness the following:

de una manera / de un modo elegante in an elegant way

** but en mi opini´on in my opinion

v a expressing position:

caer al agua/suelo to fall into the water / to the ground

estar al tel´efono to be on the telephone

Se arrodilla ante el altar She kneels before the altar

Comparece ante el capit´an He appears before the captain

ante las circunstancias in the circumstances

In its literal meaning, it is often replaced by debajo de (see compound prepositions,

level2) but in its figurative meaning it is very common:

dos grados bajo cero two degrees below zero

bajo el rey Felipe Segundo under King Philip the Second

1.5 Uses of con

Paso las vacaciones con la familia I spend the vacation with my family

Abro la lata con un desarmador (M) I open the can with a screwdriver

Juego con el otro equipo I play with the other team

Est´a contenta con el resultado She is happy with the result

una mujer con muy mal humor a woman in a bad mood

una tarta con fresas a strawberry tart

Dejo la escalera contra la pared I leave the ladder against the wall

una campa˜na contra el c´ancer a campaign against cancer

Recibe un regalo contra entrega de

i indicating possession, origin, composition, distance

el dinero de tu madre your mother’s money

Esta casa es de mis pap´as (M) This house is my parents’

una calle de Oaxaca a street in Oaxaca

de C´ordoba a Sevilla from Cordoba to Seville

Vienen de Guanajuato They come from Guanajuato

una estatua de bronce/m´armol a bronze/marble statute

La casa est´a rodeada de ´arboles The house is surrounded by trees

La mesa est´a cubierta de un mantel The table is covered with a tablecloth

Estamos a cien kil´ometros de Puebla We are a hundred kilometers from Puebla

Tiembla de miedo She is trembling with fear

Su mam´a muere de c´ancer Her mother is dying from cancer

iii de in expressions of position: