The use of "al"
6
votes
Hola todo del mundo
I know a + el = al, como: voy al centro de a Oxford. But I see it used in other ways and I was hoping some kind person might show me some of the other uses and explain why
Muchas gracias 
chao
1276 views
updated Apr 3, 2014
posted by Garry-J
I think that is a good question. Get's my vote. - Maria-Russell, Jul 2, 2013
"how does it feel UPON having...?" Papá, ¿qué se siente al tener un hijo tan guapo?. - warrenmarshall, Jul 2, 2013
Warrenmarsha is exactly right. Al + infinitive verb means "Upon + verb". Some examples: "Al llegar a la puerta principal, me dio cuenta de que esta no era mi casa." Translated 100% literally will sound gibberish, but it means: When I got to the front door - RafaelNoiret, Jul 2, 2013
When I got to the front door I ran out of space :(. Sorry: When I got to the front door, I realized that this wasn't my house. BTW, this didn't happen to me today and that's definitely not why I used that example. - RafaelNoiret, Jul 2, 2013
Sorry, I've made a mistake and the edit button is gone. It should have been ME DI CUENTA, not dio. - RafaelNoiret, Jul 2, 2013
3 Answers
3
votes
These examples are in my dictionary.
Se echaron a reír al verme.
They burst out laughing when they saw me. / on seeing me.
Al morir mi padre nos fuimos a Madrid.
When my father died we went to Madrid.
Los vimos al salir.
We saw them as we were leaving.
updated Apr 3, 2014
edited by ian-hill
posted by ian-hill
Gracias - Garry-J, Jul 2, 2013
2
votes
updated Jul 2, 2013
edited by Maria-Russell
posted by Maria-Russell
Muchas gracias :) - Garry-J, Jul 2, 2013
You are very welcome Garry. Let's start with these, and maybe we can get some more advanced explanations. - Maria-Russell, Jul 2, 2013
1
vote
Voy al centro de Oxford. I'm going to downtown Oxford. No need to say a or al Oxford since you already said it before centro.
updated Jul 2, 2013
edited by francobollo
posted by francobollo
Thanks for that. But you havn't adressed my question, just made a sarcy comment - Garry-J, Jul 2, 2013
The reason for not including al with Oxford isn't because of the centro. Al = to the. We have to say I'm going to the center, but not I'm going to the Oxford. We just say Voy a Oxford. - RafaelNoiret, Jul 2, 2013
