When do you use the personal pronoun "a?" I've seen it before the word mi and others but I don't know why it's there
The personal pronoun a, also calledĀ āpersonal aā (by me in things I do) is used when your object is an animate object. You see it used with most verbs that can apply to humans/animals, particularly with direct objects and reflexive verbs. The a does show up with indirect objects, though itās a little bit different linguistically so Iāll touch on that a little bit.
A brief rundown of what objects are:
The object is the recipient of an action, and when you talk about direct objects, they receive the action itself.
Pateo la pelota. = I kick the ball.
TheĀ āIā is the subject,Ā ākickā is the verb, andĀ āballā is the object.
Where it becomes a little more particular is when your object is actually a person or animal⦠generally itās any living thing, but specifically people. Some people donāt use the personal a with animals except pets, which shows more affection and attachment to a petā¦. as in dar de comer al perroĀ āto feed the dogā, dar de comer al gatoĀ āto feed the catā, or dar de comer a las mascotasĀ āto feed petsā
So instead of theĀ āballā say itāsĀ āI kick my sisterā:
Pateo a mi hermana. = I kick my sister.
āmy sisterā is the object, but itās a person now, so you add the a to make sure people know itās a person.
The same sort of thing exists for a lot of verbs that can take people or inanimate objects; buscar, esperar, conocer, querer, amar, encontrar, golpear, castigar, dañar, hacer, ver, invitar, visitar, matar, juzgar, herir, perseguir, criticar, defender, proteger, acosar, llamar⦠and many other verbs
They sometimes show up with direct object pronouns me, te, lo/la, los/las, nos, os but the premise is still the same, the personal a goes in front of the object that is a person.
They also sometimes exist with reflexive verbs, but thatās almost entirely done for emphasis since itās usually clear who the person and object are in reflexives.
Conozco a ella. = I know her.La conozco. = I know her.
Conozco a Ʃl. = I know him.Lo conozco. = I know him.
Puedo ver a tu abuelo. = I can see your grandfather.Puedo ver a tu prima. = I can see your cousin (f).Puedo verte (a ti). = I can see you.
Lo quiero a Ʃl. = I love him.La quiero a ella. = I love her.
Llamo a mi jefe. = Iām calling my boss.Llamo a mi jefa. = Iām calling my boss (f).Llamo a la policĆa. = Iām calling the police.Llamo a los bomberos. = Iām calling the firefighters.Llamo al hospital. = Iām calling the hospital.Llamo a los mĆ©dicos. = Iām calling the doctors.Llamo a una ambulancia. = Iām calling an ambulance.
Estoy buscando a tu padre. = Iām looking for your father.Busco a tu padre. = Iām looking for your father. / I look for your father.EncontrĆ© a tu padre. = I found your father.
Espero a tu madre. = Iām waiting for your mother. / Iām expecting your mother.
No quiero juzgar a nadie. = I donāt want to judge anyone.Es fĆ”cil juzgar a la gente. = Itās easy to judge people.
Ayuda al gobierno. = It helps the government.Ayuda a la sociedad. = It helps society.Ayuda a la policĆa. = It helps the police.Ayuda a los refugiados. = It helps refugees.Ayuda a los pacientes. = It helps patients.Ayuda a los demĆ”s. = It helps (the) others.Ayuda a todos los demĆ”s. = It helps everyone else.
Castiga al pueblo. = It punishes the people/community/town.Castiga a las mujeres. = It punishes women.Castiga a la gente. = It punishes people.Castiga a muchas personas. = It punishes a lot of people.Castiga a poca gente. = It punishes very few people.Castiga a la comunidad. = It punishes the community.Castiga a todos. = It punishes everyone.Castiga a todo el mundo. = It punishes everyone. [more general, lit.Ā āthe whole worldā]Nos castiga a todos. = It punishes all of us. / It punishes us all.
Otorga el derecho a la gente. = It grants people the right.Otorga el derecho a las mujeres al votar. = It grants women the right to vote.[el derecho a hacer algo isĀ āthe right to do somethingā, so itās al votar because of that; an entirely separate function of a]
Ā”Cómo te atreves a hacerme esto a mĆ! = How dare you do this to me!
