Why the "a"?

Question

Why is there an "a" in the beginning of the following sentence:

A la niña le gusta cantar.

Can't we just say it without the "a"? Would it still be grammatically correct? If not, why is the "a" needed?

Welcome to SpanishDict, Vu. - rac1, Sep 19, 2017

Answer 1

Inasmuch as "le" can mean "to him," "to her," or to" you," (usted) What I call an "A Phrase" is often added to clarify to whom "le" refers.

We use it all the time to give emphasis.

A mí me gusta tocar la guitarra y cantar.

A ti te gustan los deportes.

Again with "le" you have to add the "A Phrase" as in.

A Pedro le encanta la comida mexicana.

A los chicos les gusta/encanta el fútbol.

It's used all the time and it's strictly Spanish. I don't know of another language that uses the indirect object AND the indirect object pronoun in the same sentence.

This applies to other Romance languages, ie., Portuguese, French, Italian & Romanian. - NKM1974, Sep 19, 2017

is the same as Spanish. - Daniela2041, Sep 19, 2017

Hmmmm. French not so much. You can use the "a" phrase with out the I/O pronoun. "J'ai donné mon livre a Jacques." No I/O pronoun as required in Spanish. I have never seen the "redundant" use of both I/O pronoun and the I/O in Italian or Spanish. - Daniela2041, Sep 19, 2017

I mean Italian or Portuguese. If you can find some examples, I would be happy to look at them. - Daniela2041, Sep 19, 2017

Here's a table of personal pronouns of the Romance language: http://www.nativlang.com/romance-languages/romance-tables-pronouns.php?tableName=pronounsPersonal - NKM1974, Sep 19, 2017

Answer 2

It would be incorrect without the a.

I'm guessing that you think of gustar as to like, and thus are reading the sentence as To the girl likes to sing. In that case, it makes sense to ask what the To is doing there.

But if I'm right, you're not thinking of gustar in the most useful way. Please look here.