What is ‘a personal’ and how to use it in Spanish?

The a personal, as its name implies, is used to introduce a human direct object, for instance: Veo a Luis ("I see Luis"). This use of the prepositionNo definition set for prepositionLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. “a” (a personal) does not have an English equivalent. With that said, did you know it can also be used for pets? Did you know some verbs can go either with or without a personal? I can’t wait to take you on the journey of a personal and its uses! Let’s check them out!

A direct objectNo definition set for direct objectLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. is a noun phrase in a sentence that directly receives the action. It can easily be found by asking “whom” or “what” + subject + verb. For example:

Marisol come unos esquites en el Mercado de Coyoacán.

Marisol eats some esquites at the Coyoacán Market.

Subject: Marisol
Verb: come
What does Marisol eat? Unos equites.

As mentioned before, the a personal in Spanish is a preposition that you will find before certain direct objects. It helps us distinguish objects from subjects. As a rule of thumb, the a personal is used whenever a direct object is a person (or persons) or a pet. For example:

With that said, there are more specific rules in place to decide whether or not the a personal is needed. We will divide those rules into three categories: always, never, and sometimes (it depends on the speaker and the message they want to convey).

Use a personal when the direct object is a human (or humanized) and specific.
What do I mean by human (or humanized)? It means the direct object can be one person (señora ("lady"), papá ("dad"), doctor ("doctor, physician")), a group of people, or proper names. It can also mean the direct object can be other parts of speech that are taking the role of a person (pronouns like “me” and “them,” for example). Humanized direct objects can be pets — creatures we hold so near and dear to our heart that they are almost like parts of our family! When I say specific, I mean the direct object we are referring to is distinct, not just any lady or any dad, but rather one that I am distinctly singling out of all the possible people out there. To help you out, here are some cues to look out for:

• The proper name of a person or animal:
  

  Conocí a Adele después de su concierto y me cayó super bien.

  I met Adele after her concert and I liked her very much.

  La familia de mi mejor amigo ama a Noodle, mi perro.

  My best friend’s family loves Noodle, my dog.

• One of the following pronouns (aka Spanish prepositional object pronouns): Mí ("me"), ti ("you"), él ("he"), ella ("her"), usted ("you, formal"), nosotros, nosotras ("us"), vosotros, vosotras ("you, plural, Spain"), ustedes ("you, plural, LATAM"), ellos, ellas ("them")

  ¿Me conociste a mí hace dos o tres años? -Siento que te conozco de toda la vida.

  Did you meet me two or three years ago? -I feel like I have known you my whole life.

• A Spanish demonstrative pronoun referring to a person:

  ¿Viste a Melissa en el evento de ayer?

  Did you see Melissa at yesterday’s event?

  No me menciones a esa (=Melissa), no la soporto.

  Don’t mention that one (=Melissa) to me, I can’t stand her.

• A Spanish indefinite pronoun that refers to a person: (alguien/nadie ("someone/ nobody"), alguno/ ninguno ("one/ none"), quienquiera ("whoever"), etc.)
  

  ¿Conoces a alguien que pueda ayudarme con la remodelación de la cocina?

  Do you know anyone who can help me with the kitchen remodel?

• Quantifiers when referring to people: todos ("everyone"), varios ("some"), pocos ("few"), muchos ("many")
  

  Ayer vi a todos mis amigos en el centro comercial y la pasamos súper a gusto.

  Yesterday I saw all my friends at the mall and we had a great time.

• When building a question, the a personal will show up before the Spanish interrogative quién ("whom") and whenever cuál ("which") refers to people:
  

  ¿A quién visitaste en Nueva York? No sabía que conocías a gente allí.

  Who did you visit in New York? I did not know you knew people there.

  ¿A cuál de las chicas conociste?

  Which of the girls did you meet?

• A noun that is formed by people, (such as community, council, committee, etc.) and the verb used is an action that can only be exerted upon people and not things:
  

  Multaron a la institución por no reciclar.

  The institution was fined for not recycling.

