Personal or distinctive a

Unit 22 (Unidad 22) Personal or distinctive a (La preposici ´ on “a” con el complemento directo) Level 1 1.1 Personal a when used for persons (La preposici ´ on a con un complemento directo) 1.2 Personal a when used with collective nouns (La a con nombres colectivos) 1.3 Personal a when used with animals (La a con animales) 1.4 Personal a when used with proper names (La a con nombres propios) 1.5 When personal a is not used (Cuando no se usa la a) 1.1 Personal a when used for persons In English, the distinction between a noun as subject and a noun as object is shown by its location in the sentence. In John reads the book, John is the subject and book is the object. John comes before book.InLatin, this was shown by what we call case endings; that is to say the endings of words changed according to their relationship with each other, and word order was not so important. In Spanish, and much more than in French or English, but similar to Italian, location has about as little effect on the meaning as in Latin. Many Spanish speakers can find themselves therefore in considerable difficulty in distinguishing between subject and object, and do not always succeed as clearly as we do in English or French. The only device in Spanish for distinguishing a noun as direct object when refer- ring to persons is by placing the preposition a before it. But, as the preposition a is regularly used for the indirect object (Le doy el libro a Juan = I give the book to Juan), most Spanish speakers end up not knowing whether the preposition a involves a direct or indirect object. In other words, they often fail to see the difference between Veo a Juan (I see Juan) and Le doy el libro a Juan.They think erroneously that Juan in Veo a Juan is an indirect object. The situation is further complicated because they do not have a suitable descriptive equivalent for what we call the “personal a.” French or Italian speakers do not have an equivalent expression either. The expression “personal a”in English therefore helps us over a very difficult hurdle. Here are the main uses of the “personal a.” 198 22 Personal or distinctive a 1.2 Personal a when used with persons and collective nouns i The personal or distinctive a applies primarily to nouns representing determinate, known persons: Veo a Pedro I see Pedro Busco a la chica Iamlooking for the girl Quiere visitar a mi hija He wants to visit my daughter Lleva a sus hijos a la estaci´on She takes her children/sons to the station ii If the personal noun is collective, the personal a is often, but not always, used. However, it is safer always to use it in these circumstances: Ana mima a su familia Ana spoils her family Llaman a la polic´ıa They call the police El pol´ıtico critica al gobierno The politician criticizes the government iii The application of the personal a extends to authors, painters, etc., i.e. all those in the public domain: Leo a Cervantes con frecuencia Iread Cervantes regularly Imita a Diego Rivera He copies Diego Rivera El p´ublico aplaude a la estrella The audience applauds the star La empresa despide a cinco obreros The company dismisses five workers 1.3 Personal a when used with animals When the direct object noun represents an animal, regarded as intelligent or rational, and especially if it belongs to a family, the personal a is required: Llaman al perrito They call the dog Se pasa un rato acariciando al gato She spends some time stroking the cat 1.4 Personal a when used with proper names The personal a is also needed before proper names of persons: Env´ıo a Diego en su lugar I’ll send Diego in her place Admira a Andr´es She admires Andr´es/Andrew 1.5 When personal a is not used (But see level 2.3.) The personal a is not used when the object is an insignificant animal, or an inanimate object: El gato agarra (M)/coge (not in M)unrat´on Thecat catches a mouse El ni˜no persigue una mariposa Thechild chases the butterfly Como la carne Ieatthe meat 199 ASTUDENT GRAMMAR OF SPANISH Exercises Level 1 i Change as in the example Esperamos a Jorge (Mar´ıa/elni˜no) > Esperamos a Mar´ıa/alni˜no a Vemos a los muchachos (Luisa / los se˜nores / Manuel / la maestra / las ni ˜nas / los pajaritos) b Llevan a las chicas (sus amigos / la ni˜na / Carlos / las muchachas) c Necesitas a Juan (el doctor / mis amigas / el muchacho / los alumnos) d Oigo a los ni˜nos (la muchacha / Jorge / mis cuates [M]/elbeb´e/elgato) e Traemos a nuestros amigos (nuestros pap´as [M]/miabuela / tus primas / los