The use of al before a word

Question

I often see the word al before a word and I'm not quite sure how it translated into English. Is it some sort of preposition. A recent use I've seen is: Al terminar de comer.

Answer 1

Also, "al" is one of the only two contractions in Spanish.

al = a + el

The other contraction is "del".

del = de + el

Thanks for fixing my link. It wouldn't let me do it. - francobollo, Mar 26, 2012

De nada, franco! - bandit51jd, Mar 26, 2012

Answer 2

Hi... Here's a good explanation of the use of AL followed by infinitive:

From About.com

http://spanish.about.com/od/sentencestructure/qt/al_infinitive.htm - francobollo, Mar 26, 2012

Answer 3

Al + infinitive = just after doing something. We use it to stress the almost simultaneity of two actions.

I don't know if it will be easier to translate in this way, but you usually can use "when" with the same meaning:

"Al terminar de comer fuimos a pasear" ... "Cuando terminamos de comer fuimos a pasear"

"No me saludó al verme"... "No me saludó cuando me vio"

"Preparó la cena al llegar a casa"...."Preparó la cena cuando llegó a casa"

So, I would translate it as "when+gerund" (although I think you can use "upon+gerund" and "on+gerund" in a similar way).

Muchas gracias, Cordobesa!! - bandit51jd, Mar 26, 2012

De nada, Bandit :) - Cordobesa, Mar 26, 2012

Answer 4

I think "Al" is often used like "upon" or "when" or "on" in this context and the infinitve becomes like "ing" in english. so I think its some thing like "after finishing eating", or "upon finishing eating"

Nice try but wrong guesses don't help anybody learn. The first answer is correct. - fastrob1, Mar 26, 2012

Please accept my sincerest apologies. You are so right, making mistakes is antithetical to the learning process. - kova1, Mar 26, 2012