When do you use the "a" in spanish? Please help!!?

Question

I am confused. Would I use "a" for stem changing verbs. So like, would I say Yo quiero a jugar al beisbol, or would I say yo quiero jugar al beisbol. I know that I would use it with the verb ir(voy a, vas a), but when would I use "a". Would I use "a" for these stem changing verbs: perder, poder, empezar, volver, and jugar. Please help me.

Answer 1

"a" ( pronounced ah) is almost always used in reference to something you are going to be doing in the future or to ask a question or in this case when you dont want to use 'el' , 'al' , 'lo' ...there is really no translation for "a" and no clear definition since the spanish dialectics tend to vary.

Ex:

i am going to go to the park.

voy a ir al parque.

Ex:

i want to play hide and go seek.

yo quiero jugar a las escondidas.


Ex:

where are you going (informal) ?

a donde vas ?

Ex:

where do you want to eat lunch ?

a donde quieres ir a almorzar

Answer 2

You need to remember that the infinitive of a verb should be translated as "to......." so jugar is "to play," comer is "to eat." This will help you avoid using "a" which can mean "to," (as well as "at"), when you should not use it. You only use "a" in front of an infinitive like jugar, perder, poder, empezar, etc, etc, when you use the construction "ir a" to indicate the future. This is called the simple future. Voy a jugar beisbol. Vas a comer arroz. Van a volver a las ocho de la noche.
There is another future, the future indicative, which does NOT use the "a." For example, you can say...
Voy a comer pan. Or you can say... Comeré pan.
They mean exactly the same thing. That little "a" before the verb is only used after the conjugation of "ir" and it's only there to help you make a future statement without having to use the actual future indicative.

There are many other uses of the "a" in Spanish (they are conjunctions), and for those you need to consult a grammar book. Voy a la escuela. Duermo a las 8pm. Hablamos a mi profesor. etc, etc.

For now, I hope this clears up your confusion over how to use the "a" when you conjugate verbs.

Answer 3

Yo quiero + verb, not a preposition
Yo quiero jugar al beisbol, yo quiero comer ...
As for the other verbs you mention:
Perder a los bolos
poder + verb
empezar a jugar
volver a ganar
jugar a las cartas

Poder is the only one that doesn t admit the preposition "a"

Answer 4

It is confusing, let me try to explain. "Al" is nothing else but a contraction of a+el. If you say "I want to come back to the store", you would say "quiero volver a la tienda". But if you say, "I want to come back to the stadium", you would say "Quiero volver al estadio" . You would not say "a el estadio". The example you mention, would be "jugar a beisbol", since "jugar a el beisbol" makes no sense. But you would say "jugar a las canicas" (to play marbles). Usually with sports, you do not use the "el or "la", just "a" ( jugar a futbol, jugar a baloncesto, jugar a tenis...). You need to know the genre of the word you are going to use and acquire practice with the language :(

If you need me to explain this better, drop me a line and I will try to do my best.

Cheers,

Answer 5

Since I'm a native Spanish language speaker from Mexico. Let me help you. If you want to say " I want to play baseball" you just say: "Quiero jugar beisbol" that's it! you don't usually say .."al" beisbol. other examples:(yo) quiero comer=I want to eat,(yo)quiero dormir=I want to sleep, (yo)quiero descansar= I want to rest.The subject "Yo" in this case is in parenthesis because it's almost always ommited in Spanish
"a" works as a preposition equivalent to "to" in English. For example: voy a jugar= I'm going to play,voy a dormir=I'm going to sleep,voy a descansar= I'm going to rest. Again I ommited the subject, in Spanish you only use it when you want to enphasize.

Also when you refer to time expressions you use "a" like you use "at".Example: nos vemos a las 8pm= we see each other at 8pm.

In other Imperative expessions like : A trabajar!= Get to work!, A dormir! Get to sleep! A correr!= Let's run or get to run.

By the way...I love Baseball!!!

Answer 6

sk8boizc and Mimii are the best answers.

Answer 7

"un"