Ella quiere a su madre.

Question

Wat does the "a" mean in the phrase, " Ella quiere a su madre"

Answer 1

This lesson may help.

'A' can be many things in Spanish but for the one in your example it's often called the personal 'a'.

Here's an excerpt from the above lesson:

The preposition 'a' in Spanish has many uses and meanings and although it can often be translated with the English word 'to' this is not always the case and where it gets especially tricky is when it can't be translated at all.

Here are 'some' of the uses and meanings of the Spanish preposition 'a':

5) The personal 'a'.

This term 'personal a' has been coined to help us understand this untranslatable use of the preposition 'a' but you won't find that term in many (if any) Spanish grammar books written in Spanish for Spanish speakers. To introduce a direct object that is a definite person (or treated like a person - eg a pet), also used for groups of people (made up of or including known people) and personified nouns:
Conozco a Pablo. I know Peter. Encontré a mi perro Rover. I found my dog Rover. Oigo a los estudiantes. I hear the students. Respeta a los ancianos. Respect your elders.

The main exception to the rule about 'known people' is that certain pronouns, such as alguien and nadie, always require the personal a when used as direct objects, even when they aren't referring to a specific person.

Eg: No conozco a nadie. I don't know anybody.

Thank you, I have again learned something by reading your explanations. - kirk1, Mar 6, 2013

kewl bananas :) - Kiwi-Girl, Mar 6, 2013

Answer 2

she loves his mother