Yo la he esperado dos horas. ("la"?)
hi,
I'm failing to understand all these little grammar rules in spanish. a + el = al, de = of, and now i have "la" thrust upon me and i've no idea how to use it! Anyone know when "la" is used? Would be very grateful as spanish grammar is driving me nuts at the moment :(
3 Answers
I have waited for her two hours... here for her is la in Spanish
If you say
I have waited for him two hours... Yo lo he esperado dos horas
a + el = al
This is just a mandatory contraction of a and el. Spanish is designed at its core to be spoken rapidly. Try saying a el 20 times as fast as you can and it comes out like al.
la is the female definite article ("the" in english):
la casa: the house
la camión: the truck
la is also the female direct object pronoun. examples make this clearer:
Yo he esperado dos horas. (I have waited 2 hours)
Yo la he esperado dos horas. (I have waited 2 hours for her)
la echo. (I throw it)
se la echo. (I though it to him. the thing being through is the direct object, the person being thrown to is the indirect object)
see Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns
Spanish grammar is not an easy topic, so don't give up! And don't hesitate to ask question here when you don't understand. :D
'La' is 'the' for feminine nouns... for example: 'la hora' (the hour/time), or 'la cerveza' (the beer). 'El' is 'the' for masculine nouns... for example: 'el tiempo' (the time/weather) or 'el cóctel' (the cocktail).
n/b that 'de' can also mean 'from' or 'since' (as an abbreviation of 'desde'), for example: 'tomo un taxi de mi casa cada dia' (I take a taxi from my house every day).
