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¡Hola, mi gente! How are you all doing? This is Adir Ferreira speaking directly from Brazil, bringing you all the hottest tips to learn Spanish you can’t find anywhere!

In this podcast I’m going to talk about the several uses of the word “a”. We tend to think that “a” only relates to movement “to” a place, this is so not true and I’m going to explain why.

“A” indicates movement, to, at a place. Let’s see some examples:

No sé a qué horas llegó a su casa. – I don’t know what time he got to his house.
Se lavaron las manos antes de sentarse a la mesa. – They washed their hands before sitting at the table.
Se desmayó y se cayó al piso. – She fainted and fell to the ground.
Acércate a tus primos para sacar la foto. – Get closer to your cousins to get your picture taken.

“A” is also the linking word between two verbs that are used to show one meaning, the so called locuciones. Ejemplos:

Él se negó a hablar. – He refused to talk.
Entraron a hablar con el profesor hace un buen rato y todavía no han salido. – They went in to talk to the teacher some time ago and they haven’t left yet.
Tu amigo dijo que ha venido a estudiar contigo. – Your friend said he came to study with you.
Comenzó a llover y entramos. – It started to rain and we went inside.
No voy a hacerlo. – I’m not going to do it.

It is also used in several expressions to show manner or method. Check them out:

a dieta – on a diet – estar a dieta (to be on a diet)
a escondidas – covertly, in a hidden way – hacer algo a escondidas (to do something covertly)
a lápiz – with a pencil – escribir a lápiz (to write with a pencil)
a mano – by hand – lavar la ropa a mano (to wash clothes by hand)
a pie – on foot – ir a pie (to go on foot)
a tiempo – in time – llegar a tiempo (to arrive on time)

“A” is also used to show the direct object of a person or something treated as a person.

Vi a tu padre en la calle. – I saw your father on the street.
Por supuesto que conoces a mi esposa. – Of course you know my wife.
Encontré a Burbuja debajo del sofá. – I found Burbuja under the sofá. (Burbuja is a female dog or cat.)

It is also used to introduce an indirect object:

Le doy este libro a mi hermano. – I’m giving this book to my brother.
¿Le compraste una camisa a tu marido? – Do you buy a shirt to your husband?
Le estoy poniendo ropa al nene. – I’m putting clothes on the baby.

Bueno, es todo por hoy. Nos vemos prontito, ¿eh?

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