The Spanish personal a: people, pets and exceptions

The personal a in Spanish goes before many direct objects that refer to people: Veo a María means “I see María.” Compare Veo el coche, “I see the car.” The extra a has no separate English translation in the first sentence.

Start with named people and people you can identify. Then learn the useful exceptions: Tengo dos hermanas (I have two sisters) and Hay tres alumnos (There are three students). A person in the sentence does not automatically mean you need a.

Find the person receiving the action

Compare these two sentences:

• María saluda a Pablo. (María greets Pablo.)
• Pablo saluda a María. (Pablo greets María.)

In the first sentence, María is doing the greeting: she is the subject. Pablo is the person she greets: he is the direct object. In the second, their roles switch.

Notice where a goes. It stays with the person being greeted, not the person doing the greeting. This is the construction the RAE calls a direct object with personal a.

Try saying both sentences aloud, then replace the names with two people you know. Keep the small a attached to the second name. If identifying the subject is still difficult, start with our guide to Spanish sentence structure.

Everyday personal a examples

Use a with names and with specific people in sentences like these:

Spanish	English
Conozco a Lucía.	I know Lucía.
Visito a mi abuela los domingos.	I visit my grandmother on Sundays.
Espero a mis amigos en la entrada.	I wait for my friends at the entrance.
Invitamos a nuestros vecinos a cenar.	We invite our neighbors to dinner.

In the last example, the first a introduces the people invited. The second belongs to invitar a cenar, “to invite to dinner.” The same small word can do different jobs.

Does a become al?

Yes: a + the article el becomes al. The contraction applies here just as it does in other uses of a. The RAE sets out this spelling rule in its entry for al.

Start with	Write	Meaning
a + el profesor	Saludo al profesor.	I greet the teacher.
a + la profesora	Saludo a la profesora.	I greet the teacher.
a + los profesores	Saludo a los profesores.	I greet the teachers.

Only the first row needs a contraction. Do not join a la or a los. For these ordinary noun phrases, write al profesor, not a el profesor.

When to leave personal a out

For ordinary things and places, use the direct object without personal a:

• Visito el museo. (I visit the museum.)
• Conozco Madrid. (I know Madrid.)
• Veo una bicicleta. (I see a bicycle.)

Voy a Madrid means “I am going to Madrid.” That a marks a destination; it is not personal a. Our Spanish prepositions lesson covers other uses of these small connecting words.

Tener and hay

In everyday statements about family or possession, leave a out after tener:

• Tengo dos hermanas. (I have two sisters.)
• Tenemos un perro. (We have a dog.)

But tener is not a “never use a” verb: Tengo a los niños listos means “I have the children ready.” Here you describe their state.

With hay, meaning “there is” or “there are,” do not add personal a: Hay tres profesores en la sala means “There are three teachers in the room.” These distinctions appear in sections 1.3.6–1.3.7 of the RAE's guide to a before direct objects.

Looking for someone specific or anyone suitable

These two searches have different goals:

• Busco un profesor de español. (I am looking for a Spanish teacher.) You want someone who can teach you.
• Busco a mi profesor de español. (I am looking for my Spanish teacher.) You want to find a particular person.

Don't turn this into “never use a before un or una.” Saludo a una vecina (I greet a neighbor) still needs a. The verb and the intended meaning matter too; see the RAE's discussion of specific and nonspecific objects.

Do pets take personal a?

Yes, often. Busco a Luna, “I am looking for Luna,” uses a when Luna is your dog's name. Veo a mi perro, “I see my dog,” is natural too.

With animal names, use a. With common nouns such as perro, usage can vary with how personally the speaker treats the animal. It is especially common with pets; it is not a rule that every animal always takes a. The RAE explains the difference in sections 1.1.1 and 1.2.3 of its entry for a.

Three mistakes worth catching

Adding a to the subject. To say “Marta greets Luis,” write Marta saluda a Luis. Starting with A Marta would not mark Marta as the subject of that sentence.

Translating personal a as “to.” Veo a Ana means “I see Ana,” not “I see to Ana.” Read the whole Spanish sentence before trying to match each word to English.

Assuming every person after a is an indirect object. Compare:

• Veo a Ana. (I see Ana.) Ana is the direct object.
• Le doy un libro a Ana. (I give Ana a book.) The book is the direct object; Ana is the recipient, the indirect object.

The presence of a alone doesn't identify the job. The direct and indirect object lesson helps you distinguish them before replacing nouns with pronouns.

Practice: eight personal a exercises

For 1–6, fill each gap with a or leave it empty. Read the meaning before choosing.

1. Veo ___ Marta en el parque. (I see Marta in the park.)
2. Visito ___ el museo los sábados. (I visit the museum on Saturdays.)
3. Conozco ___ tu hermano. (I know your brother.)
4. Tengo ___ dos hermanas. (I have two sisters.)
5. Hay ___ tres alumnos en la clase. (There are three students in the class.)
6. Busco ___ Luna. (I am looking for Luna, my dog.)
7. Correct this sentence: Saludo a el profesor. (I greet the teacher.)
8. You are looking for your own Spanish teacher, not hiring a new one. Choose: Busco un profesor de español or Busco a mi profesor de español.

Answers and explanations

1. Veo a Marta en el parque. Marta is the named person you see.
2. Visito el museo los sábados. Leave the gap empty: you are visiting a place.
3. Conozco a tu hermano. Your brother is a specific person, the object of conozco.
4. Tengo dos hermanas. Leave the gap empty in this statement about family.
5. Hay tres alumnos en la clase. Leave it empty after hay, even though the students are people.
6. Busco a Luna. Luna is the name of the animal you are looking for.
7. Saludo al profesor. Combine a and the article el into al.
8. Busco a mi profesor de español. This identifies the particular teacher you want to find.

Now write a pair of sentences about your own week: one about visiting a person and another about visiting a place. Underline the direct object in each, then check whether it needs a. Continue with Spanish preposition exercises on Espanido to practice choosing prepositions in complete sentences.