perritos) ii Paired activity Objective –Topractice the use of the personal a Method –AgivesBaverbandanoun as a direct object. B has to make a sentence with the verb and the noun, using the personal a when necessary. If A is smart enough, (s)he will provide some nouns where the a is not used. So B, be careful! (¡cuidado!) Examples A: Ver + mujer B: Veo a la mujer A: Admirar + pianista B: Admiro al / a la pianista A: Golpear + pared B: Golpeo la pared Here are some verbs and nouns A can use: leer, contar, llevar, buscar, lavar, preparar, llamar, ayudar, contestar, preguntar, querer, observar, preferir, conocer, tocar, limpiar, avisar hombre, m´edico/doctor, enfermera, profesor, peri´odico, platos, gesto, ciudad, flores, guitarra, rec´amara (M)/habitaci´on, amigo/a, familia, t´ıo, maestro, vecinas, polic´ıa Afterwards, you all gather together to discuss your sentences. Level 2 2.1 Use and non-use of personal a (Uso y omisi ´ on de a) 2.2 Use of personal a with personification (Uso de a con personificaci ´ on) 2.3 Omission of personal a (Omisi ´ on de la a) 2.4 Personal a used with direct and indirect objects (Uso de a con objetos directo e indirecto) 2.5 Miscellaneous features (Varios detalles) 2.6 Personal a with nadie, alguien, quien (La a con nadie, alguien, quien) 2.7 More possible confusion over the personal a (Posibilidad de m ´ as confusi ´ on con la a) 200 22 Personal or distinctive a 2.1 Use and non-use of personal a In all cases, the employment of the personal a before a direct object denoting a person depends largely on how the speaker views the person. In other words, if the speaker knows the person referred to, (s)he will use the personal a,but if the person alluded to is not known, the a is not often used. Compare these two sets of cases: Busco al doctor Iamlooking for the physician/doctor Busco un doctor Iamlooking for a physician/doctor Estoy esperando al cliente I’m waiting for the client Estoy esperando un cliente I’m waiting for a client It is of course conceivable that in all these cases a is used, but the further away the object is, figuratively speaking, the less likely it is that the personal a is used. 2.2 Use of personal a with personification When the direct object is personified, the personal a is frequently, but not always, used. Particularly common here is the use of patria, naci ´ on and pueblo, especially the latter, which contains a suggestion of human beings: Estos soldados honran a la patria These soldiers honor the nation Juraron defender a la naci´on They swore to defend the nation Las nuevas medidas pretenden contentar al pueblo The new measures aim to satisfy the people Las aves saludan a la Aurora The birds salute the Dawn NB Once, towns and countries were included in this category, but this is no longer the case. 2.3 Omission of personal a i The personal a is omitted when it would conflict with another a which has a true prepositional value: El general convoc´o los oficiales a una conferencia The general called the officers to a conference Compare the two following sentences: Abandonaron al hombre They abandoned the man Abandonaron el hombre a sus remordimientos They abandoned the man to his remorse ii When the verb has a direct and indirect object, the direct object does not take the personal a, thus avoiding confusion or ambiguity: Recomend´oalgobernador su hijo, Don Jos´e He recommended his son, Don Jos´e, to the governor 201 ASTUDENT GRAMMAR OF SPANISH Presentar´emihermana a la se˜nora de Vargas I’ll introduce my sister to Sra Vargas El soldado entreg´osuprisionero al capit´an The soldier handed over his prisoner to the captain 2.4 Personal a used with direct and indirect objects When both subject and object denote things, the object takes the personal a. Otherwise, confusion and ambiguity would arise. We are now in the realm of word order (see unit 29). Compare the following four sentences: El silencio (subject) sigue al ruido (object) Silence follows the noise Al ruido (object) sigue el silencio (subject) Silence follows the noise El ruido (subject) sigue al silencio (object) Noise follows the silence Al silencio (object) sigue el ruido (subject) Noise follows the silence Compare likewise the following four sentences. (From the first four sentences above, you can work out the subject and object in each sentence below.) El yate alcanzar´aalvapor Theyacht will overtake the steamer Al vapor alcanzar´aelyate Theyacht will overtake the steamer El vapor alcanzar´aalyate The steamer will overtake the