Some 'personal a' confusion

Question

Hello, I am trying to translate "I don't have anybody at home who can speak with me"

Here is my attempt: "No tengo nadie en mi casa (o hogar?) quien (o que?) puede hablar conmigo"

Sometimes I search up fragments to translate, and when I try to translate "I don't have anyone" I get "No tengo a nadie" (from different sites). I thought when you use the personal a, there are some verbs like tener, necesitar, and hay that you don't use it with?

For instance, if I try to say "I have Maria" --> "Tengo Maria" o "Tengo a Maria" ? I feel like it is the former because the personal a with tener/necesito just sounds out of place. But maybe alguien/nadie is the exception?

And yet after going through the personal a confusion, I just need confirmation: you only used it with named people or defined pets, not pronouns right? "Yo llamo a Maria" --> "Yo la llamo" (not "Yo a la llamo" (?))

To summarize my questions: 1) Translating "I don't have anybody at home to speak with me" (and mini clarifications with word-choice needed like casa/hogar and quien/que) 2) Personal a and using it with alguien/nadie for verbs you normally don't use it with "Tengo a alguien" 3) Personal a and pronouns (just need to confirm)

If anyone can answer/clarify these for me that would be appreciated. Thanks!

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Thanks guys! I am a little confused to what is going on (or why it is so important to fill out my profile, not that I mind). Either way thanks again and I look forward to posting here! - Jambooflamingo, Apr 10, 2015

Answer 1

My two centavos' worth:

Usually with the verb "tener" the personal "a" is not used. There is a children's Sunday Scnool chorus which goes:

"Yo tengo un amigo que me ama, me ama, me ama,

yo tengo un amigo que me ama. Su nombre es Jesús."

Notice no personal "a" I could give many other examples, but I think this one will serve the purpose.

I agree with your examples, but with "nadie" the A is normally used - 005faa61, Apr 8, 2015

Ooops! Sorry, I forgot about that exception. When speaking I normally do it right. I just forgot about the rule. Gracias. :) - Daniela2041, Apr 8, 2015

It sounds weird using the personal a with tener. Is it something used with Mexican Spanish ...a regional variation? I cannot remember ever hearing it used in Castellano :) - FELIZ77, Apr 8, 2015

Like Julian said, it's only an occasional exception like with "nadie" Cuando hablo aveces olvido decirlo. There may be some other exceptions, but I can't think of any right now. I have a biiiggg reference book that I will check to verify. ♥ - Daniela2041, Apr 9, 2015

Thanks You, Daniela :) - FELIZ77, Apr 9, 2015

Answer 2

Or you could say:

No tengo nadie en casa que puede hablar conmigo.

= I don't have anybody (anyone) at home who can speak with me.

or ...

I don't have anybody at home with whom I can speak (talk)

= No tengo nadie en casa con quien puedo hablar.

The construction that Rey gave you:

No hay nadie en casa etc...is a very good one

Regarding the use of the personal a, the native Spanish-speaking people use it when talking about people, for example: friends and family, and pets for whom they have a strong personal affection!

ex's:

1.María fue a visitar a su abuela, Consuela esta tarde.

=Maria went to visit her grandmother, Consuela, this afternoon.

2.¿Conoce usted a un buen médico por aqui? Por favor?

=Do you know a good doctor around here, please?

3.Estefano quiere a su perra.

=Stephen loves his dog.

But... Estefano la quiere = Stephen loves her! ; The personal a is not used when on the indirect object pronoun is substituted for (used in place) of the noun.

I hope this helps you

You are so right on! Are you sure you're not a native speaker? ♥ - Daniela2041, Apr 8, 2015

No, no soy nativo, Daniela, pero muchas gracias por hacerme el complldo. Nací en Perú pero mis padres son ingleses . - FELIZ77, Apr 8, 2015

Answer 3

I would use the personal A in your sentence, ie:

No tengo a nadie en casa que hable conmigo.

No tengo a nadie en casa con quien puedo hablar.

Or as Rey used hay without the personal A.

These are the right answers. I just will change puedo to pueda. Con quien pueda hablar. - jemamu, Apr 8, 2015

Answer 4

don't have anybody at home who can speak with me

no hay nadie en la casa que hable conmigo

Oh I did not think of using hay but that makes sense. Why hable and not habla though? Does it have to do with subjunctive? (looking at conjugations of hablar). In that case if it's affirmative would it be "hay alguien en la casa que habla conmigo" ? - Jambooflamingo, Apr 8, 2015

Yes:) - FELIZ77, Apr 8, 2015

yes - Rey_Mysterio, Apr 8, 2015

Answer 5

No tengo a nadie a nadie en casa que pueda hablar conmigo.

When we say "nadie" we are talking about people so we need the personal "a".

We use "pueda", subjunctive, because the subjunctive is used after no hay nada que, no hay nadie que, and no hay ningún/ninguna+noun que.

No hay nada que te guste. There’s nothing that you like. No hay nadie aquí que pueda ayudarte.There isn’t anyone here who can help you.. No hay ninguna tienda que cierre después de las 8pm. There’s no store that close after 8pm.

However,

Hay algo que te gusta. There’s something that you like. Hay alguien aquí que puede ayudarte. There’s someone here who can help you Hay alguna tienda que cierra después de las 8pm. There´s some store that closes after 8pm.

Also, the subjunctive is usually used after hay algo/alguien/algún/alguna in questions because the antecedent is not identified.

¿Hay algo que te guste? Is there something you like? ¿Hay alguien aquí que pueda ayudarte? Is there someone here who can help you? ¿Hay alguna tienda que cierre después de las 8pm? Is there any store that closes today?

Hope this helps you.

Answer 6

When I have a problem like that i try to simplify the sentence to make translating easier

1 There is nobody at home to speak to =No hay nadie en casa para hablar con

2 I have nobody to speak to at home =No tengo a nadie para hablar con en casa.

Now I have answered your question to the best of my ability

So you answer my request to fill out your profile please ,Pronto!

I shall not ask again

Answer 7

"I don't have anybody at home who can speak with me" literalmente "Yo no tengo a nadie en casa que pueda hablar conmigo"