"A la nina no le gusta el zumo"

Question

Why does the sentence start with "a"? What does it mean and when is it appropriate to use it in terms of sentence structure?

Answer 1

Hi RStone,

To understand this type of sentence, you must understand both the preposition "a", the way that verbs like gustar are used and indirect object pronouns.

I would suggest that you take a look at the relevant topics, but I will also try to give you a brief explanation pertaining to your specific example.

First lets examine the main part of your sentence

no le gusta - she doesn't like it.

the le in this sentence is the indirect object pronoun and "no le gusta" literally translates to it is not pleasing to her. This can be broken down into:

le - to her

gusta - it is pleasing

The it in this case is el zumo and the her is la niña.

All verbs like gustar require an indirect object pronoun to be placed before the verb. By saying a la niña and el zumo, you are naming the who (la niña) and what (el zumo) that is being pleased and by what, respectively.

As far as the preposition "a" is concerned, this has to do with the way that indirect objects are introduced in Spanish. All indirect objects that refer to a person are introduced by the preposition "a". I will not go into any more detail than this but would instead refer you to the relevant reference articles that I have provided links for.

I hope that this was helpful, and good luck with your studies. If you have any other specific questions, please feel free to ask.