Tell me why this is different.

Question

I bought the tomatoes for Anita- "compre los tomates a Anita"

This cake is for my mother- "Este pastel es para mi madre"

Ok, my question is, why do i use "a" for the word "for" in the first sentence, but not in the second. they are both saying you are doing something for someone, so why use two different prepositional words? Why am i using "para" in the second sentence. they both are telling who the recipient is.

Answer 1

The reason they are different, pepsi, is because your English sentences are off.

Compré los tomates a Anita. means "I bought the tomatos from Anita."

And that's just the way the 'comprar' verb works. "Comprar algo a alguien" is "To buy something from someone."

To say "I bought the tomatos for Anita" then you were right. It should be 'para'.

Looks like we were answering at the same time. You get my vote. - 00e657d4, Jan 12, 2010

Answer 2

" (Le) compré los tomates a Anita" means I bought the tomatoes from Anita.

In your first phrase you have to use "para" also to mean what you are saying in English.

"compré los tomates para Anita"

Jinx! ;-) - chaparrito, Jan 12, 2010

Answer 3

In the first sentence, I would have used para in place of a.