The preposition a The preposition a can mean

The preposition a • The preposition a can mean to, at, for, upon, within, of, from, or by, depending on the context. Sometimes it has no direct translation in English. Terminó a las doce. Le compré un pájaro exótico a Juan. It ended at midnight. I bought an exotic bird from/for Juan. Lucy estaba a mi derecha. Al llegar a casa, me sentí feliz. Lucy was on my right. Upon returning home, I felt happy. El mar Caribe está a doscientas cincuenta millas de aquí. Fui a casa de mis padres para ayudarlos después de la inundación. The Caribbean Sea is two hundred I went to my parents’ house to help them and fifty miles from here. after the flood. © by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 6. 3– 1

• The preposition a introduces indirect objects. Le prometió a su hijo que irían a navegar. Hoy, en el zoo, le di de comer a un conejo. He promised his son they would go sailing. Today, in the zoo, I fed a rabbit. • The preposition a can be used to give commands or make suggestions. ¡A comer! ¡A dormir! Let’s eat! Time for bed! © by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 6. 3– 2

Some verbs require a when used with an infinitive, such as ir a, comenzar a, volver a, enseñar a, aprender a, and ayudar a. Aprendí a manejar. I learned to drive. Me ayudó a arreglar el coche. He helped me fix the car. © by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 6. 3– 3

• When a direct object noun is a person (or a pet), it is preceded by the personal a, which has no equivalent in English. The personal a is also used with the words alguien, nadie, and alguno and ninguno. ¿Viste a tus amigos en el parque? No, no he visto a nadie. Did you see your friends in the park? No, I haven’t seen anyone. © by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 6. 3– 4

• The personal a is not used when the person in question is not specific. La organización ambiental busca voluntarios. Sí, necesitan voluntarios para limpiar la costa. The environmental organization is looking for volunteers. Yes, they need volunteers to clean the coast. © by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 6. 3– 5

The preposition hacia • With movement, either literal or figurative, hacia means toward or to. La actitud de Manuel hacia mí fue negativa. El biólogo se dirige hacia Puerto Rico para la entrevista. Manuel’s attitude toward me was negative. The biologist is headed to Puerto Rico for the interview. © by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 6. 3– 6

• With time, hacia means approximately, around, about, or toward. El programa queremos ver empieza hacia las 8. La televisión se hizo popular hacia la segunda mitad del siglo XX. The show that we want to watch will begin around 8: 00. Television became popular toward the second half of the twentieth century. © by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 6. 3– 7

There is no accent mark on the i in the preposition hacia. The stress falls on the first a. The word hacía is a form of the verb hacer. © by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 6. 3– 8

The preposition con • The preposition con means with. Me gustaría hablar con el director del departamento. Es una organización ecologista con muchos miembros. I would like to speak with the director of the department. It’s an environmental organization with lots of members. © by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 6. 3– 9

• Many English adverbs can be expressed in Spanish with con + [noun]. Habló del tema con cuidado. Hablaba con cariño. She spoke about the issue carefully. He spoke affectionately. © by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 6. 3– 10

• The preposition con is also used rhetorically to emphasize the value or the quality of something or someone, contrary to a given fact or situation. In this case, conveys surprise at an apparent conflict between two known facts. In English, the words but, even though, and in spite of are used. Los turistas tiraron los envoltorios al suelo. ¡Con lo limpio que estaba todo! The tourists threw wrappers on the ground. But the place was so clean! © by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 6. 3– 11

• If con is followed by mí or ti, it forms a contraction: conmigo, contigo. ¿Quieres venir conmigo al campo? Por supuesto que quiero ir contigo. Do you want to come with me to the countryside? Of course I want to go with you. © by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 6. 3– 12

• Consigo is the contraction of con + usted/ustedes or con + él/ella/ellos/ellas. Consigo is equivalent to the English with himself/herself/yourself or with themselves/yourselves, and is commonly followed by mismo. It is only used when the subject of the sentence is the same person referred to after con. Están satisfechos consigo mismos. Fui al cine con él. La sequía trajo consigo muchos problemas. Prefiero ir al parque con usted. © by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 6. 3– 13

Write out the following sentences and fill in the blank with a, hacia or con. 1. El león caminaba _______ el árbol. 2. Dijeron que la tormenta empezaría ______ as dos de la tarde. 3. Le prometí que iba _______ ahorrar combustible. 4. Ellos van a tratar de ser responsables _______ el medio ambiente. 5. Contribuyó a la campaña ecológica _______ mucho dinero. 6. El depósito de combustible estaba _______ mi izquierda. © by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved. 6. 3– 14