La madre abraza a su hija
2
votes
what is the "a" in this spanish sentence ? RosettaStone doesn't have any help in translating their own sentences :(
1362 views
updated Nov 7, 2012
posted by Buheyra
Hi, please use a capital letter to begin your sentence. - rac1, Nov 7, 2012
OK, - Buheyra, Nov 7, 2012
2 Answers
3
votes
This is known as "personal a" which must be used when a direct or indirect object is a person or even a pet. There are some cases when the "personal a" is not used such as when the people involved are very abstract to the speaker.
updated Nov 7, 2012
posted by 005faa61
I should have mentioned this: Because my dog is like a family member of mine, I would use "a" talking about my own dog but not with someone else´s dog - 005faa61, Nov 7, 2012
2
votes
The a here is an untranslatable phenomenon in Spanish called the "personal a." It is used to indicate that the object is a person or treated as such. Examples:
La madre ama a sus hijos.
Conozco a alguien que puede ayudarte.
Voy a cuidar a tu perro esta semana.
updated Nov 7, 2012
posted by LaPiedraAlegre
Thank you - Buheyra, Nov 7, 2012