yacht Al yate alcanzar´aelvapor The steamer will overtake the yacht 2.5 Miscellaneous features i When one of the terms is a person, which is usually the case, danger of ambiguity does not arise, because the person as object is accompanied by a. Compare the two following sentences: Porfinvenci´oeljoven (subject) su pasi´on (object) por el juego Theyoung man finally overcame his passion forgambling Porfinvenci´oaljoven (object) su pasi´on (subject) por el juego The passion for gambling finally overcame the young man ii Verbs of naming, calling, considering, etc., which may take two direct objects differentiate one of these objects by the personal a in the following way: ¿Llaman m´usica a este jaleo? Do they call this ruckus music? Consideramos pura p´erdida de tiempo a la lectura de estas revistas We consider the reading of these magazines a pure waste of time The true object, or thing asserted, in the first case, jaleo, and in the second case, lectura, is preceded by the personal a. 2.6 Personal a with nadie, alguien, quien The personal a is always used before alguien, nadie and quien when these words function as direct objects, even though they may suggest uncertainty over the person referred to: 202 22 Personal or distinctive a ¿Vas a invitar a alguien? Are you going to invite someone? No veo a nadie I can’t see anyone ¿A qui´en llamas? Whom are you calling? 2.7 More possible confusion over the personal a To return to the confusion generated by the personal a, personal pronouns are a special case in point. Again, it is difficult for Spanish speakers who are not language conscious to know whether the following examples include pronouns (le, les)asindirect objects or direct objects, largely because, in order to stress the pronoun, a disjunctive form of it is used before the verb: A´el le interesa el libro The book interests him A ella le encanta la ´opera She loves opera A ellas les atrae la idea de . They are attracted by the idea of . This issue is further complicated by the following two examples based on the reflexive se (see the use of reflexives in unit 14, level 2). Se vio el hombre en el espejo The man saw himself in the mirror Se le vio al hombre en el espejo The man was seen in the mirror Here, the reflexive se dispels any ambiguity over who is seeing whom. Exercises Level 2 i Sustituye un nombre por un pronombre como en el ejemplo. Puedes elegir cualquier nombre (noun)acondici ´on de que sea una persona. Puede haber una gran variedad de respuestas Los/les oigo > Oigo a los alumnos a Los necesito g ¿Los acoges? b Las ven h Las traigo c ¿La quieres? i ¿Las oyes? d Los o´ımos j No lo/le entiendo eLaest´an esperando k Los llevo a todos en mi carro fLorecibo l Los admiramos ii Pon las siguientes palabras en su orden correcto. Ten en cuenta que faltan la preposici ´on a y los art´ıculos definidos en la mayor´ıa de los casos, y que te toca insertarlos en su lugar correcto cuando sea necesario, y que puede haber m ´as de una soluci ´on Ejemplos atac´ole´on tigre > El tigre atac´oalle´on / Elle´on atac´oaltigre/Alle´on le atac´oeltigre / Al tigre le atac´oelle´on ver familia quer´ıa hija > La hija quer´ıa ver a la familia / La familia quer´ıa ver a la hija a verbo pronombre sigue b doctor hallamos (M)sepa hijo nuestro un curar que no c ver quer´ıa su esposa sus hijos y 203 ASTUDENT GRAMMAR OF SPANISH d ganso pel´o cocinera e tres mataron faisanes ciervos dos y f caballo comprar quisiera yo un g vender quer´ıa su caballo ´el h director hija Mar´ıa presentaron su i hijos colegio llevaba sus la madre j carro carro (M)r´apido lento rebas´o(M) k gato perro persigue l juez no pol´ıtico sobornar pudo m qui´en saber llamaba quer´ıa n nadie yo ve´ıa no o le en si conoc´ıa pregunt´e colegio alguien iii Actividad en parejas Objetivo – Practicar el uso de “a” con nombres como objeto directo M ´ etodo –Seles elige a dos miembros de la clase. Escriben en el pizarr´on (M) / la pizarra seis series de palabras mezcladas que contienen un verbo y un objeto directo que es una persona. Omiten adrede (deliberately)laa. Intentar no crear frases largas (seis o siete palabras como m´aximo). La clase tiene que reconstruir la frase, poni´endo las palabras en su orden correcto y a˜nadiendo la a en su lugar apropiado. Ejemplos Se escribe en el pizarr ´ on: consulta madre mi m´edico el La clase reconstruye: Mi madre consulta alm´edico Se escribe en el pizarr ´ on: amiga tu francesa conocemos La clase reconstruye: Conocemos a tu amiga francesa Se escribe . carro hombre el el maneja La clase . El hombre maneja el carro (no a here) Se le corresponde al profesor intervenir si quiere. 