What is the use of "a" before le gusta(n)?
I understand phrases like Las niñas están jugando . If I understand correctly, for any sport an "a" preposition goes after jugar, so it would be something like Las niñas están jugando al fútbol. However I have encountered several times a phrase A la niña le gusta el fútbol. I could accept the "a" as is, but I am curious why it is there, and if it arises in similar situations with other verbs.
Thanks for your help! Vasil
5 Answers
The "a" is called a personal "a"
I think that is inaccurate. If you read the article below on the personal "a" (and even your own description) you will find that it deals with direct objects that are people or pets.
The gustar sentences are intransitive (there is no direct object) so the personal "a" doesn't apply to this context.
In your other example:
El hombre [la] quiere a ella... the "a" is, indeed, the personal "a" as la, a ella is the direct object in the sentence.
Notice that the seemingly redundant object pronoun is sometimes used both with direct and indirect objects.
Also notice how it says if a clarifying prepositional phrase or one using the personal "a" follows the verb then the redundant object pronoun is optional. (In our lessons and Reference material you will read with indirect objects the redundant i.o.p. is mandatory). It depends on your reference source. Actually, I have heard more rigorous criteria for when it is necessary, but that is off topic here, as it doesn't not concern the use of the preposition or personal "a".
The "a" is called a personal "a". It is completely unrelated to the "a" following a sport. Whenever an action is done to a person, the personal "a" is necessary. The example you gave, "A la niña le gusta el fútbol," translates literally to: "To the girl soccer is pleasing." In more logical English, "Soccer is pleasing to her." Although it makes sene gramatically in English in this sentence, there are other cases in Spanish where the personal "a" is necessary but not translated. For example: El hombre queiere a ella. I don't have any explination for why it is necessary here, but just know that you need to include it whenever an action is being done to a person.
The simple answer is that you are referring to the indirect object of the sentence which requires the use of a prepositional phrase to determine "to" whom or "for" whom the action of the sentence is directed.
The indirect object pronoun "le" can be used alone, but sometimes it is necessary to use the disjunctive/prepositional pronoun or other prepositional phrase for clarity. For example, consider what would happen if you had been talking about two children, one a boy and one a girl:
[ambiguous]
Le gusta el fútbol pero no le gusta el fútbol - he/she likes football, but he/she doesn't like football
[adds clarity]
A ella le gusta el fútbol pero a él no le gusta el fútbol - She likes football, but he doesn't like football
(Note: stylistically, it would probably be better to avoid repeating the verb "gustar" in the second clause and simply say "pero a él, no")
a = to
a la niña = to the girl
a mi = to me
It is the equivalent to saying in English "To me she seems happy." or "The footbell seems heavy to the girl".
For most native English speakers, I have found that verbs like gustar are the easiest to understand because you can translate it part for part basically. Simply put, without confusing you over lexical terms, the "a" clarifies the indirect object (YUCK!), for example,
She likes ice cream: (A ella) le gusta el helado Note that the a ella is not mandatory here.
I like mangoes and pineapple: (A mí) me gustan los mangos y la piña. The indirect object (me/te/le/nos/os/les) refers to who is doing the liking. Gusta/gustan changes with the quantity of the object- one- gusta, more than one- gustan.
They like shoes. (A ellos) les gustan los zapatos.
I hope this helps.
