Why do we need to use a preposition in this case?

Question

Veo a mi madre

I see my mother

See in english there is no need to use a preposition to link see and mother. Why does it necessary to use 'a' in this case in spanish? I don't understand the reason. In other cases the use of 'a' is understandable.

• Welcome to the forum, :) - Heidita May 7, 2011

Answer 1

The explanation works best if you have some knowledge of grammar from different stages of Medieval Spanish, but the accepted theory is that the preposition was initially inserted in cases in which differentiate between subject and object was difficult. English does not have this problem, because the subject rarely appears after the verb, but in Spanish post-verbal subjects are very common.

Omit the pronoun and look what happens:

I didn't want him to give it to his father = No quería que se lo diera el padre (correct: "al padre")

I didn't want his father to give it to him = No quería que se lo diera el padre

As you can see, they both look identical without the preposition. Later, the use become standard for all verbs.

Answer 2

Forget English comparisions, you´ll just make your learning process harder by doing this.

This is a personal a.

Veo mi coche. Not personal

Veo a mi madre. Personal

Answer 3

since you asked why

Answer 4

My native language is Spanish, and I don't even know it I'm sorry, I just know we need it to make sense at the sentences.

Answer 5

Okay I am not trying to compare with english. I want to know the reasoning behind this. Everything must have some reason.

• If you, like any other native, speak your language without knowing why things work the way they do, why are you so desperate to know why other languages work the way they do? - lazarus1907 May 7, 2011

Answer 6

Hi

Sometimes in English we need a "to" other times not.

"Do you want to talk to my mother?"

"Do you want to hear my mother (sing)"?

Just go "with the flow" of the language - it is easier that way.

My big problem was always wanting to know "why?"

Answer 7

The reason is that this is how the Spanish language is constructed. The a must follow a verb and go before anything personal such as any person or a even a pet. A thing is not personal and requires no personal a.

You´re right, everything has a reason. Why in English do people say "have got" when "have" is sufficient?

Answer 8

Lorenzo always links to wonderful things to read, but then I like reading about language. The best example from his link is

Se mató al rey - the king was killed.

Se mató el rey - the king killed himself.

Answer 9

Amish, can you tell me why you use a preposition here:

I listen to music.

See in Spanish there is no need to use a preposition to link listen and music. Why does it necessary to use to in this case in English? I don't understand the reason. In other cases the use of "to" is understandable.

As you can see, I am just paraphrasing

Best advice : Don't compare languages

Answer 10

Everything must have some reason.

In the case of languages, the reason is often, "Because that's the way they say it."