a
preposition
1 (indicando dirección) (hacia alguna parte) to
voy a la tienda/al parque I'm going to the shop/to the park; ir a trabajar o al trabajo to go to work; de aquí a Sevilla se tarda una hora it's an hour from here to Seville
mirar al norte to look north(wards); de cara al norte facing north; torcer a la derecha to turn (to the) right
ir a casa to go home
(hacia dentro) into me caí al río/mar I fell into the river/sea
mirarse a los ojos to look into each other's eyes; subir a un avión to get into a plane; subirse a un tren to get on a train
llegar a [+ciudad, país] to arrive in; [+edificio] to arrive at
(encima de) onto ¿cuándo llegaste a Londres? when did you arrive in London?
no ha llegado todavía a la oficina she still hasn't arrived at the office
se subieron al tejado they climbed onto the roof; bajaron del tren al andén they stepped out of the train onto the platform
2 (indicando situación, distancia)
al final de la calle at the end of the street
a la orilla del río on the riverbank
al lado del cine next to the cinema; siéntate a mi lado sit next to me; sit beside me; nos pusimos a la sombra we moved into the shade; está a siete km de aquí it is seven km (away) from here; de este a aquel no hay mucha diferencia there's not much difference between this one and that one; a lo lejos in the distance
a la derecha on the right
a la izquierda on the left
estar a la mesa to be at table
estaba sentado a su mesa de trabajo he was sitting at his desk
3 (con expresiones de tiempo) (en un momento concreto) at
a las ocho at eight o'clock; a los 55 años at the age of 55; ¿a qué hora llega el tren? what time o when does the train arrive?; estamos a tres de julio it's the third of July; a la mañana siguiente the following morning
a medianoche at midnight
a mediodía at noon
a la noche at night
a la tarde in the afternoon
(con tiempo transcurrido) a la semana a week later; al año a year later; al año de vivir en Caracas after living in Caracas for a year; a los pocos días after a few days; a few days later; "Cervantes, a los 400 años de su muerte" "Cervantes 400 years after his death"; "Cervantes 400 years on"; a los 18 minutos de juego in the 18th minute; 18 minutes into the game; a la que te descuidas ... if you're not careful ...; before you know where you are ...
(indicando frecuencia) dos veces al día twice a day; una vez a la semana once a week; día a día vamos mejorando we're improving with every day; we're improving day by day
al
al entrar yo when I came in; al verlo, lo reconocí inmediatamente when I saw him, I recognized him immediately; nos cruzamos al salir we bumped into each other as we were going out; estar al llegar to be about to arrive; al no llegar a tiempo, quedamos fuera de la prueba since we didn't arrive on time, we were eliminated from the race
4 (indicando modo)
a la americana American-style; una cocina a gas a gas stove; funciona a pilas y a la red it runs on batteries and on mains electricity; una camisa a cuadros a check o checked shirt; una camisa a rayas a striped shirt
a pie/caballo on foot/horseback; fui a pie I walked; fui a caballo I rode; a oscuras in the dark; a lápiz in pencil; lo derribó a puñetazos she knocked him to the ground; lo mataron a navajazos they stabbed him to death; sabe a queso it tastes of cheese; huele a vino it smells of wine; es muy agradable al tacto it feels very nice
beber algo a sorbos to sip sth; despertarse al menor ruido to wake at the slightest sound
a mano by hand
hay que lavarlo a mano it should be washed by hand; escrito a mano hand-written; hecho a mano handmade; una sábana bordada a mano a hand-embroidered sheet
5 (indicando cantidad, precio, velocidad)
a un precio elevado at a high price; a 3 euros el kilo at o for 3 euros a kilo; los huevos están a un euro la docena eggs are a euro a dozen; al 5 por ciento at 5 per cent
íbamos a más de 120km por hora we were going at o doing over 120km an hour
poco a poco little by little
6 (indicando finalidad) (tras verbos) to
voy a verla I'm going to see her; ha ido a por agua a la fuente she's gone to get some water from the fountain; empezó a cantar he began to sing; he started singing; ha salido a tomar el aire she's gone out for a breath of fresh air; vengo a que me den un impreso I've come to get a form
(tras sustantivos) el criterio a adoptar the criterion to be adopted; asuntos a tratar items to be discussed
precio a convenir price negotiable
¿cuál es la cantidad a pagar? what do we have to pay?; este será el camino a seguir this must be the path to take
7 (con complemento de persona) (como complemento indirecto) to
¿le has dado el libro a él? did you give him the book?; did you give the book to him?
le enseñé a Pablo el libro que me dejaste I showed Pablo the book you lent me; I showed the book you lent me to Pablo; el Barcelona marcó cinco goles al Madrid Barcelona scored five against Madrid
(como complemento directo (no se traduce)) vi al jefe I saw the boss; llamé al médico I called the doctor
(indicando procedencia) from se lo compré a él I bought it from him
