Tips 021: How to Avoid Mistakes With The Letter “A”

In the latest episode of the Real Fast Spanish tips podcast, we will be looking at another Spanish word that can cause confusion for English students.

Is the letter “a” is a letter or a word? It’s is up for debate. But debates aside, in today’s episode of the Real Fast Spanish tips podcast we will discuss how to use “a” in a Spanish sentence and what some of the common pitfalls are.

Mentioned in the episode

• Previous episode number 7 – How to use verbs like gustar to express your ideas
• Previous episode number 15 – A hack for the past
• Previous episode number 17 – A hack for the future

Examples from today’s episode:

I go to Madrid – Voy a Madrid

I’m going to go to Madrid – Voy a ir a Madrid

I arrived at the party – He llegado a la fiesta

At 7 o’clock – A las siete

At 7 o’clock we are going to eat – A las siete vamos a comer

I work forty hours a week – Trabajo cuarenta horas a la semana

We go to the movies two times a month – Vamos al cine dos veces al mes

I write a letter by hand – Escribo una carta a mano

I like to drink – Me gusta beber

He/She likes to drink – Le gusta beber mucho

He likes to drink a lot – A él le gusta beber mucho

She likes to drink a lot – A ella le gusta beber mucho

Maria likes to work during the morning – A Maria le gusta trabajar por la mañana

The woman cares for her dog – La mujer cuida a su perro

The woman cares for her horse – La mujer cuida de su caballo

I want to learn Spanish – Quiero aprender español

Me as well – Yo también

I like to eat late – Me gusta comer tarde

To me as well – A mi también

Maybe / perhaps – A lo mejor

Perhaps it is going to rain today – A lo mejor va a llover hoy

This episode’s quote:

“A lo mejor escribir no sea más que una de las formas de organizar la locura.” – Isidoro Blaisten

How else could you use “a” in a sentence?

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