Hello, first post and a question. Why is there an "a" in this sentence? Ellos no van a cantar.

Question

They are not going to sing= Ellos no van a cantar. So, the verb cantar (to sing) is in its infinitive and includes the to. Why is the "a" included? I think from my reasoning that cantar in this sentence is saying "to be singing" but I'm not sure why the "a" is included.

And a friendly hello to all here, I hope to be around here for quite awhile and talk to some of you.

Steven

Answer 1

Thanks so much, I just skipped over the fact that Ir had "a" attached to it. Ever have a "duh" moment? Maybe I'll leave in chagrin now.

But, not forever.

Steven

Answer 2

Hi Steven, I loved your expression: "duh moment" jeje

Well, this is exactly it: ir a hacer algo.

Answer 3

And a friendly hello to all here, I hope to be around here for quite awhile and talk to some of you.

A friendly hello back to you, thanks for joining us.

Have you seen all our resources yet?

[url=http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A329534]http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A329534[/url]

Answer 4

I have looked at a lot of what is going on here but I am sure I haven't seen it all. I have used the translator to help me flesh out a skit for our school. I need to stay a step or two ahead of the students and so far I am keeping ahead of them.

I told the kids today of the correction I had to make with them and they took it well. So much to say, but I'll save it for other threads.

Steven

Answer 5

Steven, any question you have, just ask here. We will be glad to help

Answer 6

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They are not going to sing= Ellos no van a cantar. So, the verb cantar (to sing) is in its infinitive and includes the to. Why is the "a" included? I think from my reasoning that cantar in this sentence is saying "to be singing" but I'm not sure why the "a" is included.

Why is "to" included in "They are not going (TO) sing"? Find the answer in English, and you'll find it in Spanish, because the reason is the same. If you think that "They are going sing" is fine, then "Van cantar" would also be fine to you. If you feel that a "to" is missing, then try to guess why it is also necessary in Spanish.

Answer 7

That works in this case, but not all the time.

Me gusta cantar - I like TO sing,

I've wondered about this too, and Steven answered his own question best. I didn't realize "ir" always had a 'a' attached to it.

lazarus1907 said:

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They are not going to sing= Ellos no van a cantar. So, the verb cantar (to sing) is in its infinitive and includes the to. Why is the "a" included? I think from my reasoning that cantar in this sentence is saying "to be singing" but I'm not sure why the "a" is included.

Why is "to" included in "They are not going (TO) sing"? Find the answer in English, and you'll find it in Spanish, because the reason is the same. If you think that "They are going sing" is fine, then "Van cantar" would also be fine to you. If you feel that a "to" is missing, then try to guess why it is also necessary in Spanish.

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Answer 8

We are to learn "ser" next Tuesday, right before the holiday break and I am thinking of putting it off until we come back in order to teach it over consecutive days. I want to teach ser in comparison with estar and hay so they can see, hear and speak the differences.

Having "ir" wrong would have gummed up the works, so thanks again.

Steven

Answer 9

We are to learn "ser" next Tuesday, right before the holiday break and I am thinking of putting it off until we come back in order to teach it over consecutive days. I want to teach ser in comparison with estar and hay so they can see, hear and speak the differences.

Having "ir" wrong would have gummed up the works, so thanks again.

Steven