9. PERSONAL A While very simple to use, forgetting to use the “personal a” is one of the most common mistakes for learners of Spanish. The rule says that in Spanish, when the direct object of a sentence is a person or a group of people, it must be preceded by the preposition a: He visto a tu hermana – I have seen your sister He visto una película – I have seen a film (The direct object of a sentence is the noun or pronoun that receives the action of a verb. For instance, if the verb is “I have bought” the direct object is what the person speaking has bought: I have bought a new car) Sometimes we use the personal a when we talk about pets (but not when talking about animals you don’t feel any attachment to): He llevado a mi gato al veterinario – I have taken my cat to the vet. He visto un gato callejero – I have seen a stray cat. We also use it with sports teams, the government or other organisations: Voy a ver al Real Madrid – I am going to see Real Madrid Odio al gobierno – I hate the government Hay que respetar a la Policía – You have to respect the Police. We never use the personal a with the verbs “tener” or “hay” (in any tense): Tengo una hermana – I have a sister Hay mil personas – There are 1000 people Finally, if the direct object mentions more than one person, you need the personal a before each of them: Voy a visitar a mi padre y a mi madre. Y después a mis abuelos. I am going to visit my dad and my mum. And then my grandparents.
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