204 Unit 23 (Unidad 23) Prepositions (Las preposiciones) Level 1 1.1 The basic prepositions (Las preposiciones b ´ asicas) 1.2 Uses of a (Usos de a) 1.3 Uses of ante (Usos de ante) 1.4 Uses of bajo (Usos de bajo) 1.5 Uses of con (Usos de con) 1.6 Uses of contra (Usos de contra) 1.7 Uses of de (Usos de de) 1.8 Uses of desde (Usos de desde) 1.9 Uses of durante (Usos de durante) 1.10 Uses of en (Usos de en) 1.11 Uses of entre (Usos de entre) 1.12 Uses of excepto (Usos de excepto) 1.13 Uses of hacia (Usos de hacia) 1.14 Uses of hasta (Usos de hasta) 1.15 Uses of mediante (Usos de mediante) 1.16 Uses of salvo (Usos de salvo) 1.17 Uses of seg ´un (Usos de seg ´un) 1.18 Uses of sin (Usos de sin) 1.19 Uses of sobre (Usos de sobre) 1.20 Uses of tras (Usos de tras) 1.1 The basic prepositions The simplest use of prepositions is to express the relations of things to each other with respect to time and place. Such prepositions in English are in, out, before, under, over. They extend, however, to many other relations, and especially to the relations between adjectives or verbs and the nouns or pronouns to which they apply. There are two sorts of prepositions in Spanish: simple and compound. The simple ones will be treated in level 1, while the compound ones will be dealt with in level 2, together with more complex expressions. The simple prepositions are: a at, to, in hacia towards, about, for ante before hasta until, to, up to 205 ASTUDENT GRAMMAR OF SPANISH bajo under mediante by means of, through con with para for (see separate unit 24) contra against por for, by (see separate unit 24) de of, from salvo except, save desde from, since seg´un according to durante during sin without en in, into, at, on sobre on, about, over entre between, among tras after, behind excepto except 1.2 Uses of a i a = to, at, in: Vamos a Nueva York We are going to New York Llegamos a Los Angeles We arrive in Los Angeles Se sienta a la mesa/puerta She sits at the table/door ii a in time expressions: a las tres de la tarde at three in the afternoon al mediod´ıa at midday al d´ıa siguiente on the following day alanoche/ma˜nana/tarde tonight / tomorrow morning / this afternoon/evening a principios de a˜no/mes at the beginning of the year/month a mediados de semana/mes/a˜no in the middle of the week/month/year a finales de mes/a˜no at the end of the month/year a los diecinueve a˜nos at nineteen years of age a los cinco minutos five minutes later al poco rato a little later al mismo tiempo at the same time a tiempo in time a primera vista at first sight iii a expressing rate: d´ıa a d´ıa day byday paso a paso step by step a docenas/millares by the dozen/thousand tres veces a la semana three times a week araz´on de dos por persona at the rate of two per person ¿A cu´anto se vende el carro? How much is the car (being sold for)? a cuarenta pesos el kilo at forty pesos the kilo Lo vende al litro She sells it by the liter vender al por menor/mayor to sell retail/wholesale a cuarenta kil´ometros por hora at forty kilometers / twenty-five miles an hour 206 23 Prepositions iv a expressing manner: amimanera/modo in my way *a la manera de Goya in the style of Goya amicosta at my cost **a mi juicio / entender / parecer / modo de ver in my opinion alalarga in the long run *Notice that manera/modo does not always take a, witness the following: de una manera / de un modo elegante in an elegant way ** but en mi opini´on in my opinion v a expressing position: caer al agua/suelo to fall into the water / to the ground al aire libre in the open air a mitad de camino half-way (there) aladerecha on the right alaizquierda on the left al otro lado on the other side alolejos in the distance alamesa at the table al raso in the open air al sol in the sun alasombra in the shade estar al tel´efono to be on the telephone 1.3 Uses of ante Se arrodilla ante el altar She kneels before the altar ante el tribunal before the court Comparece ante el capit´an He appears before the captain ante las circunstancias in the circumstances 1.4 Uses of bajo In its literal meaning, it is often replaced by debajo de (see compound prepositions, level 2)but in its figurative meaning it is very common: dos grados bajo cero two degrees below zero bajo la lluvia in the rain bajo el puente under the bridge bajo el mando de under the command of bajo sus ´ordenes at your command bajo ning´un pretexto on no account bajo el rey Felipe Segundo under King Philip the Second 207 [...]