uses of "to"

Question

How can I explain to a Spanish speaker the rule on why this is wrong "Maria beats to her child".

No, I want to know why using "to" is wrong. - Cool-T, Jan 29, 2014

Answer 1

I took your question to be about how we write the phrase in Spanish ie the 'personal a' which many Spanish people instinctively use in English. Many things in the two languages are the same, but in English the 'personal a' is not used. I assume you are learning Spanish and can explain the number of times you forget to use the personal 'a' when using Spanish and tell him/her they must forget to use it when speaking English.

I'm trying to explain to a friend why "to" is not necessary. - Cool-T, Jan 29, 2014

I was trying to explain it is one of the cases where the two languages are different.ie spanish speakers must remember to omit the personal a when speaking English. - Mardle, Jan 29, 2014

Answer 2

Welcome to SpanishDict!

Do you mean, "How can I explain why it's wrong for Maria to beat her child?" Here's how to say that:

It is wrong to severely punish children by beating them. It causes the child to fear you.

Es incorrecto castigar severamente a los niños golpeándoles. Causa al niño que le temen.

This may not be a perfectly accurate translation, but I think it's close.

If this isn't what you mean, please clarify. - 00ffada9, Jan 29, 2014