When do you not use "a" before talking about a person

Question

Anoche el hombre ceno con su esposa

Ahora el hombre extrana "a" su esposa

Why do you use "a" before "su esposa" in the present tense but not in the past tense?

Answer 1

Let´s see the examples:

Anoche el hombre ceno con su esposa

Ahora el hombre extrana "a" su esposa

A and con are both prepositions.

In Spanish you normally don't use two prepositions togheter. There are some exceptions, but are rather rare.

Now:

Anoche el hombre ceno a su esposa

would mean something totally different. He'd be a cannibal.

Thank you - iqbal10, Feb 9, 2011

Answer 2

Ahora el hombre extraña "a" su esposa.

You are referring to the personal "a," which is not a preposition. From what I notice, you use it when a particular person is the direct object of a sentence, and the verb that acts on it doesn't have a preposition that follows it (hablar con, ir a, poner sobre, contar en etc.).

Extraño mi casa. (I miss my house.) Extraño a mi esposa. (I miss my wife.)

Answer 3

Because the verb "extraña" is in present tense while in the first sentece "cenó" is in past tense, anyway they have different contexts because in the first one "cenó con" means that he had dinner with and in the second one "extraña a" means that he expresses a feeling to his wife, or would you say in English "He misses with her wife"?.

Answer 4

You can read up on the personal 'a' here in the reference section.

Answer 5

"A" is used before a persons name when the name is a direct object.

Always use a "a" before the direct object when the direct object is a person (proper noun) or a personal pronoun

"A" is not used at all in the first sentence because "su esposa" is the object of the prepostion, and is not a direct object. It is used in the second sentence because "he misses his wife." The sentence structure is subject, verb, (adjective) and direct object. That is why "a" is used.

Answer 6

This "a" is used to refer to people in particular.