When 'a' means 'of' ... the battle between a and de.

Question

Hola all you fantastic españophiles!

Pregunta..

I came across a sentence in Practice Makes Perfect Complete Spanish Grammar book that reads like so...

Aquí, en el estudio, hay muchos aficionados al baile.

So why is a being used here to say "of dance" instead of de?

I would have assumed that the appropriate way to say this would be

Aquí, en el estudio, hay muchos aficionados del baile.

So when and where does a get used to mean of? And would my assumption also be appropriate to say?

Gracias!

Answer 1

I don´t know how to explain it.It is not difficult to understand but my short english do it hard .

There are two cases:

1) You are "aficionado" (or any of its synonyms) TO any activity or sport:

• Él es aficionado a la música

2) You are "aficionado" (fan, supporter,..) OF any team, club, etc..

• En el campo habia muchos aficionados del Real Madrid

Aaah! Bien. Entiendo. It is just one of those things in Spanish. Like "being hungry" = having hunger in spanish. It's just how you say it. Muchas gracias!! - Hucklebeary, Dec 10, 2014

además, una correción para tí. "It is not difficult to understand but my sparse/minimal English may make it hard ;)" :) - Hucklebeary, Dec 10, 2014

Answer 2

Same in French... Drives me nuts.

Ç'est pas vrai. Le français es très facile et très logique. Tu parles bien le français, hein? - Daniela2041, Dec 10, 2014