One feature of Spanish that often surprises English speakers is the use of the preposition
Normally, a direct object follows a verb without a preposition. However, when the direct object refers to a specific person—or, in some cases, an animal treated like a person—Spanish normally places
Compare these two sentences:
Veo el edificio desde la ventana de mi oficina todas las mañanas antes de empezar a trabajar.
I see the building from my office window every morning before starting work.
Veo a mi vecino en el supermercado casi todos los sábados cuando hago la compra para toda la semana.
I see my neighbor at the supermarket almost every Saturday when I do the shopping for the whole week.
In both sentences, the verb ver has a direct object. However, mi vecino is a specific person, so it requires the personal
Personal A in Spanish
The personal
When to use the personal a in Spanish
1. With specific people
The most important rule is that the personal
Ayer vimos a nuestra antigua profesora de español mientras caminábamos tranquilamente por el centro de la ciudad.
Yesterday we saw our former Spanish teacher while we were walking calmly through the city center.
Mi hermana invitó a sus mejores amigos a cenar en casa para celebrar su nuevo trabajo.
My sister invited her best friends to have dinner at home to celebrate her new job.
The people in these examples are identifiable:
2. With names of people
The personal
Encontré a Laura en la estación cuando estaba esperando el tren para regresar a casa después del trabajo.
I found Laura at the station when I was waiting for the train to return home after work.
Todos los viernes recogemos a Daniel después de sus clases de música y vamos juntos a merendar.
Every Friday we pick Daniel up after his music lessons and go together to have a snack.
3. With personal pronouns
When a pronoun referring to a person functions as the direct object, the personal
This applies to words such as
No vimos a nadie conocido durante nuestras vacaciones, aunque visitamos varios lugares muy populares entre los turistas.
We didn’t see anyone we knew during our vacation, although we visited several places very popular with tourists.
El director quiere conocer a todos antes de tomar una decisión definitiva sobre la organización del nuevo proyecto.
The director wants to meet everyone before making a final decision about the organization of the new project.
4. With animals considered specific or personal
The personal
Buscamos a nuestro perro durante más de dos horas hasta que finalmente apareció cerca de la casa de unos vecinos.
We looked for our dog for more than two hours until he finally appeared near some neighbors’ house.
La niña abraza a su gato todas las noches antes de acostarse porque lo considera su mejor amigo.
The girl hugs her cat every night before going to bed because she considers him her best friend.
However, the personal
Desde la ventana escuchamos los pájaros cantar todas las mañanas cuando empieza a salir el sol.
From the window, we hear the birds sing every morning when the sun begins to rise.
Here,
When not to use the personal a in Spanish
1. With things
The personal
Necesitamos el coche de mi padre para transportar todas las cajas grandes hasta nuestro nuevo apartamento.
We need my father’s car to transport all the large boxes to our new apartment.
El turista fotografió el monumento más famoso de la ciudad antes de continuar su recorrido por el centro histórico.
The tourist photographed the city’s most famous monument before continuing his tour through the historic center.
2. With nonspecific people
The personal
Buscamos a la profesora que habló con nosotros durante la reunión de padres del lunes pasado.
We are looking for the teacher who spoke with us during last Monday’s parents’ meeting.
Buscamos un profesor que pueda enseñar español a nuestros empleados durante los próximos seis meses.
We are looking for a teacher who can teach Spanish to our employees for the next six months.
In the first example, the speaker has a particular teacher in mind, so
This contrast is one reason why learning the personal
The personal a with tener and haber
There are some important exceptions to the general rules.
The verb
Tenemos dos profesores nuevos que vienen de Argentina y tienen mucha experiencia enseñando a estudiantes extranjeros.
We have two new teachers who come from Argentina and have a lot of experience teaching foreign students.
The impersonal verb
Hay varios estudiantes extranjeros en nuestra clase que quieren practicar español fuera de la universidad.
There are several foreign students in our class who want to practice Spanish outside the university.
Even though estudiantes refers to people, no personal
Personal a and direct object pronouns
Using the personal
Vi a Marta ayer cuando salía de la biblioteca después de estudiar durante toda la tarde.
I saw Marta yesterday when she was leaving the library after studying all afternoon.
La vi ayer cuando salía de la biblioteca después de estudiar durante toda la tarde.
I saw her yesterday when she was leaving the library after studying all afternoon.
The
A + el becomes al
Remember that when the personal
El médico examinó al paciente cuidadosamente antes de explicarle los resultados de todas las pruebas realizadas.
The doctor examined the patient carefully before explaining the results of all the tests performed.
Here,
There is no contraction with
La profesora felicitó a las alumnas que habían obtenido los mejores resultados en el examen final.
The teacher congratulated the students who had obtained the best results on the final exam.
Why is the personal a important?
English does not have a direct equivalent of this structure, which means English-speaking learners can easily forget it. A useful strategy is to ask two questions whenever a verb has a direct object:
- Does the direct object refer to a person or person-like being?
- Is that person specific or identifiable?
If the answer to both questions is yes, you will usually need the personal
With practice, expressions such as
Exercises
Now that you know the main rules, let’s practice the personal