Robbie
Why is a in this sentence? I am working with Duelingo and I have came across this several times and can't figure it out. The sentence they give me is "Yo respeto a mi padre" which means I respect my father. Why is the a in the sentence? Couldn't I just say Yo respeto mi padre and still be correct?
Aug 1, 2014 1:03 PM
Answers · 5
4
Nope, you must use "a". This is a veeeery, very complex topic, but for a start, the basic rule is that when the Direct Object is a person or an animal, you must use "a". Some examples: Yo respeto A mi padre. Yo respeto las reglas. Ayer vi A María. Ayer vi AL perro de mi vecino. Ayer vi una casa preciosa. You'll come across other rules and countless exceptions, so good luck with that!
August 1, 2014
2
Hola Robbie, para completar un poco...cuando se trata de cargos públicos o personalidades tendrías que poner "al" en lugar de "a" por ejemplo: Respeto al Rey de España, respeto al presidente Obama (sin embargo sería: respeto a Obama), respeto al cura de mi pueblo ... El uso de las preposiciones es difícil en Español, como en todos los idiomas!
August 1, 2014
2
Hi, in this case we always use the “a” when we are talking about a person. I didn’t know why we use it that way but I did a fast research and it says that we use it because “respetar” is a transitive verb so it takes a direct object (the person) and in this case the “a” is a “personal a”, also you don’t put the “a” when you are not talking about people (Respetar las costumbres). So what you should know is that we use it with people and not with objects. I like to give examples instead of explanations so here you have some examples: Yo respeto mucho a mis padres, respeto sus ideas y respeto sus costumbres. Respeto a mis hermanos, respeto sus pertenencias y respeto sus ideales. Respeto mucho a los mayores y respeto las creencias de todas las personas. Hope you understand now. Cari.
August 1, 2014
1
La pregunta sería, ¿A quién respetas/ A qué se respeta? ¿A quién se visita? ¿A quién esperas/ Qué esperas? Por su defecto las respuestas deben ser: A mis padres - A mi mamá - A mi papá - A mis abuelos Las reglas de mi casa - Al profesor - A la vecina etc, etc
August 1, 2014
that is like , I respect to her its like "to" in that context
August 2, 2014
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