When to use "a"?

Question

"Last week I saw my husband's aunt" translated to "La semana pasada vi *a* la tia de mi esposo". I always miss the little "a" when I see a sentence like this. Could someone help me summarize when it is needed?

Answer 1

Within the example you gave, this is called the "personal a" and does not translate into English. Its purpose is to distinguish between the subject and object of the verb, when the object is a person. It acts like a direction arrow pointing at the person (or animal) that is at the receiving end of the action. With the example, "Vi a la tía de mi esposo," the "a" in front of "tía" tells who who was seen (the object) - vs who did the seeing (the subject).

Answer 2

"a" is used when you are referring to the destination or the receptor of an action. For example. you are going TO call TO > someone (vas a llamar a alguien) , or you're going TO > the store. (vas a la tienda)