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 Language Learning Forum : Questions About Your Target Languages |  | |
| sushi13 Diglot Groupie Canada Joined 4633 days ago 49 posts - 64 votes  Speaks: French*, English Studies: Spanish | Message 1 of 4 07 October 2014 at 9:45pm | IP Logged |
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Buenas tardes (o buenos día),
I was wondering why we have to put ''a'' which basically mean ''to'' in front of certain words in sentences. Like ''Quiero a mi familia'' or ''Veo a un hombre y a una mujer''. I thought I understood for a while, but the more I think about it; the more it confuses me. I don't know when to use ''a'' or why it's there.. Can someone explain this to me? Muchos gracias Edited by sushi13 on 07 October 2014 at 9:49pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Doitsujin Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5265 days ago 1256 posts - 2363 votes Speaks: German*, English | Message 2 of 4 07 October 2014 at 10:12pm | IP Logged |
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It's the so-called personal a that is used when the object is a person.
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| sushi13 Diglot Groupie Canada Joined 4633 days ago 49 posts - 64 votes Speaks: French*, English Studies: Spanish | Message 3 of 4 08 October 2014 at 4:17am | IP Logged |
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Gracias!
I understood very well, it makes a lot more sense now! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| outcast Bilingual Heptaglot Senior Member China Joined 4894 days ago 869 posts - 1364 votes Speaks: Spanish*, English*, German, Italian, French, Portuguese, Mandarin Studies: Korean | Message 4 of 4 13 October 2014 at 6:52am | IP Logged |
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That link is interesting because I think I would say "Oigo (escucho) a la orquesta", and not "Oigo (escucho) la orquesta".
I could be wrong, but to me there is a slight difference in the degree of action that is created by adding or removing "a". First of all, I guess that by adding "a" I am personifying the otherwise inanimate "orquesta". The effect of this is to intensify the action denoted by the verb "oir", in other words, if I was making a conscious effort to listen to the orchestra, perhaps because I enjoy their music or their performance. Without "a", it is more like saying "yeah, I can hear the orchestra play, even if I am not really paying attention to it". This may all be caused by the fact that in my Spanish, "oir" and "escuchar" have blurred their meanings, with "escuchar" creeping into the territory of "oir" to signify "perceiving a sound". Thus, the "a" in my dialetct maybe a compensation mechanism to differentiate mere hearing from intent listening. But I must say that "oir" and "escuchar" do retain in many situations their semantic difference. It is in certain situations where it seems to get blurred. This could all be in my mind though! Edited by outcast on 13 October 2014 at 6:55am 3 persons have voted this message useful |
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