The Personal “a”
When the direct object of a sentence is a person, it is preceded by the preposition a.
Basics of the “personal a”
Consider the following two English sentences:
Morgan sees the tree.
Morgan sees Anna.
It seems perfectly normal for Morgan to see a tree just like he sees Anna. In Spanish,
however, we must use the “personal a” in the second sentence because the direct
object (Anna) is a person. Here are the same two sentences in Spanish:
Morgan ve el árbol.
Morgan ve a Anna.
Exceptions
As usual, there are exceptions to the rule. The “personal a” is not usually used
after the verb tener, for example.
Tengo dos hermanos.
I have two brothers.
The “personal a” is also not used if the person is indefinite, that is, when you’re not
referring to one specific person.
For example:
Necesito un abogado.
I need a lawyer. (The lawyer is unknown.)
For purposes of the “personal a,” pets are treated like people. Other animals are not,
however.
Oigo a mi perro Spot.
I hear my dog Spot.
Oigo los elefantes.
I hear the elephants.
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