... alcanzar a No alcanzo a comprender por qu´ no se ha casado e antes aprender a Aprend´ a manejar el carro (M) ı apresurarse a Se apresur´ a entrar o arriesgarse a Me arriesgu´ a nadar hasta el puente e atreverse a Se atrevi´ a atravesar el foso o comenzar a Comenz´ a estudiar en Granada o decidirse a Por fin se ha decidido a terminar la tesis empezar a Empez´ a hablar con los asistentes o llegar a Lleg´ a. .. hacia la izquierda Se lanza hacia la salida Miro hacia el otro lado 210 towards Madrid towards the left She races towards the exit I look towards the other side 23 Prepositions Llegamos hacia las diez de la ma˜ ana n su amor hacia su hija We’ll arrive at about ten in the morning his love for his daughter 1.14 Uses of hasta In´s pasea hasta la playa e Llego hasta donde est´ s a Esperamos hasta las diez... STUDENT GRAMMAR OF SPANISH a ciencia cierta a la corta o a la larga ∗ Se abri´ paso a empujones o a escondidas ∗ Entr´ a hurtadillas o a oscuras estar a la altura de las circunstancias a favor de al lado de a partir de for sure sooner or later He pushed his way through covertly, stealthily He crept in in the dark to rise to the occasion in favor of at the side of starting from a trechos a trompicones al otro... Lo/Le mataron a balazos a caballo Llueve a c´ ntaros a avanzar a ciegas to be at ease They shot him dead on horseback It’s pouring with rain to go forward blindly tomar a pecho a duras penas saber a punto fijo a rega˜ adientes n a solas ∗ Avanz´ a tientas o a todo meter to take to heart with great difficulty to know for certain reluctantly alone He groped his way forward with great intensity 215 A STUDENT... tu madre Esta casa es de mis pap´ s (M) a una calle de Oaxaca de C´rdoba a Sevilla o Vienen de Guanajuato Es de Chihuahua una estatua de bronce/m´ rmol a La casa est´ rodeada de arboles a ´ La mesa est´ cubierta de un mantel a Estamos a cien kil´metros de Puebla o Tiembla de miedo Llora de risa Su mam´ muere de c´ ncer a a your mother’s money This house is my parents’ a street in Oaxaca from Cordoba... ´ nadar alberca aprendi´ en mi > Aprendi´ a nadar en mi alberca o o a b c d e f g h i j 218 deberes acabar apresur´ se sus o cumbre sin atrever a no la subir se ayuda hasta ı se se casa en aburr a decidi´ que dado salir ı o tobillo se el en ni˜ a la hizo llorar rompi´ da˜ o y n o n paisaje pintar puso un se autob´ s ech´ del correr detr´ s u o a trabajo acababa su regres´ cuando su terminar e entramos... conforme a = according to contrario a = contrary to a pesar de = in spite of respecto a = with respect to a causa de = on account of en vez de = instead of en cuanto a = as for 2.16 Adverbial idioms with a There are many adverbial idioms of manner in Spanish formed on the pattern a + singular or plural noun, and a + feminine plural adjective or noun Some of the most common are: estar a sus anchas ∗... comiendo u a a ´ Esta es la cantidad, salvo error Excepting you, everyone is eating That’s the quantity, save error (if I’m not mistaken) ´ 1.17 Uses of segun seg´ n las normas de la empresa u seg´ n la Secretar a de Econom a (M) u ı ı according to the company’s rules according to the Treasury 1.18 Uses of sin Estoy sin trabajo Abren la puerta sin la llave Voy de vacaciones sin la familia I am without work... Completa la frase con una preposicion compuesta como en el ejemplo: ´ Habl´ media hora ( ) este asunto > Habl´ media hora acerca de este o o asunto a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Las pruebas fueron largas ( ) dif´ciles ı El gato est´ dormido ( ) la silla a La insult´ ( ) m´ o ı El chico se escondi´ ( ) los arboles o ´ Alaska est´ muy ( ) Tierra del Fuego a Pon la mesa ( ) la puerta Busqu´ la carta ( ) el caj´... a bad mood a strawberry tart 1.6 Uses of contra Dejo la escalera contra la pared una campa˜ a contra el c´ ncer n a Recibe un regalo contra entrega de bono la lucha contra el enemigo I leave the ladder against the wall a campaign against cancer He receives a present for handing in the voucher the struggle against the enemy 1.7 Uses of de i indicating possession, origin, composition, distance el dinero . Theyacht will overtake the steamer El vapor alcanzar´aalyate The steamer will overtake the yacht Al yate alcanzar´aelvapor The steamer will overtake the yacht. fresas a strawberry tart 1.6 Uses of contra Dejo la escalera contra la pared I leave the ladder against the wall una campa˜na contra el c´ancer a campaign