No te engaƱes a ti mismo/a. = Donāt fool yourself. / Donāt lie to yourself.
Se miente a sĆ mismo. = Heās lying to himself.Se miente a sĆ misma. = Sheās lying to herself.El equipo se miente a sĆ mismo. = The team is lying to themselves.La gente se miente a sĆ misma. = People lie to themselves.
Me traiciono a mĆ mismo/a. = Iām betraying myself.Te traicionas a ti mismo/a. = Youāre betraying yourself.Se traiciona a sĆ mismo. = Heās betraying himself himself.Se traiciona a sĆ misma. = Sheās betraying herself herself.Se traicionan a sĆ mismos. = Theyāre betraying themselves.Se traicionan a sĆ mismas. = Theyāre (f) betraying themselves.Nos traicionamos a nosotros mismos. = Weāre betraying ourselves.Nos traicionamos a nosotras mismas. = Weāre (f) betraying ourselves.
With some inanimate objects, the a isnāt always included. It gets included when itās understood as particularly strong.
salvar el mundo = to save the world [not as strong]salvar al mundo = to save the world [stronger, and more common]
daƱar la reputación = to damage (someoneās) reputationdaƱar a la reputación = to damage (someoneās) reputation [stronger]
This also applies to brand names, cities, and countries and other proper nouns
Barcelona derrota a Madrid. = Barcelona defeats Madrid.Madrid derrota a Barcelona. = Madrid defeats Barcelona.
Brasil ayuda a Argentina. = Brazil helps Argentina.Argentina ayuda a Brasil. = Argentina helps Brazil.
DesafĆa a Google. = He/She/It is defying Google.Elogia a Google. = He/She/It is praising Google.
With indirect objects, the a is a little bit different grammatically. Indirect objects show to whom or for whom something is done, so the a doesnāt really mark someone as the person who is experiencing the action of a result⦠for indirect objects, itās showing to whom something was directed.
This makes more sense for verbs like mandar, enviar, corresponder, dar and the a is used in cases where the recipient isnāt obvious, or when it is obvious it comes across as very emphatic.
A quien corresponda⦠= To whom it concernsā¦
Me lo mandas (a mĆ). = Youāre sending it to me. [a mĆ isĀ āto MEā and very clear emphasis]
Te lo mando (a ti). = Iām sending it to you. [a ti isĀ āto YOUā as in specification or clarification]
In the last two examples, these make more sense contextually if you think about it like two people talking and itās like,Ā āWho do I send this to again?āĀ āYou send it to MEā
Otherwise, te lo mandoĀ āIām sending it to youā makes perfect sense on its own. Saying te lo mando a ti is likeĀ āIām sending it to YOUā like someone asked or was unclear about something.
It becomes more necessary to specify when you deal with indirect objects + direct objects with 3rd person: se lo doyĀ āIām giving it to him/her/you/themā⦠because it could literally apply to anyone. Saying se lo doy a ellos isĀ āIām giving it to themā, or se lo doy a ella isĀ āIām giving it to herā⦠this helps you clarify who your intended recipient actually is.
Along the same lines, you have verbs that work like gustar which usually get translated a little differently; gustar isĀ āto likeā but more literally itāsĀ āto pleaseā, and the a is used as emphasis or clarification in the same way:
Me gusta el libro. = I like the book. [lit.Ā āthe book pleases meā]A mĆ me gusta el libro. = Iām the one who likes the book.
Te gustan los libros. = You like the books. [lit.Ā āthe books please youā]A ti te gustan los libros. = Youāre the one who likes the books.
These make more sense in context, like if you have to correct someone or youāre being specific like:
-ĀæA quiĆ©n le importa? = Who cares?-ĀĀ”A mĆ me importa! / ĀĀ”A mĆ! = I care! / I do!
-ĀæA tu familia no le gusta la comida china? = Your family doesnāt like Chinese food?-A mis padres no, pero a mĆ sĆ. = My parents donāt, but I do.
ā¦But these arenāt really the personal a. These are just other functions of a to show who the recipient of an action is.