Find My Rule Limpio a mi hijo.Limpio la cocina. Ayudamos a Mónica.Ayudamos para la fiesta. ¿Hablas a nosotros?¿Hablas la verdad? Ella enseña a los estudiantes. Ella enseña español. El padre levanta a su bebé. El padre levanta las pesas.
The Personal “a”
Direct Objects You know that the direct object is the person or thing that receives the action of a verb. Ask yourself whom? or what?
Direct Objects For example… I bought the shirt. Which word is the direct object? Right! The shirt.
The Personal “a” In Spanish, when the direct object is a specific person or group of people, we use an “a” before it. That’s why it’s called the personal “a."
The Personal “a” Which one of these sentences needs an “a” ? Quiero visitar el museo. Quiero visitar mis abuelos. Quiero visitar a mis abuelos.
The Personal “a” The “a” doesn’t mean anything. It simply is correct grammatically to put the personal “a” before a direct object that is a person.
The Personal “a” What’s wrong with the following sentence? Quiero visitar a el señor López. Quiero visitar al señor López.
The Personal “a” To ask who receives the action of a verb, we use A quién? A quién quieres visitar? Quiero visitar a mis primos.
The Personal “a” We can also use the personal a when the direct object is an animal, especially a pet. Busco a mi perro.
The Personal “a” We do not use the personal “a” after the verb tener or the verb hay. Tengo muchos tíos. Hay cinco chicas.
To Review…Use “a” After the……when the…..is a ……. When the direct object is an…. Not after the verbs……
To Review…Use “a” After the verb when the direct object is a person When the direct object is an animal Not after the verbs tener or hay