• Before the following Spanish relative pronouns whenever the relative pronoun is replacing a human noun: quien ("who"), quienes ("who plural"), el que ("the one who"), los que ("the ones who"), la que ("the one who, feminine"), las que ("the ones who, feminine, plural")
  

  Esa es la chica a la que entrevistaron en las noticias anoche.

  That is the girl that was interviewed by the news last night.

  Esos doctores, a quienes admiras, vienen para una conferencia el próximo mes.

  Those doctors, who you admire, are coming for a conference next month.

• A pluralized common noun for people and it is indefinite or not specific:

  Visité enfermos en el hospital.

  I visited sick people at the hospital.

• A proper noun for a country or city:
  

  Quiero conocer Italia. Siempre ha sido mi sueño visitar Asís.

  I want to visit Italy. It has always been my dream to visit Assisi.

  Exception!

  Unless it’s personified/humanized: amo a mi país ("I love my country").

Do not use a personal when the direct object is…

• An inanimate object:

  Compré unos libros en la venta de patio.

  I bought some books at the yard sale.

• Followed by the verb haber ("there is/are"):

  Hay un chico esperándote en la sala. ¿Qué le digo?

  There is a guy waiting for you in the living room. What should I tell him?

  Important

  If you’re building a sentenceNo definition set for sentenceLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. with haber that also uses alguien or nadie ("someone/nobody"), alguno and ninguno ("one/none") etc, the haber rule still applies!
  

  ¿Hay alguien que quiera ir al cine conmigo?

  Is there anyone who wants to go to the movies with me?

• An undomesticated animal:

  Quise tocar el koala, pero no se permite hacerlo en esta reserva natural.

  I wanted to pet the koala, but it isn’t allowed at this natural reserve.

The following verbs may or may not require a personal:

• Depending on whether the speaker chooses to identify the direct object as specific or not:

  Prefiero un albañil que no cobre mucho por su trabajo.

  I prefer a plumber that doesn’t charge much for their work.

  (meaning “any plumber” — I don’t have one specific in mind)

  Prefiero a un albañil que no cobre mucho por su trabajo.

  I prefer a plumber that does not charge too much for their job.

  (specifically one that doesn’t charge much)

  Tip

  Although this applies to most verbs that use a human direct object as a complement, some of the most frequent verbs are:preferir ("to prefer"), necesitar ("to need"), querer ("to want"), contratar ("to hire"), llevar ("to take"), traer ("to bring"), ver ("to see"), conocer ("to know a person/place"), elegir ("to choose"), seleccionar ("to select"), escoger ("to choose")

  Llevaré amigos a tu fiesta, espero que no te moleste.

  I will take friends to your party, I hope you do not mind.

  Llevaré a mis amigos a tu fiesta, espero que no te moleste.

  I will take my friends to your party, I hope you do not mind.

  Important

  Remember that when a verb is followed by a proper noun, the a personal is always required!
  

  Llevaré a María a la fiesta, espero que no te moleste.

  I will take María to the party, I hope you do not mind.

• The verb tener ("to have") might require the a personal:

  When talking about close relationships with the verb tener, it is not needed. But if it is used to talk about having people in certain roles, then the preposition will be used.

  Tengo tres tíos que viven en Houston y solamente los veo cada dos años.

  I have three uncles that live in Houston and I only see them every two years.

  Mi papá tiene a mi hermana de diseñadora gráfica y le ha pedido que haga todo el trabajo con su página web. Mi hermana no está contenta.

  My dad has my sister as a graphic designer and has asked her to do all the work with his website. My sister is not happy.

Prepositions in Spanish have many layers and rules, but they are not impossible. I like to tell my students that the a personal, with practice, does get easier. Don’t forget that for everyday uses, we have a wonderful rule of thumb: a personal when our direct objects are people or pets. If you can remember that, you will be halfway there! I recommend that while you read in Spanish you pay attention to the use of a personal in context. That type of reading is helpful, because you are actively experiencing the rules as you experience the language. Finally, I have put together this handy flowchart and this activity to get you to practice whether or not you need the personal a (answer keys are provided).